How is speaking test evaluated?

The Speaking test in IELTS is assessed on the basis of the following 4 factors:

1. Fluency and Coherence – In IELTS speaking, the speaker is expected to speak with fluency, which can be obtained by taking care of the following points:

• There should be minimum repetition of the ideas.
•  Avoid long pauses in speech. In simple words, do not keep thinking to include the most effective words, rather, try to maintain the flow even by using simple words.
• Use connectors (Moreover, additionally, but, if, so etc.) to link ideas with one another.
• Each idea should be supported with proper explanation. Do not just mention the ideas, but elaborate them.

2. Lexical resource – Lexical resource refers to the type of words/phrases used in speaking. To score well in this, take care of the following points:

•  Use a variety of words without showing any visible effort while doing so.
• Make use of less common words accurately.
• Include idiomatic vocabulary in your speech wherever possible.

3. Grammatical range and accuracy – The speaking test assesses the grammatical knowledge of the candidate, so be careful of the following:

• All the words/phrases/sentences used in the speaking test should be grammatically correct.
•  Try to use a variety of sentence structures in the speech.

4. Pronunciation – Pronunciation refers to the way the words/sentences are spoken. To score well, take care of the following:

• Speech is easily understandable to the speaking evaluator throughout the test. The evaluator should not require any additional effort to understand what the candidate says.
• The words should be clearly pronounced (spoken). In simple words, the mother tongue of the candidate should not badly impact their English words.
• Accurately showcase a variety of pronunciation features (e.g. phonemes, vowels, consonants, stress, intonation etc.)