IELTS Speaking Band 9 Tips from a sucessful IELTS candidate. Nouman shares his experience and tips of how he got 9 in IELTS speaking. You can find useful links for IELTS at the end of this article.
All students taking GT or Academic IELTS will take the same speaking test. There is only one speaking test for all students. These tips are useful for all candidates.
Band Score 9 in IELTS Speaking
How I scored Band 9 in IELTS Speaking
“I believe I managed to score a 9 with continuous practice and being myself in the test. The best thing is not to feel shy when you speak about any particular topic. Do not think that your thoughts might be too little or simple to express. Some of us may believe that if we are not full of knowledge, we may not be able to impress the examiner. In speaking module however, knowledge of the topic is not a big deal. The thoughts presented may just be of a lay man and do not need to reflect an in-depth understanding of the subject.
I never crammed any specific topics however; I did gather my thoughts for topics which I would have found difficult to talk about. For example, I have not been visiting many historical places in the past. The one or two that I have visited, I made sure that I gather sufficient thoughts about those places to talk about. Important thing is that those thoughts were purely my own and not learnt from a book or Wikipedia. Gathering own thoughts in your own words is important.“
Well done to you, Nouman, and thanks so much for sharing your tips!!! Liz
Liz’s Comments and Summary:
Nouman’s band score 9 advice is excellent. Here are his points in a list with some extra tips for IELTS Speaking:
- don’t be shy
- enjoy the chat with the examiner
- your ideas are not important – your knowledge is not being tested
- say your ideas with confidence and showcase your language skills
- simple ideas explained using excellent English can get you band score 9
- review topics
- think of your experiences relating to the topics
- if the topic is a museum, think of museums you have been to or would like to go to
- remember your past experiences
- speak from the heart – your English is better when you do that
- learn to express yourself using your own language
- imagine talking about your experienced and your views
Scoring 9 in Reading
Learn how one student scored band score 9 in IELTS reading: How I Scored 9 in Reading
Useful Links for IELTS Speaking
Click on the links to open them:
- Tips: Should I speaking fast or slow?
- How to start your talk in IELTS speaking part 2
- Asking the examiner questions
- Tips & Answers: All IELTS Speaking Model Answers & Tips
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Hi Liz,
I have been following your tips and youtube channel for my IELTS preparation. I found it very helpful. Thank you so much for your help 🙂
On my GT wriring task 1 exam, there was a scenario:
You are on 3 months training which will be finishing in a week. Write a letter to your manager to extend your leave.
Start your letter with ‘Dear……’
I was thinking it should be semi formal but when I saw the instruction to start with Dear……. I wrote it as an informal letter.
But I am still confused whether it is semiformal or informal one?
Regards
Neha
This is a letter to your boss. That means it is formal. Starting with “Dear” could be formal, informal or semi-formal – that isn’t a way to decide the style and tone. It is all about who you are writing to, the relationship you have and the purpose of the letter.
Hi Liz, i’m leaving this note to thank you immensely for all the effort you’ve put in to make the most of your IELTS materials available for free. I sat for the Academic CBT IELTS last week and saw my result today (L: 8.5, R:7.5, W:6.5, S:8.0, Overall: 7.5). I had very little time to practice so i just stayed with only your website and carefully went through a fraction of all your content on each section. Overall i used your site to understand the test structure and I exhausted 5-7 of your free practice under each section. In addition i watched videos of the CBT structure to get a feel of how CBT IELTS is administered and I took 2 CBT practice on some other random site i can’t remember. I booked my test 3 weeks to test date but I could only afford two solid days of preparation. 1 day to understand test structure and samples deeply, second day to take practice with slightly more attention to Listening because i perceived it as very delicate (It’s easy to score poorly if one loses attention). I’ld say i got a total of around 6 hrs study time from other days of little practice here and there..some of it went to waste researching materials to use before i felt overwhelmed and decided to just stick with Liz. I didn’t go through any of the official cambridge materials and stuff at all coz i really couldn’t afford the time. I owe my success to your work, thank you so much!
