See open times in your own time zone. This page covers Speaking only. Your price appears in your own currency on the booking page before you pay; the booking steps and test booking are covered on the online IELTS tutor for Malaysia page.
What a one-to-one Speaking session with Mike looks like
Mike teaches every session himself, live on Google Meet from Hanoi, in English. He holds the Cambridge CELTA, and in his own IELTS test he scored 7.5 overall and 8.5 in Speaking. About Mike has more detail.
A session can run as a timed practice interview (a mock Speaking test) in the real three-part order:
- Part 1: questions on familiar topics, as in the real test.
- Part 2: a cue card, one minute to prepare, then a long turn.
- Part 3: a discussion linked to the Part 2 topic.
Around the three parts, a session also includes feedback during the session rather than days later, a recording on request so you can listen back, and written progress notes in your account afterwards.
A regular session lasts 60 minutes, so there is time beyond one run-through of the 11-to-14-minute test for the part or criterion you most want to work on. There is no fixed course, subscription or package.
A session with Mike is practice with a teacher. It is not an IELTS test and gives no IELTS result. No band is promised: progress depends on your starting point and the work between sessions.
The IELTS Speaking test format
ielts.org describes IELTS Speaking as a face-to-face interview between you and an examiner (how test centres in Malaysia arrange it is covered below). It is recorded and assessed by certificated examiners. It has three parts, takes 11 to 14 minutes, and is the same for IELTS Academic and General Training; only Reading and Writing differ.
| Part | What happens, according to ielts.org | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1, introduction and interview | Introductions and an identity check, then general questions on familiar topics. | 4 to 5 minutes |
| Part 2, long turn | A task card (the cue card) and one minute to prepare, with paper and pencil for notes. You then talk for about two minutes, and the examiner may ask one or two questions on the same topic. | 3 to 4 minutes, including preparation |
| Part 3, discussion | You and the examiner discuss issues related to the Part 2 topic. | 4 to 5 minutes |
Check the current wording on the ielts.org Speaking format page. For practice themes, see the Part 2 cue card themes and Part 1 and Part 3 topics, which are not real test questions.
The four band criteria in plain words
The ielts.org scoring page says the four Speaking criteria carry equal weighting, and the average gives the Speaking score. IELTS also publishes the Speaking band descriptors and a separate key assessment criteria document (both PDF). This table summarises them, so read the PDFs for the exact wording.
| Criterion | In plain words |
|---|---|
| Fluency and coherence | Whether you keep talking at a natural pace and your ideas follow a logical order. The key criteria document mentions speech rate, continuity, discourse markers and cohesive devices. |
| Lexical resource | The range of words you can use and how well: talking about a topic at length, choosing words that fit, and rephrasing when a word will not come. Higher bands add less common and idiomatic words. |
| Grammatical range and accuracy | A mix of short and complex sentences, how often errors appear and whether they get in the way of meaning. At higher bands, many sentences contain no errors at all. |
| Pronunciation | How easily a listener can follow you. The key criteria document lists chunking, rhythm, stress, intonation and sounds, and the effect of accent on intelligibility. |
The descriptors add two notes: you must fully fit a level's positive features, and you are rated on average performance across all parts, so practise all three. For how the bands differ from 6 to 7, and what 8 asks for, see improving IELTS Speaking from Band 6 to Band 7.
How to improve IELTS Speaking: a general teaching view
Practise aloud, in the real order and to time, listen back to a recording, and work first on the weakest criterion.
- Practise aloud and in order. The test is a spoken interview, so reading model answers silently is a different skill.
- Time your Part 2 talk. Use the minute of preparation for a few keywords, then see whether you can keep going for the full time. The Speaking Part 2 timer can help.
- Listen back to a recording. Pauses, repeated words and unclear sounds are easier to hear afterwards. Compare what you hear with the criteria table above to find the weakest one.
- Develop Part 3 answers with a position, a reason and an example.
This is general teaching advice, not guidance from ielts.org, IDP or the British Council, and it promises no band.
How Speaking is arranged at a test centre in Malaysia
You book the IELTS test with a provider, not with Band Booster. In short: the provider arranges Speaking, it may be in person or by video call, and the pages differ on the day. These points come from IDP Malaysia and British Council Malaysia pages read in October 2026. The pages do not all agree, so ask the provider how yours will be held; IDP Malaysia says its confirmation email gives the test date, time and venue, and British Council Malaysia says its test centre confirms the Speaking date three days before.
- The interview. IDP Malaysia's Speaking preparation page says all Speaking tests are face to face with a certified examiner and are recorded, but its FAQ page says Speaking is conducted through Video Call Speaking (VCS), with the candidate speaking to the examiner over a secure video link, scheduled at the test centre for IELTS on Computer. Its IELTS Online page describes a video call for the at-home Academic test; the Malaysia tutor page sets out what IDP Malaysia's pages say about whether that format is offered in Malaysia. British Council Malaysia's Video-Call Speaking page describes a video call with an examiner in another test centre and says all test takers must be in a test centre, and its Academic page says its test centres deliver Speaking by video call with the examiner in another location, while its paper-versus-computer page says Speaking stays face to face. ielts.org is not uniform either: its Speaking format page calls the test a face-to-face interview, and its Guide for Test Takers says face to face or via video call. So the pages differ between providers and within each provider's own site, and the wording alone cannot tell you which applies to your booking.
- The day. IDP Malaysia's computer-delivered IELTS page says Speaking is completed just before or just after the other three parts, and that if you take IELTS on computer it is on the same day, before or after them; only Listening, Reading and Writing are on a computer. A general FAQ line on that page and on IDP Malaysia's test-day page says that in some test centres Speaking is on the same day or up to 7 days before or after the test date. British Council Malaysia's Academic page says Speaking may be on the same day or up to a week before or after.
Whether paper or IELTS Online is open to you in Malaysia is not settled by these pages; the Malaysia tutor page sets out where sources disagree. If your centre uses a video call, practising on Google Meet is one way to get used to speaking to a screen; it does not copy a centre's equipment.
Speaking practice material from IELTS and the providers
- ielts.org publishes a 7-page IELTS Speaking Sample Tasks PDF with sample Part 1, 2 and 3 tasks.
- IDP's practice test page lists Speaking Parts 1, 2 and 3, with audio recordings and PDFs.
- The British Council's global Academic Speaking practice page offers sample material on the format and how responses are assessed.
IDP Malaysia's familiarisation tests do not include Speaking: its page lists Listening, Academic Reading and Academic Writing.
Malaysia is one hour ahead of Hanoi
Malaysia is UTC+8 and Vietnam, where Hanoi is, is UTC+7. The IANA time zone database (zones Asia/Singapore and Asia/Kuching for Malaysia, Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh for Vietnam) currently shows no daylight saving for either. So Malaysia is one hour ahead of Hanoi all year: 8 pm in Kuala Lumpur is 7 pm in Hanoi. The booking calendar shows each slot in your own time zone.
Who this suits, and who it does not
It may suit you if you want to speak aloud with a live teacher in the real three-part order, hear feedback straight away, work in English and book sessions one at a time.
It probably does not suit you if:
- you want explanations in Malay, Chinese or another language, because lessons are in English only;
- you want in-person lessons or a group class, because this is online and one-to-one;
- you want a fixed weekly timetable or classmates, because slots depend on Mike's calendar;
- you want an IELTS result or a promised band, because a session gives neither.
For more on what a Speaking session covers, see IELTS Speaking coaching, written for Hanoi, so its prices are for Vietnam. Payment options are shown on the booking page before you pay.