What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 9 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Anuradha from Malaysia talks about ‘Famous people’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 9:
This test taker speaks fluently, with only rare repetition or self-correction. Any hesitation is not to search for language but to think of ideas. Her speech is coherent, with fully appropriate cohesive features (if you’re talking about; other than that; I think it’s more; as you can see).
She uses vocabulary with full flexibility and precision in all topics with a wide range of idiomatic language (have a tendency; be exposed to; the world is becoming more globalised; the norm; strikes a chord; communication tool; actors that sponsor; materialistically; cool gadgets; grasp of people’s mindset).
Her grammatical structures are precise and accurate at all times. She uses a full and natural range of structures and sentence types and makes no noticeable errors.
She uses a full range of phonological features with precision and subtlety. The rhythm of her language is sustained throughout and stress and intonation are invariably used to good effect. This and her very clear production of individual words and sounds result in her being effortless to understand.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 8.5 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Kenn from Singapore talks about ‘Famous people’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 8.5:
This test taker speaks fluently for most of the time and develops topics coherently and appropriately, with only slight content-related hesitations as he engages with the topics.
His vocabulary is precise and sophisticated throughout this part of the test (prominent businessmen; emulate; a growing number of television celebrities; to promote charitable causes; endorsing a cause; negative repercussions; conscious of body image; susceptible to; prevalent).
He uses a wide range of grammatical structures naturally and accurately, with no noticeable error. He also uses a full range of pronunciation features to convey precise and subtle meaning such as emphatic stress (one example that comes to mind is celebrities) and contrastive stress (it’s not necessarily for causes … it’s also for celebrity behaviours). He sustains this flexible use of features of connected speech throughout and is effortless to understand.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 8 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Khush from India talks about ‘Famous people’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 8:
This test taker speaks fluently and is able to give quite long and detailed responses without any loss of coherence. Hesitation is usually content-related and only occasionally to search for language.
She uses fillers (you know; I mean) to cover this. Linking words and markers are used very naturally (that’s not the case; I’m fine with that).
Her vocabulary resource is wide and it allows her to talk about a range of topics with some flexibility and precision.
There are plenty of examples of stylistically appropriate language (political pressure; into corruption; today’s world; offensive; promote the product; a money-making business) with only occasional inaccuracies (do a meeting; in a right/wrong manner).
She uses a wide range of structures with a high level of accuracy. She makes only occasional minor errors. She uses pronunciation well to reinforce meaning, with rhythm, stress and intonation all used appropriately (at times I do like). There are only occasional lapses in word stress and in the formation of ‘th’.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 8 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Kopi from Botswana talks about ‘Famous people’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 8:
This candidate speaks fluently but rather slowly, with occasional hesitation as he engages with the topics. He is able to give quite complex and detailed responses without any loss of coherence, drawing on a range of markers to introduce his ideas (in that way; in some way; we have a situation in our country; in that regards; in every respect).
He skilfully uses his wide vocabulary in a sophisticated way to express himself precisely and accurately (reaching out through music; I wouldn’t put it past them; significant level; growing trend; a ripple effect), although there are a few inappropriate word forms and choices (old generation instead of ‘older generation’; have a long way instead of ‘have a long way to go’; a step back instead of ‘a backward step’).
He uses a full range of sentence forms and grammatical structures naturally, accurately and appropriately.
The test taker is easy to understand throughout the test, in spite of a slight accent. Occasional misplaced stress and vowel formation (misicians for ‘musicians’; Bread Pitt for Brad Pitt) only minimally affect intelligibility.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 7.5 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Aashish from Nepal talks about ‘Work, friends, food and cooking’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 7.5:
This test taker speaks fluently and he engages with the questions without any obvious effort. There is only occasional hesitation, repetition and self-correction, which is mostly content-related and only rarely to search for language.
His relaxed delivery is supported by his flexible use of markers (I am both; basically; as well as; every now and then; that would be French).
His vocabulary is sufficient for him to engage with a variety of topics and he demonstrates an ability to use idioms and collocations with some sense of style and skill. However, he makes a number of inappropriate vocabulary choices (all over the place; that’s not just my cup of tea; someone to confront and talk to; I haven’t got a chance), which restrict his rating on this criterion.
He has a wide range of grammatical structures at his disposal and the majority of sentences are error-free. Even when errors do very occasionally occur (I work part-time as well as a student; it just does not come into me), they do not detract at all from meaning.
He uses a wide range of pronunciation features and is able to use stress and intonation effectively. There are just a few lapses and very occasionally sounds are poorly formed (bot for ‘both’; vent for ‘went’), but overall, his accent has only minimal effect on intelligibility.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 7 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Hendrik from Germany talks about ‘Famous people’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 7:
This candidate can maintain the flow of speech without noticeable effort and there is no loss of coherence. He uses a variety of linking words and markers (I would say; that’s a good question; as I said; as long as), but he overuses the filler (yeah) and sometimes referencing is inaccurate (for the one or the other reasons).