Anyone looking to take the IELTS, please take this as an inspiration, if you’re a native speaker or went through all your schooling in English, there’s no need to fret if you don’t have much prep time, just stick with Liz’s resources and make sure you at least find time to understand the exam structure in detail and get a few practices. Focus more on using your practices to understand why you chose wrong answers than trying to do so many practices. I wish you all the best!
You’ve done very well with such little prep 🙂 A real achievement 🙂 Good for you!!
Good morning Liz, please I have a question
If the examiner asked a question I am not familiar with, for example “an historical place I have visited” how do I answer this kind of question when I have never visited an historical place before?…is it good to tell lies and say sweet things
If it is in part 1, you would be honest “I’ve never visited a historical place, but if I had the chance, I would go to x”. If it is in part 2, you would start with that reply and then continue talking about one or more places you would like to visit and why.
Are facial expressions and body language important In speaking ? If you are socially awkward and cannot make much movements but still answer the questions will it be good or bad!
Only the language you speak is marked. Nothing else affects your score. So, be yourself, be natural and be chatty 🙂
Hi Liz
Today was my speaking exam. Actually I was asked to talk about historical building at my hometown. But I spoke about historical building which is not at my hometown. But I was fluent throughout and completed my 2 minutes without pause. Will it affect my score? Please let me know..
Thanks
It has not impact at all on your score. On the level of English you used will be marked in IELTS speaking. This is not the same as writing – in writing, English is only about 50% of your marks.
Hello Liz, Can you kindly let me know what do you mean by ”English is only 50% of the marks”? I’ve watched several of your videos and you instruct us to practice vocabulary, sentence structures, etc. What else I should be prepared for?
That comment relates to IELTS Writing where you have Task Response and Cohesion & Coherence which together make up 50% of your marks. They mainly focus on what ideas you have, how you answer, if you address the task, how you organise ideas, how you expand ideas etc etc. For IELTS Speaking, your scores are all language based: fluency, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.
Hi Liz,
Thanks a million for disseminating such useful information. I have two queries as below. Please reply ASAP, as my exam is on 29th June.
1. I can speak for long time, but I get lost in between it, and lack the idea of what to speak next.
2. Can I answer the cue card “wh” questions consecutively in the beginning only and then continue for rest of the speech?
Please help.
Are you referring to part 2 speaking? With part 2, you have 1 min to plan. Start practising how to plan your talk in 1 min. There are NO questions on the cue card. You do not need to answer questions in part 2. There are prompts which you can use to build your talk. It is your choice what direction your talk takes – you decide what the content is – just make sure you don’t actually change the topic completely.
Thank you for a prompt response. Yes, I am talking about cue card only. There are wh question below the main task. For example, describe your favorite clothes. Who did you give it. When and why and how do you feel about it. Ain’t I bound to give the answers of all these questions?
Please help ma’am.
There are NO questions on a cue card. There are prompts – who you gave it to, when you gave it – these are NOT questions. These are prompts (guidelines) which you can use or not use as you wish.
Hello Liz, I just got my IELTS Academic results which is one of the requirements to commence registration for obtaining my professional licensing. See below:
Listening 9.0
Reading 8.5
Speaking 7.5
Writing 7.0
Overall 8.0
Your website helped me a great deal. I really appreciate. However, I plan to take IELTS GT. I really want to hone my writing and speaking skills. What other things do I need to know? Do you have a video on these skills for purchase?
Thank you.
Firstly, very well done with your results 🙂 To prepare for GT reading, you will need to get used to a different layout and subject matter. So, use the ILTS Cambridge test books to prepare. The question types for GT reading are the same as academic reading. For writing task 2, it is 100% the same. For writing task 1, you will only get a letter – it is much easier that academic task 1. See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-letter-writing-essential-tips/. For speaking and listening, there is only one test for everyone – so nothing different to prepare at all.
Hi, Liz.
Thank you for all your valuable help, your contents have been fundamentals in my development of IELTS skills.
I’m worried about the Speaking Part 1, you are very clear describing it as a dialog with the examiner and giving the prompts:
– the dialog is composed of 12 questions
– the candidate needs to answer all the 12 questions, if don’t then the score will go down.
