How a one-to-one Speaking session with Mike works
This page covers Speaking only. Pricing and booking steps for Japan are on the online IELTS tutor page for Japan; the general Speaking description is on IELTS Speaking coaching (its prices are for Vietnam).
Mike teaches every session himself, live on Google Meet and in English. He holds the Cambridge CELTA, is based in Hanoi, and scored 7.5 overall and 8.5 in Speaking in his own IELTS test (About Mike). A Speaking session can include the three parts in the real test format (Part 2 with a cue card and one minute of preparation), feedback during the session rather than days later, and, because it is one-to-one, time on whichever of the four criteria below holds you back. A recording is available on request, and written progress notes go into your account afterwards.
This is practice with a teacher, not an IELTS test, and it gives no IELTS result. No band is promised: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions.
The IELTS Speaking test format: three parts, 11 to 14 minutes
ielts.org describes Speaking as three parts totalling 11 to 14 minutes, and says the test is recorded. Its sample questions page says the Speaking test is the same for IELTS Academic and General Training (see Academic or General Training). The table summarises its Speaking format page.
| Part | What happens | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | After the examiner introduces themselves and checks your identity, questions on familiar topics such as home, family, work, studies or interests. | 4 to 5 minutes |
| Part 2 | The individual long turn: a task card, then one minute to prepare with pencil and paper for notes. You talk until the examiner stops you (the page advises structuring the talk to keep going for 2 minutes), and one or two questions on the same topic may follow. | 3 to 4 minutes, including preparation |
| Part 3 | A discussion of issues linked to the Part 2 topic, in a more general and abstract way. | 4 to 5 minutes |
Between sessions, use the Part 2 cue cards, the Part 1 and Part 3 topic themes and the Part 2 timer.
The four Speaking criteria in plain words
ielts.org's scoring page says Speaking is marked on four criteria with equal weighting, and the average gives the Speaking score. In plain words:
| Criterion | In plain words |
|---|---|
| Fluency and coherence | Whether you keep going and your ideas hang together. |
| Lexical resource | The range and precision of your vocabulary, and how well you paraphrase. |
| Grammatical range and accuracy | How varied your sentences are, and how often errors appear. |
| Pronunciation | How easy you are to follow, including rhythm, stress and intonation. |
The public Speaking band descriptors (PDF) set out each criterion band by band, so read the PDF for the exact wording. Its notes say that a candidate must fully fit the positive features of a band and is rated on average performance across all parts of the test. If you wonder whether an accent costs marks, the Japan tutor page sets out what JSAF-IELTS's English FAQ says about accent and pronunciation.
IELTS Speaking mock test online with a teacher
A session can run as a practice interview in the three-part format, with feedback during the session and a recording on request. It is a rehearsal with a teacher, not an IELTS test.
How to improve IELTS Speaking: one criterion at a time
These are general teaching ideas, not IELTS rules or promises:
- Find the criterion that costs you most. The four are marked separately, so "my Speaking is weak" is too vague to practise. To find it, record one of your answers and read it against the public band descriptors and the key assessment criteria (PDFs), or ask a teacher to listen with those criteria in mind.
- Practise aloud and to time, with the cue cards and the timer.
- Listen back to yourself. Repetition, self-correction and hesitation are named in the fluency descriptors, and a recording can make them easier to notice.
For what changes from one band to the next, see improving IELTS Speaking from band 6 to band 7.
Speaking practice material from the test providers
- ielts.org has a Speaking sample tasks PDF with sample tasks for all three parts, a transcript for each part and links to audio recordings. Its IELTS Trial Test page names Listening, Reading and Writing and does not mention Speaking, so do not count on it as Speaking preparation.
- The British Council's Japan site has test tips videos for each Speaking criterion, and IDP's Japan site has a Speaking preparation page in Japanese with sample videos for Parts 1 to 3.
How the Speaking test is arranged in Japan
This section was read in October 2026 on ielts.org and provider pages for Japan, some in Japanese. They do not all describe Speaking in the same way. You book the test with a provider, not Band Booster, and this page states no fee or test date.
