What do examiners look for in IELTS speaking?

IELTS examiners are not testing your intelligence, facts, or personality. What examiners look for in IELTS speaking is strictly based on four equally-weighted criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. As a verified Band 9 scorer, I can assure you they want to hear a natural flow of ideas, precise collocations (word partnerships), a mix of simple and complex sentences, and speech that is effortless to understand. They listen for how well you recover from slips, not if you speak perfectly. You don’t need a British or American accent, just clear articulation. To understand exactly how your current speech aligns with these criteria, record your answers in the SpeakPrac app for instant, data-driven AI feedback.