IELTS Scores: Speaking
In the Speaking test, you are given an IELTS score in four different categories:
- Fluency and Coherence
- Lexical Resource
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Pronunciation
Below are the questions the examiners will be asking themselves as they listen to you. You need to be thinking about the same points to get a good IELTS band.
Fluency and Coherence
- Are you prepared to give long answers?
- How much do you hesitate?
- Can you use discourse markers to connect your speech?
- Do your answers flow?
Lexical Resource
- How appropriate is your vocabulary?
- How natural is your English? Is it too much like written English?
- Is your vocabulary wide enough to talk about unfamiliar as well as familiar topics?
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Can you use complex sentences?
- How accurate is your grammar?
Pronunciation
- How much does L1 (your mother tongue) interfere with your pronunciation?
- Are there times when the examiner cannot understand a specific word?
- How well does your intonation follow that of native speakers?
In each category, you are given a score from 1 to 9 (0 means you did not attend) which produces an average. Here is a description of what each band means in the speaking in the four areas. You need to fulfil all of these criteria to achieve that band. (This is the public version.)