The Speaking Sub-Test

The Speaking Sub-test takes between 11 and 14 minutes.

The Sub-test consists of an interview with a trained examiner, and is recorded on a tape recorder. However, this recording is made to assess the examiner and not the candidate.

There are 3 parts to the Speaking Sub-test.

Part 1: you answer questions about your home life or family life, work or study, your interests and other familar topics of a general nature to reveal your background. (4-5 minutes)
Part 2: you are given exactly 1 minute to prepare yourself to talk about a particular topic. The instructions to guide your talk are written on a card given to you by the examiner. Your talk should last for 1 -2 minutes. The examiner will ask one or two questions at the end. (3-4 minutes – including preparation time of 1 minute)
Part 3: you have a discussion with the examiner based on themes connected to the topic given in Part 2. This part of the test requires discussion of more abstract ideas. (4-5 minutes)

The interview is then closed and the Speaking Sub-test is completed. Most of the questions asked in the Sub-test are scripted; they come from a bank of questions prepared by the test authorities. These questions are being continually added to and updated.

The Speaking Sub-test Band Score is calculated from a comprehensive checklist of speaking skills in 4 distinct areas of ability:

Fluency and Coherence Lexical Resource

Grammatical Range and Accuracy Pronunciation