How a one-to-one Speaking session with Mike works
Mike holds the Cambridge CELTA and teaches from Hanoi, Vietnam. He teaches every session himself, one-to-one and live on Google Meet in English, and in his own IELTS test he scored 7.5 overall and 8.5 in Speaking. See about Mike.
A regular session lasts 60 minutes; a paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking. In a Speaking session:
- Parts 1, 2 and 3 run in the real order and to time, including the one-minute preparation before Part 2.
- Feedback comes during the session, while your answer is still fresh, not days later.
- The remaining time can go where you need it, on whichever of the four criteria below is holding you back.
- Sessions can be recorded on request, and written progress notes follow in your account.
This is practice with a teacher, not an IELTS test, and it gives no IELTS result or predicted band. No band is guaranteed: progress depends on your starting point and the work between sessions. For booking and pricing, see the online IELTS tutor page for these five countries; IELTS Speaking coaching has more on the session (its prices are for Vietnam).
IELTS Speaking test format: three parts, 11 to 14 minutes
According to ielts.org, the Speaking test is a recorded interview between the test taker and an examiner. It takes 11 to 14 minutes in three parts and 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 | 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, with pencil and paper for notes, then speak for up to two minutes. The examiner may ask one or two further questions. |
| Part 3, discussion | 4 to 5 minutes | A more general, abstract discussion of issues linked to the Part 2 topic. |
Read in October 2026: the ielts.org Academic and General Training format pages and its Guide for Test Takers (PDF). The Part 2 limit of up to two minutes of speaking and the one or two further questions come from the Guide.
How Speaking is arranged in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman
The providers' pages differ, and none states one rule for every centre. They describe Speaking as on the same day as the other sections or, at some centres, up to about a week before or after, and as face to face or, on some pages, by video call at the test centre; none of the pages read says which centres use which. Do not assume either for your centre. What each provider says, read in October 2026:
- ielts.org: its own pages differ. The Guide for Test Takers says Speaking is taken face to face or via video call, on the same day as the other sections or up to a week before or after, while its Academic and General Training format pages and its Ways to take IELTS page describe a face-to-face interview with an examiner and, for test-centre IELTS, mention no video call.
- IDP: its IELTS on computer pages for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman describe a face-to-face interview with an examiner. They say that for IELTS on computer it is on the same day, before or after the other three parts, and that some centres allow it up to 7 days before or after the test date. The pages read here do not mention a video call. IDP's Bahrain site points to its global page, which says the same.
- The British Council differs by country (table below).
| Country | What the British Council's pages say about Speaking |
|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Face to face or by video call at the test centre, on its computer-delivered and test-day pages. In a video call the examiner is not in the same room. Its dates page says that for IELTS on computer you choose a Speaking date when booking. Its Academic and General Training pages describe a face-to-face interview with no video-call paragraph, and its Arabic computer-delivered page says face to face. |
| Qatar | The test-day page says same day or up to a week before or after, and that some of its centres deliver Speaking by video call. The computer-delivered page says Speaking remains face to face. |
| Kuwait | The test-day page says Speaking is carried out face to face or over a video call at the test centre, that some centres deliver video-call Speaking, and that it can be on the same day or up to a week before or after. Its Academic and General Training pages describe a face-to-face interview and mention video call only for IELTS Online, and its computer-delivered page says Speaking remains face to face. |
| Bahrain | The test-day page says same day or up to a week before or after, with no video-call wording, but its Academic page says some of its test centres deliver Speaking via video calls, and its General Training page still carries older wording (from April 2021) about centres starting to deliver video-call Speaking. |
| Oman | The test-day page says the same, and its computer-delivered page says Speaking remains face to face, but its Academic page says some of its test centres deliver Speaking via video calls. |
IELTS Online (Academic only, taken at home or in a private location) is a separate route: ielts.org says its Speaking is a video call with an examiner, usually before the other sections. As read on 22 October 2026, ielts.org's test-centre finder showed an IELTS Online booking card through the British Council for Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, and none for Saudi Arabia or Kuwait; ask the provider before you plan on it.
Your booking confirmation is what applies to you. Band Booster is not an IELTS test centre and cannot say how Speaking is held at yours. This page quotes no fee or test date; the tutor page for these five countries links to each provider's pages on registration, fees, dates and locations.
Time difference: Hanoi is 4 hours ahead of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, and 3 hours ahead of Oman
Hanoi is on UTC+7. According to the IANA time zone database (asia and backward files), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are on UTC+3 and Oman is on UTC+4, and none of them, nor Vietnam, has a daylight saving rule. So the gap is the same all year: 20:00 in Hanoi is 16:00 in Riyadh and 17:00 in Muscat.
The booking calendar shows each slot in your own time zone, and no particular hours are promised. The tutor page has a conversion table.
The four Speaking criteria in plain words
An ielts.org article describes four equally weighted criteria, and the public band descriptors (PDF) rate average performance across the test.
| Criterion | What it looks at |
|---|---|
| Fluency and coherence | Speed and flow, and whether ideas are ordered and linked into connected speech. |
| Lexical resource | The range and precision of your vocabulary for meaning and attitude. |
| Grammatical range and accuracy | How varied your structures are, and how accurately and appropriately they are used. |
| Pronunciation | Producing understandable speech, using a range of pronunciation features to carry meaning. |
This is a plain-words paraphrase, not IELTS's own wording. As one example, at band 6 coherence can slip at times through hesitation, repetition or self-correction, while at band 8 hesitation is mostly about content. See IELTS Speaking: band 6 to 7 and band 8.
IELTS Speaking practice online, mock tests and how to improve
Speaking sample tasks and practice questions published by the test providers
- ielts.org publishes Speaking sample tasks (PDF); IDP's practice questions page has a sample task for each part, with prompt, recording and transcript.
- The British Council's practice page lists Speaking mock tests at no cost to the reader.
- On this site: Part 2 cue card themes, Part 1 and Part 3 topics and the Speaking Part 2 timer.
ielts.org's IELTS Trial Test is offered for the Listening, Reading and Writing sections, so use the Speaking resources above for Speaking practice.
IELTS Speaking mock test online: a practice interview, not an IELTS test
A session can run as a timed mock interview in the real order, with feedback during the session; it can be recorded on request. It gives no IELTS result and no predicted band. More Speaking mock tests are on the British Council practice page linked above.
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 against a timer.
Use the four-criteria table above to decide what to listen for; IELTS Speaking: band 6 to 7 and band 8 goes further. 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. They are probably not the right fit if:
- You need a teacher in the room. Lessons are online only, with no classroom or centre in these five countries.
- You want a class or fixed timetable. There are no group classes; 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.
UAE students have a UAE Speaking page and a UAE tutor page. Questions first? Email mkcenter007@gmail.com or message Mike on WhatsApp, Telegram or Zalo at +84 383 390 963 (a Vietnam number).