IELTS Speaking Practice Test 4 (Part Wise) - Questions and Topics

The speaking section of the IELTS examination is an assessment of the oratory skills of the candidate. Additionally, various other skills of the candidate such as active listening, vocabulary, ability to effectively respond to a query, are also assessed in this section. The IELTS speaking test questions can be on different topics. There will be personal questions, questions on general topics, and questions from the topic the candidate can easily speak on.

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The IELTS speaking section is crucial and the candidate needs to give relevant answers to what is asked and not crammed or learned answers, many of the candidates are often misguided by giving template answers and also assuring them that they shall acquire good bands, but it hardly happens. In today's article on career360, we shall show you the difference between template answers and real thoughtful answers. In general, a strategized IELTS speaking practice is mandatory for mastering this particular section of the IELTS examination.

Let us quickly analyze the format of the IELTS speaking test.

THE IELTS SPEAKING PRACTICE TEST 4 - PARTS

MARKING SCHEME OF IELTS SPEAKING SECTION

In the IELTS Speaking section, the candidates are assessed based on four parameters namely, Fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and Pronunciation. The candidate is assessed from the moment they start speaking to the time they conclude. Hence, abundant IELTS speaking practice is necessary to ace this section. The following are the four main assessment criteria of the IELTS Speaking section.

• Fluency and coherence

• Lexical resource

• Grammatical range and accuracy

• Pronunciation.

Now let us discuss all the four sections in detail:

Fluency and coherence are linked with the ability of the candidate to articulate or express their viewpoints confidently without interruptions. This is one of the most important aspects that shows the prowess of a candidate in effective communication of the language. Candidates can refer to IELTS speaking examples to understand how other candidates speak with fluency and coherence. Any student attempting the answers wherein they sound to have crammed some text shall be graded a low score. Hence, it is recommended that the candidate should prepare to speak on various topics or develop the art of speaking in length to gain high band score.

The Lexical resource is concerned with the vocabulary skills of the candidates. Having a strong vocabulary in any language is advantageous to any candidate because a strong vocabulary is an indication of command over a language. Voracious reading and regular IELTS speaking practice can enhance the lexical resource abilities of the candidate. However, using irrelevant vocabulary or over usage of words may lower the score, the candidate must know the difference between using idiomatic expressions and using direct idioms. Remember that only the natural flow of language will help in getting a good band score.

Grammatical range and accuracy are essential for the accurate articulation of any language not just English. Grammar serves as the basis for any language and it must be given the utmost importance. The candidates are often advised to refer to various IELTS speaking examples to understand how efficiently a candidate can express their thoughts using concise grammatical abilities.

Pronunciation also plays a vital role in the IELTS Speaking Test. Inaccurate pronunciations might lead to disruption while speaking and will eventually affect the flow of speaking. Therefore it is strongly recommended that candidates work on their pronunciation skills if they feel they might be lagging. Efficient IELTS speaking practice can always be beneficial to the candidates to improve in this domain.

PART-WISE ANALYSIS OF THE IELTS SPEAKING SECTION

PART - 1: INTRODUCTION AND QUESTIONS ON FAMILIAR TOPICS

In the first part of the IELTS speaking test, the candidate is given a brief introduction by the IELTS-certified examiner. This is followed by personal questions asked of the candidate. These questions can include family, hobbies, interests, work or mode of study, favourite things and so on. Each query of the examiner will be based on the responses given to them by the candidate and hence the candidate should be mindful of the responses given. It is always advisable that the candidate perform well in part 1 of the IELTS speaking test because this leaves a positive impression on the examiner.

Here, we request you to listen to both the audios given below. The Low Band Audio has a student who has learned some answers from a book and has not really used the IELTS speaking strategies and is giving mostly irrelevant answers with some keywords in the sentences that he is speaking. In the High Band Audio, you will find a student who is well prepared and is giving natural answers.

SAMPLES:

Candidates can listen to the speaking sample above designed by Careers360 to have an idea about the questions that have a high probability of being asked in the IELTS speaking section. These samples are designed after careful analysis of the previous year’s IELTS speaking questions and are aimed to help the candidates in their IELTS speaking preparation journey.

We highly recommend that students should strictly not learn the templates and must learn the correct way of answering questions naturally. It is okay to give simple answers rather than chasing fancy words and sounding irrelevant.

PART - 2: INDIVIDUAL LONG TURN

Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking section commences immediately after Part 1 concludes. In this section, the candidates are required to speak on a topic given by the examiner for 1 -2 minutes. The topic decided by the examiner is final and the candidate cannot ask for a different topic.

Please check the sample audios of students attempting the cue card by using a template answer versus a natural flow of thoughts. The Low band audio has a template cue card attempted by a student while audio the high band audio has a well-planned structured answer.

SAMPLES:

Now, after listening to both audios, we are sure you are in a position to realize the difference between both the categories of answers and the need to prepare effectively.

The above link is a sample of part 2 (audio 2) of the speaking section of the IELTS speaking test. The candidate can refer to the sample and gain an idea of how to structure their speech, what to include and what not to, how to use effective vocabulary, and give an adequate conclusion.

PART - 3:TWO-WAY DISCUSSION

The last part of the IELTS speaking test comprises an extensive discussion on the topic spoken by the candidate. The examiner asks 5-7 general questions on the topic spoken by the candidate and the candidate is expected to answer them based on their understanding. The type of questions include reasoning questions like why, why not, analogy questions such as comparison between entities, questions involving predictions, undertaking questions from a particular situation etc. The candidate is advised to undergo a lot of IELTS speaking practice to ace the third part of the IELTS speaking test.

Kindly listen to the audio given below to understand the mistakes students make and the need to prepare well.

The Low Band Audio has a student answering with errors while the High Band Audio has perfect answers.

SAMPLES:

The candidates can listen to this sample conversation of part 3 of the IELTS speaking section. This can give them a clear picture of what to expect in the section. The reasoning abilities of the speakers are expressed in the audio and this shows how the candidate must answer the questions.

We are sure that you will be able to realize that candidate 2 will score high bands on the basis of being natural and well prepared.

IELTS PRACTICE SETS

The candidates are encouraged to attempt all the practice sets of all four IELTS sections, Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. All the practice sets are designed after careful inspection of the previous year’s question paper and with effective practice, the candidates can score big in the IELTS examination.

IELTS SPEAKING PRACTICE SETS

IELTS READING PRACTICE SETS

IELTS LISTENING PRACTICE SETS

IELTS WRITING PRACTICE SETS

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