How a one-to-one IELTS Speaking session with Mike works
Mike holds the Cambridge CELTA and teaches from Hanoi. He teaches every session himself, live on Google Meet and in English, and in his own IELTS test he scored 7.5 overall and 8.5 in Speaking. See About Mike and IELTS Speaking coaching for more.
A regular session is 60 minutes; a paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking. Mike runs the three parts in their real order and to time, gives feedback while your answers are fresh, and spends the remaining time on whichever of the four criteria below is holding you back. Sessions can be recorded on request, with written progress notes in your account afterwards.
This is practice with a teacher, not an IELTS test. No band is promised: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions.
Lessons and terms at a glance
| Term | What applies for students in the UAE |
|---|---|
| Teacher | Mike, who holds the Cambridge CELTA (July 2017) and teaches from Hanoi, Vietnam. He teaches every session himself. |
| Format | One-to-one, live on Google Meet, in English. Online only: no classroom, centre or group class in the UAE. |
| What a Speaking lesson covers | Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format, or a timed mock interview in the real order. It is practice with a teacher, not an IELTS test. |
| Lesson length | A regular lesson is 60 minutes. A paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking. |
| Commitment | No subscription and no package to commit to. |
| Changing a booking | Reschedule at no charge up to 12 hours before the slot. Cancellations inside 12 hours are not refunded. |
| Regional price tier | The UAE is in the higher tier, which is above the Vietnam price. Your price shows in your own currency on the booking page before you pay. |
| Payment | PayPal (cards work through PayPal guest checkout) or USDT. Both are charged as a US-dollar amount, and the exact figure is shown at checkout. |
| Feedback and notes | Feedback comes during the lesson. Lessons can be recorded on request, and written progress notes appear in your account afterwards. |
| Outcome | No band, result or timeline is promised. |
| The IELTS test | Booked separately with a test provider (IDP or the British Council). Band Booster does not register you or set test fees. |
IELTS Speaking test format: three parts, about 11 to 14 minutes
According to ielts.org, the Speaking test has three parts and takes 11 to 14 minutes. It describes a recorded interview between the test taker and an examiner, and says the Speaking test is the same in IELTS Academic and General Training.
| Part | Time, per ielts.org | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1, introduction and interview | 4 to 5 minutes | General questions about yourself and familiar topics such as home, family, work, studies and interests. |
| Part 2, long turn | 3 to 4 minutes, including preparation | You get a task card and one minute to prepare, then speak for up to two minutes. One or two questions may follow. |
| Part 3, discussion | 4 to 5 minutes | More general and abstract questions linked to the Part 2 topic. |
Sources, read in October 2026: the ielts.org format pages for Academic and General Training and its Guide for Test Takers (PDF). Check them again before your test date.
How the Speaking test is arranged in the UAE
In the UAE, Speaking is a live interview with an examiner. The pages word the delivery and the timing differently, and video call appears on ielts.org and the British Council's UAE site but not on the IDP UAE pages read here, so your booking confirmation decides. Here is what each says, read in October 2026.
- ielts.org: the Guide for Test Takers says Speaking is face to face or via video call, on the same day as the other sections or up to a week before or after. Its other pages differ: the ways to take IELTS page describes a face-to-face session with a trained examiner for IELTS on computer at a test centre and an online video call only for IELTS Online, and its Academic and General Training Speaking pages describe a face-to-face interview without mentioning a video call.
- British Council UAE: some of its test centres deliver Speaking by video call, taken at the centre with the same content, scoring and timing as in person. It names no centres; for details it points to information@ae.britishcouncil.org. It also says you may need to book Speaking on a different day, depending on the centre.
- IDP UAE: its computer-test and Speaking preparation pages describe a face-to-face interview, with only Listening, Reading and Writing on a computer. On timing, IDP states both: Speaking is completed just before or just after the other three parts, and in some centres you sit it on the same day or up to 7 days before or after your test date.
- Recording and ID: both providers say Speaking is recorded, and IDP UAE says ID is checked before the interview room and again during the interview.
- Length: ielts.org and IDP say 11 to 14 minutes; the British Council's UAE pages give 10 to 14 (Academic) and 10 to 15 (General Training).
