IELTS speaking: the questions interviewers ask
The IELTS speaking test is a face-to-face conversation with an examiner, scored on fluency and coherence, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. It has three parts: a short introduction, a talk on a topic, and a discussion.
Every interview asks different questions. Use the examples below to see the kind of question to expect, then learn the idea behind each one instead of memorising answers.
Questions interviewers commonly ask
- Describe a place you like to visit.
- Talk about a person who has influenced you.
- Do you think technology makes life easier?
- Describe a skill you would like to learn.
- How has your city changed in recent years?
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Try a free questionSign up freeWhat interviewers are looking for
- Speak in full, natural sentences and keep going rather than stopping to find a perfect word.
- In Part 2, use your minute to note a beginning, middle and end, and give a real example.
- In Part 3, give an opinion, a reason and an example or comparison.
- Practise a wide range of everyday topics, not memorised answers: examiners notice scripts.
What to expect in the round
- Part 1: familiar topics such as home, work, study and hobbies
- Part 2: a topic card, a minute to think and up to two minutes of talking
- Part 3: a deeper discussion linked to Part 2
What to learn and practise
- Answer out loud, not only in your head. Speaking is a skill that improves only by speaking.
- Use a simple shape: the point first, then a short example, then what happened or what you learned.
- Record yourself, listen back, and fix one thing at a time (pace, filler words, structure).
- Practise with a timer so your answers fit the time you will really have.
Common questions
Can I use simple words?
Yes. Clear and accurate beats rare and wrong. Add some less common words where they come naturally.
Does accent matter?
Clear pronunciation matters, not sounding like any particular accent.