He uses a wide range of vocabulary, including some less common and idiomatic items and effective collocation (easy to blame; global warming; financial crisis; he stands for something; can’t stand the pressure). However, sometimes he lacks precision in his choice of words and expressions (Greek instead of ‘Greece’; on the other side of the lake; environmentally people/things; a big branch).
His grammar displays a good range of both simple and complex structures. Many of his sentences are error-free but he makes some mistakes in subject/verb agreement (people who wants; the people who admires him), articles (the normal person) and relative pronouns (everything what happens).
His pronunciation is clear and easy to follow. He uses both sentence stress and intonation effectively to convey meaning (you can’t blame a soccer player but it’s easy to blame the politicians). He does have a noticeable accent, however, and his mispronunciation of a few words results in occasional loss of clarity (wole model for ‘role model’; wong for ‘wrong’; serf the planet for ‘serve the planet’).
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 7 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Alexandra from Colombia talks about ‘Famous people’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 7:
The test taker speaks quite fluently and gives appropriate and extended responses. She makes good use of a range of markers and linking words (first; actually; I think so; for example; in a lot of ways; that’s why). There is some hesitation, but it is mainly content-related as she seeks to clarify her ideas before expressing them. Coherence is not affected by these slight pauses.
Vocabulary is a strong feature of her performance and she uses a wide range, including some less common, idiomatic and colloquial items (lose your privacy; selling their soul to the devil; getting dumped; it depends on the target; we need a rest from the serious stuff). However, there are also a few examples of error and inappropriate word use (a small news; end of the relax evening; free dresses).
Her grammar displays a good range of both simple and complex structures that are used flexibly and a number of her sentences are error-free. However, there are some noticeable errors in areas such as articles, prepositions, subject/verb agreement and verb tense (if someone recognise you; if people follows; you will like them fail; it won’t be happen like this).
Although she has a noticeable accent, her pronunciation is generally clear and easy to follow. Stress and intonation are used well to enhance meaning (You don’t have to pay for a lot of stuff. They will give free dresses and free stays in the hotels). She has a tendency to use syllable-timing, which prevents her sustaining appropriate rhythm over longer utterances. She also has occasional problems with sounds (jung for ‘young’), but this has only minimal effect on intelligibility.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 6 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Stephen from China talks about ‘Hobbies’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 6:
This test taker is willing to speak at length but there are moments when coherence is lost as a result of repetition, self-correction and hesitation and he is unable to answer the question about why people need a hobby. He is able to use a variety of markers to link his ideas (first of all; I guess; like; it depends; at least; so), although these are not always used appropriately. Limitations in his performance are evident when he falls back on fillers such as how to say; how do you say.
He has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length (China opening up to the world; cut down the working shifts; more work opportunities), but while he uses some natural colloquial expressions (some other guys; that’s sweet), there are also some collocation errors (broaden your friendship; kill the spare time; in the past times; make more troubles). These rarely cause comprehension problems.
He produces a mix of short and complex sentence forms with a variety of grammatical structures. However, overall his grammatical control is variable and errors recur (you are make trouble to the society; people like spend; in the past …people work more … there is a period; may go travel round; we have also get), although these do not impede communication.
His pronunciation is generally clear and he divides the flow of his speech into meaningful word groups with good use of stress and intonation (normally we work eight hours a day, five days a week – that’s forty hours in total). Generally he can be understood, but occasionally some words are hard to catch because of mispronunciation of sounds (bose for ‘both’; yoursels for ‘yourself’; cupper years for ‘couple of years’; zen for ‘then’; word for ‘world’).
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 6 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Xin from China talks about ‘Famous people’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 6:
This candidate is able to give extended responses. He uses a range of markers (you mean; you know; it’s really a hard question; in this way) and other cohesive features, such as referencing, but he uses only a narrow range of linking words (so; because). He repeats himself quite a lot and self-corrects, but coherence is only occasionally threatened.
He has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length and his ideas and opinions are quite clearly conveyed (change the world; focus on the real things; use reputation to gain a lot of profit). Vocabulary is sometimes inappropriate but meaning can be worked out from the context (have a silence instead of ‘have privacy’; signature instead of ‘autograph’; act well instead of ‘behave well’).
He produces a mix of simple and complex structures though his attempts at longer, more complex sentence forms tend to contain errors. Mistakes in verb tenses, subject/verb agreement and prepositions are quite frequent, but these do not impede communication.
