Practise IELTS Speaking every day with AI: the test format and how to raise your band
The 3 parts of IELTS Speaking (11–14 minutes), the 4 assessment criteria, the mistakes that cost candidates marks, and a 4-week self-study plan with an AI examiner.
IELTS Speaking is the part of the test many candidates worry about most, because you can't simply memorise your way through it the way some people try with reading or listening. The good news: the format is very stable, the assessment criteria are public, and you can practise on your own every day if someone (or an AI) asks you the right questions.
The Speaking test format
According to IDP IELTS, the Speaking test lasts 11–14 minutes and has three parts:
| Part | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | 4–5 minutes | The examiner asks about you and familiar topics: your hometown, work, studies, hobbies. If your answers are too short, the examiner asks follow-up questions. |
| Part 2 | 3–4 minutes | You get a cue card, exactly 1 minute to prepare and make notes, then speak for 1–2 minutes. |
| Part 3 | 4–5 minutes | A discussion of more abstract questions linked to the Part 2 topic; the examiner may ask you to defend your view. |
The four assessment criteria
Your Speaking band is the average of four criteria, each worth 25%:
- Fluency and Coherence: speaking at length, ideas in a logical order, sensible linking words.
- Lexical Resource: a wide enough vocabulary, used in the right context, and the ability to paraphrase when you lack a word.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: a range of structures (complex sentences, conditionals, the passive) with few errors.
- Pronunciation: easy to understand, with natural stress and intonation.
The band descriptors for each criterion are published. Reading them carefully once helps you understand what the examiner is listening for, instead of guessing.
Five mistakes that cost candidates marks
- One-line answers in Part 1. “Yes, I do.” and then silence. Answer in 2–3 sentences: main point, reason, an example.
- Memorised model answers. Examiners recognise a recited answer immediately; both Fluency and Lexical Resource suffer.
- Running out of ideas after 40 seconds in Part 2. Usually because you haven't practised using the 1 minute of preparation to sketch a frame: an opening, the 3 bullet points on the card, a close.
- Opinions without explanations in Part 3. A safe structure: opinion, reason, example, then a comparison or consequence.
- Wrong past tenses when telling a story. Part 2 often asks you to describe an experience, and this is the most common grammar mistake.
How to practise on your own
What matters most is speaking out loud, against the clock, with someone asking questions. Reading model answers can't replace that.
In the MOMIC IELTS Speaking program, you practise each part with an AI tutor:
- Part 1: you, your hometown, your work; hobbies and habits. The tutor asks follow-up questions when your answers are too short, like a real examiner.
- Part 2: describe a person; places and experiences. Opening phrases and past-tense storytelling phrases appear on the board for you to use.
- Part 3: giving opinions, comparing, conditionals.
- Full mock test: the AI examiner follows all 3 parts and never teaches or corrects you during the test. At Part 2, the cue card appears with a 1-minute preparation timer; when time is up, the mic opens so you can speak for up to 2 minutes.
When you finish, you get an estimated band on each of the 4 criteria, each with feedback that quotes what you said, three things to work on next and a model answer. Pronunciation has to be judged from audio, so the mock test marks it “not scored” rather than giving a guessed number.
A 4-week plan, 15 minutes a day
| Week | Every day | At the weekend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Part 1: 2 topics, 2–3 sentences per answer | Review your notebook of corrections |
| 2 | Part 2: 1 cue card, practise sketching a frame in 1 minute | Full mock test no. 1 |
| 3 | Part 3: 3 questions, using opinion – reason – example | Rework the 3 issues on your result card |
| 4 | Mix all 3 parts | Mock test no. 2, compare each criterion |
An important note
The band from any practice tool, MOMIC included, is only an estimate to show you what to work on. Only the IELTS test gives an official score. Use mock tests to follow the trend, not to predict your exact result.