However, I have a lot of downloaded example tests from supposedly Cambridge books (I can’t be sure is they are real as I downloaded them from non official websites) and they coincide in the structure described by you in all the 4 skills and their respective sections, except for the Speaking Part 1 which only contains always just 4 questions. Also in some other youtube channel I saw a professor telling that the Speaking Part 1 is composed by 6 questions. 🙁 🙁 🙁 it’s confusing!
For a high bandscore I know I need to give each anwer with the expected long in order to be able to answer all and also to speak enough.
Please, your kind help on claryfing me this. It’s very different to answer 4 questions in 5 minutes than to answer 12 questions in 5 minutes.
Thank you in advance
I certainly never said that if a candidate didn’t answer questions, their score would go down. I think you have completely misunderstood. There are USUALLY three topics with a total of USUALLY 12 questions in part 1. The examiner decides how many topics and how many questions – not you. I suggest you review more and learn more to understand. This is the main speaking section of the website: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-speaking-free-lessons-essential-tips/.
Hi Liz!
I have learnt only the grammar of English to enter university in my country. But I speak slowly. My speaking and listening aren`t so good. Also, I can not give my opinions, ideas while I am speaking. I worry about making mistakes. What do you recommend?
Hi Liz this is my first time of taking this test. Am going for the General training, am use to Christian literature novels, it is accepted by the examer? Am an Engineer by pprofession bit a pastor by calling. Thanks
Sorry, I don’t understand your comment. I don’t understand the connection with novels and IELTS. If you could explain more clearly that would help.
Thanks for your tips
Hi Liz,
I had my speaking test (GT) today. All went well but in the Part-1, examiner asked me a couple of questions about where I live and do i have friends nearby?
I answered all but in the Second last question he asked do you have friends nearby? I answered yes roughly around 1-3 miles away.
Then he suddenly asked why?
To which i was little curious and to clarify i asked why do i have friends nearby?
He replied leave nothing.
Overall test went very well. I was confident enough and was well prepared with the answers.
But i am nervous about that one moment. Will it have any impact on my score or performance?
Your score will be decided based on your overall performance, not on each part or on each question. Don’t worry about it.
Hi Liz!
I’be been really enjoying using your website, it’s certainly one of the best. I have my IELTS in a week, this is my second attempt. My first results were w 6.5, s 6.5, l 7, and r 9. Overall 7.5. And I hope to score a little bit higher, but I always have this low confidence issues.
I just wanted to ask, is it fine to say: “Please to make your acquaintance” at the beginning of the speaking test? Or it’s too much?
I didn’t memorize it on purpose, I’m just really into reading (which is only reason I scored 9 on reading last time) classic novels, so that’s why I know this phrase.
Thank you so much for everything!
It is very old-fashioned and too formal. The speaking test is informal. It is also incorrect because it should be “pleased to make..”. Classic novels will not help you with modern informal English for the speaking test.
Hi Liz!
Today I had my speaking test and I had a question about the test.
During the test I mispronounced the word “lesson” but i corrected my mistake immediately.
will I lose marks for that?
(it’s a very simple word I don’t know why it happened…)
You are not marked on each word you say. You are given an overall mark based on your overall performance in the whole test.
Thank you so much😇
Hi Liz! I’m having a speaking test tomorrow and I had a doubt.
What if I have a nervous breakdown while speaking? Can I ask the speaker for a moment to recollect myself?
If I say’ “I’m sorry, could you give me a moment” would that be okay?
How would it affect my score?
If you stop speaking for any reason, you will lose time. The test is 11 to 14 mins in length – never more and never less. If you have a break down for 5 mins, it means you lose 5 mins of your test – not a good thing. Why would you have a break down? This is an informal speaking test – it isn’t formal. It is an informal chat with the examiner – be open, friendly and chatty. There are no wrong answers – any answer you give shows your English and that is all that counts.
You must answer part 1 and part 3 questions immediately. If you need thinking time, you should say “Could you repeat that please?” – the examiner will repeat the question which will give you time to think. If you say “give me a moment to think”, it shows the poor level of your English.
