Skill guide 1 of 4
Speaking
The examiner is not testing your ideas. They are listening to how long you can speak without effort, how wide and precise your words are, how correct and varied your grammar is, and how easy you are to understand.
The three parts
| Part | Time | What happens | Answer formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4–5 min | Questions about you: home, work or study, hobbies, daily life | Answer + reason + example (15–25 seconds) |
| 2 | 3–4 min | A cue card. 1 minute to prepare, then speak for up to 2 minutes | Intro → each bullet → extra detail → how you feel now |
| 3 | 4–5 min | Abstract discussion linked to the Part 2 topic | Opinion → reason → example → the other side or the future |
How it is marked
- Fluency & Coherence. Can you keep talking, and does it connect? At 7 you speak at length without noticeable effort. Pauses for ideas are fine; pauses to search for words are not.
- Lexical Resource. Topic words, natural phrases, and paraphrasing when you don't know a word. At 7 you use some less common and idiomatic language with awareness of collocation.
- Grammatical Range & Accuracy. A mix of tenses, conditionals and complex sentences. At 7 many of your sentences are error-free.
- Pronunciation. Word stress, sentence stress, rhythm, clear sounds. An accent is fine; being hard to understand is not.
Part 1: short answer versus extended answer
Question
Do you like cooking?
Band 5 style
Yes, I like cooking. It is good.
Band 7+ style
Yes, quite a lot, actually. It helps me switch off after work, and I've recently started making plov for my family at weekends, which they seem to enjoy.
Natural phrases worth having
| When you need to… | Say |
|---|---|
| Buy thinking time | That's a tricky one. / I've never really thought about that, but I'd say… |
| Give an opinion | I'd argue that… / Personally, I'm in favour of… / I tend to think… |
| Speculate | It might be because… / I'd imagine that… / It's quite likely that… |
| Contrast | Having said that… / On the other hand… / That said, it depends on… |
| Compare past and present | Compared with my parents' generation… / These days, people tend to… |
| Paraphrase a missing word | It's a kind of… / the thing you use to… / I can't think of the word, but it's… |
| Ask for a repeat | Sorry, could you repeat the question? (allowed, and better than guessing) |
Avoid memorised idioms like "it's raining cats and dogs". Examiners notice them, and they don't raise your score.
Band 5.5 to 6.0Say more
Answer at length
What holds you back
- One-sentence answers in Part 1.
- You stop after 1 minute in Part 2.
- Long silences while you think.
What to do
- Answer + reason + example for every Part 1 question.
- In the prep minute, write one keyword per bullet, plus one about your feelings.
- Fill thinking time with natural phrases from the table above.
Band 6.0 to 7.0Say it with range
Topic words and flexible grammar
What holds you back
- You repeat basic words: good, bad, very, a lot.
- You use only the present simple.
- Part 3 answers are short and general.
What to do
- Use topic collocations from Lessons 5–7 in your answers.
- Mix tenses on purpose: what you did, what you do now, what you would do.
- In Part 3, give the other side or a prediction after your example.
Band 7.0 to 8.0Sound natural
Rhythm, precision, very few errors
What holds you back
- Flat intonation, every word stressed the same.
- Small errors in articles and plurals when you speak fast.
- You stop when you can't find a word.
What to do
- Shadow native audio for 10–15 minutes a day.
- Record, transcribe one minute, and correct every error.
- Paraphrase the missing word and keep going.
Band 8.0 to 9.0Effortless
Fluent, precise, natural
What holds you back
- Rare searches for words, or the same phrases repeated.
- Small grammar slips when you speak fast.
- Answers that sound prepared instead of spontaneous.
What to do
- Talk with fluent speakers every day about abstract topics: news, technology, society.
- Record, transcribe, and remove every filler word and repetition.
- Use idioms only when they fit perfectly. Precision beats decoration.
Ready to practise your Speaking?
Record your answers to your teacher’s tasks and get a band for each criterion.
Go to Speaking tasks