The three parts of the Speaking test
The test takes 11 to 14 minutes, face to face with an examiner, and is recorded.
- Part 1 (4–5 minutes): familiar questions about you, your home, work or studies, hobbies and daily life.
- Part 2 (3–4 minutes): you get a cue card, 1 minute to prepare with notes, then speak for up to 2 minutes on the topic. The examiner may ask a short follow-up.
- Part 3 (4–5 minutes): a deeper discussion linked to the Part 2 topic, with more abstract questions about society, change and opinions.
You are marked on four criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.
Fluency versus accuracy
Many candidates believe they must speak perfect English to score well. In practice, examiners reward speakers who keep talking, organise their ideas and correct themselves naturally. Long silences while you search for the "perfect" word hurt Fluency more than a small grammar slip.
On the other hand, fast speech full of the same simple structures will cap your Grammatical Range. The balance you want:
- Keep going, even if you rephrase mid-sentence.
- Use a mix of tenses, conditionals and linking words where they fit naturally.
- Give reasons and examples, especially in Part 3.
Talk about Thane: it makes Part 1 and Part 2 easier
Examiners often ask about your hometown, your journey to work or study, places you like to visit and festivals. You live in a city that gives you plenty to say:
- The daily commute on the Central line or along Ghodbunder Road, and how it shapes your day.
- Lakes such as Upvan and Masunda, or the green slopes of Yeoor Hills and the edge of Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
- How Thane has changed, with new towers, malls and metro works.
- Festivals celebrated in your housing society, such as Ganeshotsav or Navratri.
Avoid one-word or textbook answers such as "Thane is a beautiful city with many lakes". Add a personal angle: which lake you walk around, who you go with, and what has changed there in recent years. Practise describing these in English now, with specific details, so they come easily when a cue card asks you to "describe a place you enjoy visiting" or "describe a change in your city".
Pronunciation points for Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati speakers
Thane is multilingual, and most candidates speak Marathi, Hindi or Gujarati at home, often more than one. Your accent itself is not a problem; the Pronunciation criterion is about being easy to understand. Points that many speakers from this background work on:
- "v" and "w": "wine" and "vine", "west" and "vest". Round your lips for "w", touch your top teeth to your lower lip for "v".
- "th" sounds: "think" is not "tink", and "this" is not "dis". Let your tongue touch your upper teeth lightly.
- Word stress: "deVELopment", "phoTOgraphy", "eCOnomy". Stressing the wrong syllable is a bigger clarity issue than vowel quality.
- Sentence rhythm: English stresses key words and shortens the rest. Speaking every syllable evenly can sound flat.
- "z" and "j": some speakers swap these, for example in "zero" or "easy".
- Intonation: a falling tone for statements, a rising one for yes/no questions, and variation to show interest.
The AI feedback on your transcript also shows where words were not recognised, which is often a pronunciation clue.
Practising when you have no partner
Most people in Thane do not have a fellow IELTS candidate at home. That is fine:
- Pick a prompt from our 186 Parts 1, 2 and 3 prompts.
- For Part 2, use the built-in cue-card timer: a real 1-minute preparation, then a 2-minute speaking timer. Do not pause it.
- Record your answer and read the AI feedback on your transcript: fillers, repeated words, grammar slips and vocabulary range.
- Answer the same cue card again the next day and compare.
Find a regular spot to speak aloud: a quiet room at home, your car parked outside before you go in, or an early walk around the lake when few people are around.
When to book a teacher
AI feedback helps with volume and patterns, but the real test is a human conversation. Booking a few 1-to-1 online sessions with an IELTS teacher (about 20 minutes, from ₹299) lets you practise being interrupted, asked follow-ups and kept to time. Many students book one early to get a baseline and two or three in the final fortnight. Ask the teacher to run the session like the real test, with no pauses, and then spend the last few minutes on the one change that would lift your band most.
Try a few prompts on the practice page, or sign up to unlock the full set and the cue-card timer.