Try to relax and try to enjoy chatting with the examiner – tell the examiner stories about your past, talk about your opinions etc – Good luck!! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Hi Liz.Very grateful for your free tutorial videos.it’s being really helpful.I’m preparing for the general section of IELTS with my wife.God bless u.
Hi,
I’m seeking a speaking partner as I’m going to take the test soon. Please contact me if anyone interested in practicing the speaking!
mrahmanlinks@gmail.com
i am interested in practicing speaking email : dralhussien_m@yahoo.com
Hi ,
I just appeared for ielts 3rd time, today was speaking test, i am not feeling confident, since i stopped once as i was clueless during cue card question, i dont think i will get 7, hence want to attend 4th time, i am from india, would like to have speaking partner before i attend 4th time next month, anyone interested?
Hello Liz. Thanks alot for all you do. It really helps. I had my speaking test today but my nerves were on edge so I really messed up. I stammered alot and had a significant number of pauses. I think I may have a really low fluency score. I was not thinking straight and my sentence structure was tremendously faulty basing on my usual linguistic quality. Anyway, speaking is not really my strong suit, I am more of a writer so I hope my other tests will be much better.
The few qns I remember are:
How far is your home from here?
How interesting is your home area?
How long have you lived there?
Why?
How long should the average person sleep?
Should a child sleep longer than an adult?
Do you think it is necessary to have a short nap during the day?
My part two task was to speak about a popular person I know.
Part three:
Do you think popular people are happy?
Do you think a good teacher should be popular with his students?
What makes children popular at school?
Why is it that some people prefer to lead while others prefer to be led?
Yes, that’s what I remember. My advice to anyone sitting the test in the future is to collect yourself before you answer. Good luck.
Thanks for sharing 🙂 It’s normal to be nervous which is why many students take two tests. Good luck with your results 🙂
Hey Liz, just a quick question…i gave my speaking test and it went pretty well and i spoke with a good fluency i guess..but i think it lasted for 8-9 mins, so will there be any negative marking and shall i get 7-8 band score?
All speaking tests must last between 11 and 14 mins. The examiner can’t change that. So, you probably had a test which was 11 mins in length. It’s fine. The length does not relate to scores.
Hi, Liz!
Many thanks for all your efforts; hope your health is much improved? Prays so!
Yesterday was my ielts speaking (in Abuja, Nigeria) and all the questions were rather familiar; Family; social media and how it’s improved communication. Then cue card was on “a time you were glad you had your mobile phone.” Follow up questions were all related.
Many thanks for your tips, Liz! My LRW are on this Saturday. Hopeful!
Hi Liz,
Thank you for all the information and tips on IELTS! This is by far the best IELTS website I’ve ever come across!
I just did my speaking test this morning. It went very smoothly until the examiner asked me the final question in Part 3, which was ‘What can be done to encourage people to interact with each other?’ I couldn’t think of an answer to the question so I immediately replied ‘This question is quite challenging…’ Then I decided to think about it for a few more seconds. When I was about to say something, the examiner guided me to answer it by saying ‘For example, what could the owner of an apartment block do to encourage people to interact with each other?’ Fortunately, I managed to answer this question quite well.
However, my concern is, would I be marked down because I failed to provide an answer to the question without his help?
The examiner knows the difference between pausing for ideas and pausing for language. If you can’t answer because your English is weak, you will get a lower score. But if you pause for ideas – it’s fine. Even native speakers do this sometimes. It sounds fine to me. Your score will be based on your overall performance – one question and answer will not affect that.
Wow, excellent job! 👍👍👍
I wish I can also have a great score since I will be taking the academic module on January 20th. I don’t have much time left for practising.
same day here may god bless us both.. say your score too.. and all the best..
Hi everyone,
Hope you will be doing great, If any one interested in speaking practice?. I need a partner aiming 7.5 for speaking.
You may contact me on 00923133354272.
M Saqlain
I’ve a small question : I’ve a chance to work in Canada, but requires a total score of 7 academic module. And another opportunity in another work requires a general training score of 6.5. So if I passed the academic exam with the required score but didn’t get the job. Can I apply for the second job that requires general training IELTS?.in other words, does the academic module substitute the general training one?
