IELTS Speaking mock test with an AI examiner

How the mock test works

The mock follows the order of the real IELTS Speaking test and the way examiners behave. Your examiner is Victor: one question per turn, no corrections, no praise, no teaching. If an answer is too short, he follows up.

1. Part 1 — introduction and interview (about 3.5 minutes). The examiner introduces himself, asks your name, then asks about three everyday topics, one question at a time.
2. Part 2 — preparation (one minute). A cue card appears on screen with a topic and four prompts. The microphone is locked while a one-minute countdown runs; you can make notes on paper, or press "I'm ready" to start early.
3. Part 2 — long turn (up to two minutes). You talk about the card; the examiner stays silent, then asks one short rounding-off question.
4. Part 3 — discussion (until the 10-minute mark). A two-way conversation with more abstract questions linked to your cue card topic. This is the part that separates Band 6 from Band 7.

The mock takes about ten minutes — a condensed version of the real test's 11 to 14. The order of the parts and the examiner's manner are the same as on test day.

All you need is a microphone and a quiet room. In the browser (computer or phone) you hold the button or the space bar while you speak; the same test is in the iPhone app. Nothing to install.

What the band report tells you

When the test ends, each of the four official IELTS criteria gets an estimated score in half-band steps, with concrete observations taken from your answers:

• Fluency and Coherence: whether you keep talking without long pauses, link your ideas and extend your answers.
• Lexical Resource: the range and precision of your vocabulary, and whether you can talk around a word you do not know.
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy: the variety of structures you use and how often errors get in the way of meaning.
• Pronunciation: intelligibility, stress and how you group words — estimated from the transcript of what you said.

The overall band is the average of the four, rounded the way IELTS does it: for example, criterion scores of 6, 6, 6.5 and 6.5 average 6.25, which becomes an overall 6.5.

The report also lists phrases you used well, phrases to improve (each with a better version) and a short overall assessment.

How accurate is the band?

The honest answer: it is an estimate, not an official score. TalkSmart is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge; only the official test gives you your real band.

Pronunciation is the least reliable of the four, because it is judged from a transcript of your speech rather than the sound itself. The marking is deliberately strict: short, simple, error-prone answers do not get a high band — an inflated score would make the practice worthless.

The best way to use it: compare yourself over time and find the criterion that is holding you back. Read the observations under each criterion more than the single number; they tell you what to change.

A four-week plan around the mock

1. Week 1 — your starting point: take one mock and note your lowest criterion. Every day, spend ten minutes answering a few Part 1 questions out loud: answer, reason, a small example.
2. Week 2 — Part 2: pick one of the cue card topics each day, prepare for one minute and speak against a two-minute timer. The goal is not to stop before the time is up.
3. Week 3 — Part 3: practise answering abstract questions with "opinion, reason, example, other view". Band 7 is won here more than anywhere else.
4. Week 4 — measure again: take a second mock and compare the four criteria with the first one. The criterion that is still behind is next month's focus.

For the whole test and the band descriptors in detail, see the IELTS Speaking guide.

Price and access

Every free account has one free speaking session, and it can be used for the IELTS mock test. After that, IELTS mode is part of the Pro plan: Pro includes 33 speaking sessions a month and has a 3-day free trial, started in the iPhone app. The Starter plan does not include IELTS mode.

Plans are bought only in the iPhone app through the App Store; there is no payment on the web. There is no Android app — on an Android phone you can take the mock in the browser with the same account.

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Frequently asked questions