IELTS Speaking test duration is around 11 to 14 minutes. Candidates have a face-to-face interview with a certified IELTS examiner to check the candidate’s ability to speak English fluently. The test consists of three parts: Part 1, where candidates have to answer general questions about familiar topics like their work or hobbies; Part 2, where they have to speak for one to two minutes on a given topic after a one-minute preparation period; and Part 3, in which they have a two-way discussion with the examiner on more abstract issues related to the Part 2 topic. The entire IELTS  test is recorded for quality control and potential review. 

IELTS Speaking Questions 2025 Speaking Test Format

The IELTS speaking test evaluates the candidate’s speaking ability in the language. The examiner will see how well the candidate expresses their opinions and communicates information related to daily life. It will last up to 11 to 14 minutes and is divided into three parts, which are as follows. 

• Part 1: In this part, the examiner will first introduce themselves and then ask the candidate to introduce themselves to confirm their identity. He/She will ask general questions to make the candidate comfortable. The time limit will be 4 to 5 minutes for this part. So, to answer the IELTS speaking part 1 questions correctly, the candidate should prepare everything in advance.
• Part 2: This will be a cue card round, in which the candidate will be given a small card with a question that they need to answer. They will get 1 minute to prepare and have to speak for 1 to 2 minutes on the given topic.
• Part 3: It is a round where the examiner will ask follow-up questions and have a deeper discussion about the second task. The time limit for this part will be 4 to 5 minutes.

IELTS Speaking Questions 2025 Common IELTS Speaking Topics

The common topics for the IELTS speaking test are personal life, technology, environment, education, culture, and health. Candidates should practice daily on these topics to perform their best in the speaking test. Reading newspapers, articles, and blogs will help them to prepare for the test.   

1. Personal information – Introduce yourself (name, occupation, where you’re from), talk about your family, and describe your hometown.

2. Hobbies and interests – Discuss your favorite leisure activities, talk about sports you enjoy or follow, and share your hobbies and why you like them.

3. Education and work – Describe your current or past studies, talk about your job or future career plans, discuss your favourite subjects and why you like them

4. Travel and tourism – Describe a memorable trip you’ve taken, talk about a place you would like to visit and why, discuss the importance of travel and its benefits

5. Technology and media – Talk about your favourite websites or apps, discuss the influence of social media, and share your opinion on the advantages and disadvantages of technology

IELTS Speaking Questions 2025 Speaking Test Scoring

The speaking test is evaluated on these four criteria, each equally weighted:

• Fluency & Coherence– Fluency refers to the ability to get ideas across rationally, and coherence refers to the extent to which others can understand your ideas. To get a Band 9 score in the Fluency and Coherence category, the candidate should be able to speak continuously without stopping to remember words or grammar.

• Lexical Resource – Candidates should tend to speak with an expansive, varied vocabulary. Note that both the appropriateness and accuracy of your vocabulary choices are considered here, so the candidate must be sure to choose the correct word for both its meaning AND the context in which it appears.

• Grammatical Range – Grammar will also be considered as part of the IELTS speaking score. To do the best in this category, candidates should be familiar with as many IELTS speaking topics as they can, so they can focus more on the grammar. Avoiding mistakes will not be enough to get a high score in this area. The candidate’s goal should be to show off their grammatical knowledge while appearing comfortable using a variety of sentence constructions and verb tenses.

• Pronunciation – Last but not least, examiners will score your pronunciation. Those with the highest scores in this category will pronounce words well enough for native speakers to understand them perfectly at all times. Pronunciation problems, which limit your ability to be understood when speaking, will reduce your score.

Conclusion

The IELTS Speaking test is designed to evaluate how confidently and accurately you can communicate in English. With three structured parts – covering personal questions, a cue card task, and a deeper discussion – the test checks fluency, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Preparing with common topics like hobbies, work, travel, technology, and education can help you perform better. By practicing regularly and focusing on clear, natural expression, candidates can boost their confidence and aim for a higher band score.