So do not assume "always the same day" or "always another day". IELTS Online (Academic only) is a separate route: ielts.org's guide says its Speaking is an online video call, and the UAE provider pages read here do not say whether UAE test takers can book it, so ask the provider.
Your booking confirmation is what applies to you. Band Booster is not an IELTS test centre and cannot say how Speaking will be held at yours; ask your test provider. The UAE tutor page covers where to book, computer-delivered IELTS and where to check test fees. This page quotes no fee or date.
Time difference: the UAE is 3 hours behind Hanoi
The IANA time zone database (a raw data file) puts the UAE (Asia/Dubai) on UTC+4 and Vietnam (Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh) on UTC+7, and neither has a daylight saving rule. The 3-hour gap is arithmetic from those two offsets and does not change through the year: 18:00 in Hanoi is 15:00 in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah.
The calendar on the booking page shows each slot in your own time zone. A conversion table and the booking steps are on the UAE tutor page.
The four Speaking criteria in plain words
The Speaking band descriptors on ielts.org (PDF) score four criteria. A candidate must fully fit a band's positive features and is rated on average performance across the test; the PDF says to visit ielts.org for updates.
| Criterion | What it looks at |
|---|---|
| Fluency and coherence | Whether you keep going and link ideas clearly, and what hesitation, repetition and self-correction do to that. |
| Lexical resource | The range and precision of your vocabulary, including paraphrasing when a word will not come. |
| Grammatical range and accuracy | How varied your structures are and how often errors appear. |
| Pronunciation | How easily a listener can follow you: rhythm, stress, intonation and individual sounds. |
The table is a plain-words reading, not an official explanation. One detail is easy to miss: the descriptors give band 7 Pronunciation no wording of its own, only band 6's positive features plus some, not all, of band 8's. For the band-by-band comparison, see IELTS Speaking: band 6 to 7 and band 8.
IELTS Speaking practice online: sample tasks, tools and a mock interview
Online practice options: published sample tasks, this site's tools, and a timed practice interview with a teacher.
Sample tasks and practice tools
- ielts.org's Speaking Sample Tasks (PDF) cover Parts 1, 2 and 3, with Recording and Transcript sections.
- IDP UAE's Speaking practice questions page has sample tasks for each part, each with a prompt, a recording and a transcript.
- On this site: the Part 2 cue card themes, the Part 1 and Part 3 topics and the Speaking Part 2 timer.
One caution: ielts.org's IELTS Trial Test is offered for Listening, Reading and Writing, and ielts.org does not list Speaking among them, so do not rely on it for Speaking.
IELTS Speaking mock test online: a practice interview, not an IELTS test
A session with Mike can run as a timed mock interview in the real order: Part 1, Part 2 with the one-minute preparation, then Part 3. He gives feedback during the session and can record it on request. It gives no IELTS result and no predicted band.
How to improve IELTS Speaking: where to start
General teaching advice, not guidance from ielts.org, IDP or the British Council:
- Record one answer from each part, listen back, and mark where you stopped, restarted or reached for a word.
- Part 1: a direct answer, a reason and a detail. Part 3: a position, a reason and an example.
- Part 2: use the minute for a few keywords, not full sentences, and practise to a timer.
For what changes between bands, read improving IELTS Speaking from band 6 to 7; how long it takes to raise your band explains why no fixed figure is given. No band or timeline is promised.
Who one-to-one Speaking sessions suit, and who they do not
They may suit you if you want to practise aloud with a live person in the real order of the test, hear feedback straight away, and keep the same teacher each time.
They are probably not the right fit if:
- You need a teacher in the room. Lessons are online only; there is no classroom, centre or office in the UAE.
- You want a class or a fixed weekly timetable. There are no group classes, and open slots depend on Mike's calendar.
- You want lessons in Arabic. Sessions are taught in English, though the website interface is also available in Arabic.
- You want a promised band or a predicted score. None is promised.
- You cannot open Google Meet from where you are.
Mike also coaches Listening, Reading and Writing; the online IELTS tutor page for the UAE explains how regional pricing and booking work. Questions first? Email mkcenter007@gmail.com or message Mike on WhatsApp, Telegram or Zalo at +84 383 390 963 (a Vietnam number).