Speaking Drills That Actually Move Your Band
Most IELTS advice tells you what's wrong. This page tells you what to do about it: the small set of drills that genuinely raise a speaking score, written so you can start in the next five minutes.
You don't need all of them. Pick the one drill for your weakest area, do it for 5-15 minutes, and repeat it for a few days before adding another. Doing one drill well beats skimming ten.
These drills come from IELTS examiner criteria and teaching research, not from us promising a shortcut. They work because they train the exact things examiners listen for, but only if you do them the way described, including the "avoid this" note on each one.
Fluency & Coherence
Examiners reward speaking at length with content-led pausing, logical progression, and minimal "searching" for words. The fix is almost never more vocabulary. It's removing hesitation.
Shows on your results as: “4-3-2 Retelling”
How to do it
- Pick one IELTS question (Part 2 or Part 3 works best).
- Round 1 (4 min): speak freely, don't stop.
- Round 2 (3 min): same ideas, fewer fillers.
- Round 3 (2 min): same backbone, clean delivery.
⚠️ Avoid this: Don't add new ideas in rounds 2 and 3. Only compress and smooth. Once your ideas are pre-loaded, your brain stops hunting for content and can focus on delivery. That is exactly what separates Band 6 from Band 7+.
Guided version: The written steps above are all you need. Do it with any voice recorder. (A recorder that saves your attempts is available once you sign in.)
We recommend it on your results when: Filler words; Phrase repetition
Shows on your results as: “Signpost + Expand”
Fixes: Messy logic
How to do it
- Take one Part 3 question (e.g. "Why do people move to cities?").
- Answer in four beats, out loud: Answer ("Mainly for work, I'd say"), Reason ("because most industries are concentrated there"), Example ("my cousin moved to the capital for an IT job"), Result ("so cities keep growing").
- Answer the same question again with a different reason and example.
- Repeat on 3-4 questions until the four beats come without planning.
Don't announce the structure ("My answer is... my reason is..."). The examiner should hear natural flow, not labels. The frame is for your brain, not your mouth.
Lexical Resource
Examiners reward flexible vocabulary under pressure, natural collocations, and paraphrasing without obvious repetition, not rare words. Precision beats rarity.
Shows on your results as: “Keyword Constraint Speaking”
How to do it
- Choose 3 targets for your topic: 1 topic noun (e.g. amenities, workload, commuting), 1 high-yield adjective (e.g. bustling, affordable, efficient), and 1 collocation or phrase (e.g. public transport network, cost of living, work-life balance).
- Speak for 60-90 seconds using all three naturally.
- Repeat with a different set of 3 on the same question.
⚠️ Avoid this: If you can't use a target naturally within 20-30 seconds, swap it out. Forced vocabulary sounds unnatural and can lower your score.
Guided version: Self-directed from the steps above.
We recommend it on your results when: Repeated vocabulary; Word repetition
Shows on your results as: “Paraphrase Ladder”
Fixes: Repeating good / important / nice
How to do it
- Catch one overused word from your last answer (good, nice, big, important).
- Build a 3-step ladder out loud: Simple ("the food was good"), Better ("the food was really tasty"), Best ("the food was genuinely memorable").
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Examiners reward a mix of simple and complex sentences with control: complexity that stays accurate, not complexity that constantly breaks.
Shows on your results as: “Clause Extension”
How to do it (Band 7-safe version)
- Answer in 2 sentences only.
- Sentence 1: the direct answer.
- Sentence 2: an extended sentence with one subordinate clause.
- Rotate one connector per day: because (reason), although (contrast), while (comparison), which (added detail), even if (condition).
⚠️ Avoid this: One subordinate clause per extended sentence is enough. Two or more usually adds errors and hurts fluency. Reliable complexity beats ambitious complexity.
Integration tip: Do this during your 4-3-2 retells so grammar and fluency improve together.
Guided version: Self-directed from the steps above.
Shows on your results as: “Error-Pattern Re-Record”
Fixes: Fossilized mistakes
How to do it
- Open your scored report and pick ONE error type only (e.g. missing articles).
- Re-record the SAME answer. Your only job is fixing that one error type. Everything else may stay imperfect.
Pronunciation
Examiners reward intelligibility throughout, plus control of stress, rhythm, intonation, and linking. Not a particular accent.
Shows on your results as: “Shadowing Practice”
How to do it
- Choose a 10-20 second clip with clear speech.
- Listen twice (no speaking).
- Shadow with the transcript 2-3 times, matching stress and intonation.
- Shadow without the transcript 2-3 times.
- Record once and compare. Focus on stress and timing first, not individual sounds.
⚠️ Avoid this: Don't try to sound British or American. Accent doesn't affect your score; clarity, stress, and rhythm do.
Pair it: Flat or unnatural but clear? Add Word Stress Tap. Hard to understand at the sound level? Add Minimal Pairs.
Guided version: Yes: free, runs entirely in your browser. A listen, record, compare drill with 5 model sentences. No sign-in, no scoring, nothing uploaded.
Try the guided shadowing drill →We recommend it on your results when: Speaking pace outside the fluent 120-180 words-per-minute range
Shows on your results as:
The 15-Minute Daily Plan
If you only have 15 minutes, do this. Each block is single-focus, with grammar folded in rather than practiced separately.
| Time | Drill | Primary target | Fold in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | Micro-shadowing (one 10-20s clip, repeated) | Pronunciation | None |
| 5 min | Retell, compressed (speak the same answer shorter each pass) | Fluency & Coherence | Force one clause extension in your longest sentence |
| 5 min | Keyword Constraint (3 structured targets) | Lexical Resource | None |
Is it working? (weekly self-check)
Track one metric per criterion each week. Progress you can see keeps you going:
| Criterion | Metric | How to track |
|---|---|---|
| Fluency | Long pauses (>2s) in 60 seconds | Count while reviewing a recording |
| Lexical |
What NOT to Practice (these can lower your score)
Some popular "tips" actively cost points. Skip these:
| Don't | Why |
|---|---|
| Force idioms into every answer | A misused idiom hurts more than no idiom. Use them only when they come naturally. |
| Over-paraphrase (swap words for the sake of it) | Past a point it introduces errors and sounds unnatural. |
| Memorize scripted answers | Examiners are trained to detect memorized responses and will cap your band. |
| Memorize "advanced" vocabulary lists | Using words you don't fully control lowers your score. Precision beats rarity. |
| Drill "advanced grammar" theory | Grammar you can't produce in real time doesn't transfer to speech. |
| Imitate a British/American accent | Accent is not scored. Clarity and rhythm are. |
Now you know what to practice. The fastest way to know where you're weakest is to get a real assessment of your speaking.
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