His pronunciation is generally clear and there is some effective use of stress and intonation. However, his speech is mainly syllable-timed, so his rhythm is rather mechanical. Some words are mispronounced (uerally for ‘usually’) or are wrongly stressed (profit). This reduces clarity at times, but understanding generally requires little effort.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 6 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Gabriel from Brazil talks about ‘Hobbies’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 6:
This test taker is able to keep going and produce answers of sufficient length, but his performance is characterised by hesitation, repetition and self-correction. This limits his fluency and causes some loss of coherence but, overall, he is not hard to follow as he uses linking words and markers quite effectively (first; because; for example).
His vocabulary is wide enough to deal with the topics at some length (way to escape; driving over the limit; day-today activities; you need to pay your bills), but there is a lack of flexibility. In spite of some inaccurate word choices and expressions, he is generally able to express his ideas and opinions sufficiently, if not very effectively (they need to be pleasure; forget what’s bad; we need to have other thing to be relax).
He produces a mix of short and complex sentence forms and a variety of structures, but with limited flexibility. Errors occur with word order, articles, redundant subject pronouns or subject omission, but these do not impede communication (they need always have something to do; is something that you don’t do always; if you spend too much time doing hobby there’s something wrong; if you are doing a lot of hobby; if you do always everything).
The test taker uses a range of pronunciation features but with mixed control. Rhythm is sometimes affected by his hesitation and some lapses into syllable-timing. Not all sounds are well articulated and he occasionally omits syllables (activit(ie)s).
Although these negative features reduce clarity at times, he can generally be understood throughout.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 6 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Li from China talks about ‘Hobbies’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 6:
This test taker is able to keep going and is willing to give long answers, but coherence is occasionally lost through hesitation while she searches for words and ideas.
She uses a good range of connecting words and markers (actually; in this way; I think the most important reason; as an example; as we know). Vocabulary is the strongest feature of her performance. She is able to discuss topics at length and demonstrates some awareness of style and collocation (contemporary society; casual activities; temporarily forget; a moment just for yourself; time and resources). While she does make errors, these do not interfere with communication (for your healthy).
Her grammatical control is less strong, although she does produce some complex structures, such as subordinate clauses, accurately. Her control of verb tenses is variable and she has recurring difficulty with subject/verb agreement (you shouldn’t to be too addict; they’re too focusing on; he need to). Despite these errors, her meaning is usually clear.
She uses a range of pronunciation features but with variable control. Her rhythm is at times affected by syllable-timing but stress and intonation are used to some good effect (our life is not just for working – we should enjoy our lives as well). Some individual words and sounds are mispronounced, particularly ‘th’, but this has no significant impact on intelligibility and she can generally be understood without effort.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 5.5 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Balwinder from India talks about ‘Famous people’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 5.5:
This test taker is willing to speak at length but he loses coherence at times owing to repetition and self-correction, e.g. when comparing famous people in the present and in the past. He uses a range of markers, linking words and phrases (hopefully; like; actually; if we can talk about; as well; that’s why), but not always appropriately. Coherence is also affected by problems with word order.
Although he has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length, he often confuses word classes (give you famous instead of ‘give you fame’; doing social workers instead of ‘doing social work’). Despite this, his meaning usually comes through.
The grammatical aspect of his performance is affected by poor control of word order, which sometimes causes comprehension problems. He uses both simple and complex sentence forms but structures frequently contain error (it’s depend; there will always be welcome of you; this is one reason can be).
He can produce some acceptable features of pronunciation but overall rhythm is affected by his rapid speech rate. Intonation is generally too flat, apart from rising pitch at the end of sentences, which is not always helpful. This, combined with phonemic problems (vork for ‘work’; vell for ‘well’; evryting for ‘everything’), makes some patches of speech hard to follow.
What speaking ability does a score of IELTS Band 5.5 represent?
Watch this Speaking test sample, where Ali from Saudi Arabia talks about ‘Famous people’. Here’s why this performance was given a Band 5.5:
This test taker is willing to speak at length but his speech is not always coherent. He uses a variety of linking words and markers (it’s possible that; while; especially;) but maybe is overused.
He uses a range of vocabulary, including a few less common items, with some awareness of collocation (internet website; a specific group; local society; easy come, easy go).
His meaning is usually clear despite some inappropriate vocabulary use (they are interesting about; the another people) and he is able to paraphrase (touch the feeling of the people).
Grammar is his weakest feature. Basic sentence forms are fairly well controlled for accuracy and he produces some complex structures, but errors in areas such as articles, pronouns and verb tenses are frequent and sometimes impede communication (people whose they can; know them since when we were a child; everybody will forgot them; read it only which is enjoyable to them).
He uses a range of pronunciation features. He uses pausing quite effectively to break up the flow of speech into word groups and there are some good examples of the use of intonation and both emphatic and contrastive stress (sports stars or maybe movie stars; the young ones; create or produce). However, there are a few problems with syllable stress (colleagues; interesting), and some sounds are poorly formed, with a redundant ‘s’ added to the end of some words (buts; in the futures). Generally, he can be understood without much effort.