The providers below are not four unrelated bodies. Eiken's IELTS site says Eiken Foundation of Japan and the British Council jointly run IELTS in Japan, and the British Council's Japan page on IELTS on paper or computer lists Eiken among the venues for its computer-delivered tests. IDP's Japan site says IELTS in Japan has been run under JSAF (Japan Study Abroad Foundation) since February 2026. Each entry says what that provider's own pages say.
Face to face or by video call
ielts.org's ways to take IELTS page says that for IELTS on computer at a test centre, Speaking is face to face with a trained examiner, and that for IELTS Online (Academic only) it is a video call. Its Guide for Test Takers is wider: it says Speaking is taken face to face or via video call. In Japan, Eiken describes a one-to-one face-to-face interview, and so do JSAF's home page and FAQ, although a JSAF page on its policy for under-18 test takers says that JSAF holds Speaking face to face in the same room as the examiner in principle but sometimes as a video-call test. The British Council's Japan page on IELTS on paper or computer says face to face or by video call in its English version, and its Japanese version does not say how Speaking is held. IDP's Japan site differs between languages: its Japanese page on computer-based IELTS says face to face or by video call, and its Japanese booking guide says the test centre decides and you cannot choose, while its English page on computer-based IELTS describes only a face-to-face discussion and its English Speaking page says the test is delivered in person or through video call. IDP's Japanese Speaking page says content, marking criteria and timing are the same either way.
Same day or a different day
- Eiken's pages say Speaking in Japan is held on the same day as the other three tests; you choose the time on the application form and cannot change it.
- The British Council's Japan page says Speaking may be offered on the same day or up to a week before or after the main test, with notice if it is on another day. You may choose a slot; no changes are accepted once it is confirmed. Its Japanese test-day page says the same day or within several days before or after, while its Japanese page on IELTS on paper or computer says that in Japan Speaking is held on the same day as the other tests.
- IDP's Japan site says all four skills can be taken in one day, with Speaking before or after the other three parts. You can choose a time, but the test centre may adjust it, makes the final decision and emails you a few days before. Its English Speaking page says Speaking may be a week before or after the other parts, and its English computer-test page says some test centres hold it up to 7 days before or after.
- JSAF's pages: its English FAQ says that, depending on the test centre, Speaking may be on the same day as the other three tests or scheduled up to 7 days before or after the test date, and that at JSAF it is usually on the same day. Its computer-version page says Speaking is held before or after the written tests. The English FAQ also says you can select your preferred Speaking time when booking, and that you cannot change it without adequate reasons.
These pages do not agree on every point, and some carry older wording. Your booking confirmation and the provider's page for your test date are the final word on format and time.
Check your Speaking time when you book: Eiken and the British Council's Japan page say a confirmed time is not changed, and JSAF's English FAQ says you cannot change it without adequate reasons, so plan any practice sessions around it.
Who runs IELTS in Japan, IELTS Online, retakes and fees are covered on the Japan tutor page.
Japan time and the booking calendar
NICT, which maintains Japan Standard Time, says in its Q&A (in Japanese) that JST is UTC with a +9 hour offset. For Vietnam's offset and for daylight saving in either country, this page relies on the IANA time zone database, a widely used technical reference rather than a government source. It lists Vietnam at UTC+7 with no daylight-saving rules since 1975 (its one Vietnam entry is named for Ho Chi Minh City and is noted as matching all of Vietnam), and its only Japanese daylight-saving rules are for 1948 to 1951. On those figures Japan is two hours ahead of Hanoi: 19:00 in Hanoi is 21:00 in Japan.
The booking page calendar shows each slot in your own time zone, so you need not convert. Open slots depend on Mike's calendar, and no particular hours are promised. A regular session lasts 60 minutes, and a paid 30-minute trial can be booked once per student, on the first booking. Your own regional price appears in your own currency before you pay.
Who this suits, and who it does not
It may suit you if you want to speak with a person in the three-part format and hear feedback during the session, are comfortable with lessons entirely in English, and want to book one session at a time with no subscription.
It is probably not right if:
- you need explanations in Japanese: lessons are in English only (the website can be read in Japanese);
- you want a group class or in-person lessons: sessions are one-to-one and online only, with no centre in Japan;
- you want a promised band or timeline, or an IELTS result: neither is given.