That is not for me to say. You need to contact the employer who requires the GT test and ask them directly. From my point of view, the academic test is more difficult that the Gt test so it should be used as a substitute but, as I said, that is not my decision.
Many thanks for your help. God bless you
Hi Liz,
I have my IELTS General Training coming up in 2 weeks. But, unfortunately I have picked up some bad speaking habits recently. I often use “Gonna, wanna, kinda, ect”.
Am I going to lose points for using these words? Or it doesn’t matter as long as the gramer is correct?
Gonna and wonna are good to use in the speaking test. The speaking test is informal and gonna is a pronunciation feature which is normal during informal speech. See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-speaking-free-lessons-essential-tips/ and this one: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-speaking-using-contractions-wanna-gonna/
Perfect! One less thing to worry about! Thanks for the useful links.
Dearest Liz,
I had my speaking test today and my questions were:
About job:
what you do,
why you like it,
will you continue it in future
Jewellery: why do we were jewellry,
What kind of jewellery you wear,
did you gift it to someone…
Birthdays: how you celebrate you birthdays,
How you celebrated them when you were a child
Part 2 was about: describe a place or town you visited, why you went there, what you did, what you liked about it
Part 3 was related to city development and stuff
I did fine but part 3 was a bit tough for me. I hope it doesn’t affect my score much. I have my written test on 2nd Dec.
Wish luck pls. And thanks alot for your kind help all the way…❤
Thanks for sharing 🙂 Don’t think about your speaking now. Focus on the next part of your test. See my last minute tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-exam-tips-on-the-day/. Good luck !! 🙂
thanks ma’am:)
hey liz, mam i wanna to ask you how to improve my speaking skills and i am hesitating and take long pause while giving speaking tell me some tips how should i practice at home.
See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-speaking-free-lessons-essential-tips/
I just did my speaking test now.. My question is, I was ask to speak for 2mins but I stop along the line, which am sure I didn’t speak for 2mins. What is my fate ma
It might have an impact on your fluency score but the fluency score is decided on your overall performance so you will need to wait for your results to see if it impacts.
Hi liz
Tomorrow is my exam and I’m don’t have enough vocabulary for every topic. Please help me so that I can score well.
You can score well if your vocabulary is accurate and appropriate. Don’t forget vocabulary is only 25% of your marks.
Hello guys I live in a rural area there is no proper ielts center here I’am unable to go urban area’s for practice i want to learn online can anyone help me to do that i’ll be very thankfull..please..
Hi Liz,
Just started my IELTS preparation and to be honest, your tips are very useful. Hoping to get 7 and above in all 4 sections.
Keep Going Liz, you are doing a great job.
Regards,
Prabhu.S
Good luck!
I have no words to pay regards for this work. May God bless you for this great deed.
Following instruction from this website, I managed to get over all 7 with speaking 6.5.
Now I am struggling and practicing to improve speaking. will be grateful for advice and tricks sharing.
If anyone here want to workout mutually, I will really appreciate. Do contact me on 00923133354272. we can use IMO or whatsapp and skype.
Anyone for available for speaking test, Tomorrow I have speaking test. So, Please send me
invite on skype ravi.mishra2011. I would like to have quick 1-2 hrs practice before my real exam. So pls help. Thank you.
Best Regards,
Ravi Mishra
is it necessary to keep consistency of using a special accent in speaking? this highlights in using different words of both american and british accents, for example, flat in british and apartment in the american accent or other words that differ in each accent. and also,
if i use mixed words from both accents or apply american pronunciation for some words and british for some others, will i lose the mark?
Accents can vary in IELTS speaking.
Dear Noman,
Can you share your writing task 2 strategy please?
Hi Liza my speaking exam tomorrow in Uzbekistan, suggest me some useful speaking topics
It isn’t possible to predict topics but review some of the topics currently reported by students: https://ieltsliz.com/recent-ielts-questions-and-topics/. Good luck! Be chatty and friendly 🙂
Hello, Liz!
