Are you marked down in IELTS Speaking part 2 for speaking less than 2 minutes? In speaking part 2, you will be given a topic, 1 min to prepare and then you will need to speak for between 1-2 mins. The examiner will not move on to part 3 until 1 minute has passed of your talk and the examiner will stop you at exactly 2 minutes to prevent you speaking further. So, this means you have between 1 and 2 minutes available to you for your talk.
Do you need to speak for 2 mins in IELTS Speaking Part 2?
Speaking part 2 is the only part of the test where you can show the examiner that you can speak at length. Speaking at length is important for people aiming for band score 7 and above. So, part 2 is a great chance to show this skill and impress the examiner with fluency. Speaking at length is actually part of the Fluency marking criterion. Aiming for 2 minutes should be your aim.
However, your talk should also avoid hesitations and pauses. Both of these things can impact your score.
Length of Talk for IELTS Speaking Part 2: Useful Tips
Here are some more points to consider:
- It is better to give a strong, fluent talk for 1.5 minutes than a weak, hesitant talk for 2 mins.
- If you can speak for 1.5 mins without hesitations and pauses, this will be better than speaking for 2 mins with lots of hesitations and pauses.
- You can still get a high score if you only speak for 1.5 minutes but only if the quality of your talk is very good. This means natural, fluent speaking with great use of language.
- The marking criterion of Fluency accounts for 25% of your marks and is taken from your overall performance in all parts not only in part 2.
- This means if your talk doesn’t go well, you can still showcase your fluency in part 3.
- If you wish to lengthen your talk, then add more information. The prompts (the points on the topic card) are only guidelines – you can and should expand on each one.
- Aiming for 2 minutes is ideal.
- You must practice before your test what 2 minutes feels like so that you know how much to add. But don’t worry the examiner will stop you at 2 mins.
- The examiner controls the time in the speaking test. Don’t worry about timing. The examiner will interrupt you when it’s time for the next part or the next question.
- Speaking for 1 minute is not ideal because it doesn’t show the examiner your fluency skills.
- Don’t expect the examiner to be smiling and positive. Sometimes the examiners are tired so be ready for different body language and don’t let it affect your performance in your test.