Thank You so much for sharing all your tips, materials.
Today I started prepare WT2. Despite of the fact that I will take an IELTS in 3 weeks I was so frightened of it. So, thanks to You and all people who share opinions, they help me to start working!!! But I still have one important problem, I do not have somebody to check whether I write my WT2 in the right way. Are here some forums or smth like or can we share the whole texts here in order to check them?
Thank for replying in advance)
Best wishes
Aidana from Kazakhstan
Definitely avoid forums where you get advise from students. Advise should come from an ex-examiner for writing. You can find a teacher who offers a marking service on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-essay-correction/
Tony helped me a lot. He is great! I would totally recommend him.
Hi LIZ,
I would like to thanks for your wonderful efforts toward IELTS Preparation for Candidates, Would you like to give me some advice to increase my confidence level becoz i had been shortlisted two times for embassy job and passed English Placement test two times. but I could’t prove myself in Interview due to lack of confidence. What will you advice me.
looking forwarded for positive response from your side.
Mohd Shehbaz
What steps have you taken to overcome your confidence? Do you practise none stop answering questions at home on your own? The only way to improve speaking on your own is to speak outloud again and again until it is perfect and you know the answers fluently. Of course it’s not easy in an interview but with practise, your answers should come naturally. Have you tried this? Do you also record your answers at home and listen back to them – this is the only way to develop. See my video on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-speaking-free-lessons-essential-tips/. It is for IELTS but the same principle applies for interviews.
Hi liz
Do we need to express our thoughts all the time in simple, complex and compound sentences in speaking? I scored band 7 but I really don’t understand how to enhance my speaking skills to raise my level to band 8. Please guide. Thanks
Hina
Instead of thinking about sentence structures, start thinking about tenses. Did you offer second conditional answers? Did you show a range of future forms in your answers? Think about the range of tenses you are showing the examiner.
Thanks to all for congratulating!!.
The main idea behind sharing the score and tips is that we can all achieve this with perseverance and hard work. Good luck to all test takers..
Nouman many congratz
wow,congrats!
perfection it is😊..
Thanks Liz and Nauman for sharing.
very useful tips undoubtedly.
Its encouraging and motivating. I am planning to appear in IELTS by 29th April test.
Thanks
Regards.
i have given my test on 18 th march
my result will come on 31st
lets see what will be the result
Good tips and it’s very useful for use. I hope we can pass on our exam too. If he can do that, we can do too
Utterly awesome!!
I think that you are a visual learner.
I appreciate you Liz, your advice is very useful for us, God bless you..
congratulations and thank you for the tips you shared.
Wow great nouman well done
Congratulations on ur great score
Do some one have any online site to practice speaking English for ielts
Do some one have any online site to practice speaking English for ielts
Not at the moment. Sorry. Hopefully in the future 🙂
That would be so great. Especially if you divide it in sections/aim scores/topics, etc. Can’t wait.
A HUGE thanks to you lovely Liz. I really appreciate your kind and wonderful advices and tips. Since I’m self studying for IELTS, I always check your website and learn a lot.
🙏🏻🌺
You’re welcome 🙂
I am so impressive of your Writing skill too
Thanks to Nouman for sharing great ideas.And congratulations for the awesome 9..
I am liz devotee. I admire the way she conducts lessons..her videos are superb.Thanks to Nouman for sharing great ideas.And congratulations for the awesome 9..
I am felling nervousness and scared to speak english .How i can i improve cofidence level for speaking?
* I * is always capital, even in the middle of the sentence.
Liz for sure I believe if you share with this experience to get tested I will pass my exam,I felt so good to find you at this site,I hope you will encourage me with your instructions to learn the tactics for me to face the challenges in the exam,thank you.
Thanks to Nouman for sharing his great tips 🙂
Many Thanks to you Liz, I`m trying to improve my English skills to get a a hight score in this exam.
Thanks for your sharing. …
Congrats!
Would be great if you could share the topic[s].
Thanks!
Thanks Nouman for sharing your invaluable tips. It would be much helpful for Test Takers like us ☺