The frustrating thing about IELTS speaking underperformance is that it's usually predictable. The same mistakes appear across candidates from different countries, different levels, and different preparation programmes. Examiners see them so frequently they have informal names for them.
The good news is that predictable errors are preventable errors. Once you know what candidates consistently get wrong in each part of the test, you can design classroom activities that specifically practise the correct behaviour until it's automatic.
YapYapGo is a classroom speaking practice tool for ESL and EFL teachers with an IELTS mode covering all three parts. A classroom countdown timer mirrors exam timing. Here are the most common mistakes across each part and how to address them.Part 1 mistakes
Mistake 1: One-sentence answers
The most common Part 1 error. Examiner asks: "Do you enjoy cooking?" Candidate: "Yes, I like cooking." Full stop. Silence.
Band 6 answers extend naturally without being asked. Band 7+ answers add a reason, a detail, and sometimes connect to something broader. The target length is 3-5 sentences.
What to practise: The extension drill. Any Part 1 question, students must speak for at least 30 seconds. Partners time them. If they stop before 30 seconds, partner says "tell me more." Repeat until extension is automatic.Mistake 2: Memorised scripts
Some preparation programmes teach students to memorise template answers. The result is speech that sounds rehearsed because it is. Examiners are specifically trained to recognise this: it shows up as unnaturally formal vocabulary in casual contexts, a robotic rhythm, and an inability to respond to follow-up questions.
What to practise: Vary the questions. If students only practise the questions they've rehearsed, they freeze on unexpected ones. Use question sets that include familiar and unfamiliar questions, and reward adaptability over perfect answers to known questions.Mistake 3: Starting with "It depends"
Hedging the opening of every Part 1 answer with "It depends on..." before giving any actual content is a common trained habit that examiners find frustrating. It delays the actual answer and often signals that the student is stalling.
What to practise: Direct opening drill. State a position in the first sentence. "Yes, I do / No, I don't / I prefer X / I find it..." Then explain. Position first, context second.Part 2 mistakes
Mistake 4: Running out of things to say before two minutes
The most anxiety-inducing Part 2 problem. Students reach 90 seconds having covered all four bullet points and then go silent or start repeating.
What to practise: The four-expansion technique. After covering the four bullet points, students have four go-to extensions: add a feeling, add a memory, add a comparison, add a reflection. "It made me feel... / I remember once... / It's different from... / Looking back, I think..."Mistake 5: Addressing bullet points as a list, not a narrative
Students go through the cue card mechanically: "First, the person is my teacher. Second, what they do is teach mathematics. Third, what makes them special is..." This produces a grammatically correct but incoherent response that scores poorly on Fluency and Coherence.
What to practise: The narrative version. Same content, but told as a story: "I'd like to talk about my maths teacher, Mr Kim. He's the person who most influenced how I approach problems - not just in mathematics, but in everything. What made him special was..." The content is identical; the delivery is connected.Mistake 6: Ignoring the preparation time
Students who spend the one-minute preparation time reading the card rather than planning their talk arrive at the speaking phase with no structure. They start speaking and stop when their immediate ideas run out.
What to practise: The four-step prep drill covered in our post on the 1-minute prep timer trick. Practise the preparation strategy as explicitly as the speaking strategy.Tool tip: YapYapGo's IELTS mode runs a dedicated preparation timer before Part 2 speaking - students see one minute counting down, then the speaking timer begins automatically. A speech timer with traffic-light zones teaches students to pace themselves toward the two-minute target.
Part 3 mistakes
Mistake 7: Answering Part 3 questions like Part 1
Part 3 requires abstract reasoning, extended argument, and engagement with complexity. Many candidates answer Part 3 questions with personal opinion statements ("I think social media is bad because I use it too much") rather than analytical reasoning.
What to practise: The Part 3 response framework: position + reasoning + evidence/example + qualification. "I think governments have a significant responsibility here. The primary reason is that individual behaviour change alone is demonstrably insufficient for problems of this scale - we've had decades of recycling campaigns with limited impact on industrial emissions. So a systemic response is needed. However, government intervention also carries risks of innovation-stifling regulation..."Mistake 8: Giving up when challenged
Part 3 examiners actively challenge responses: "Do you think that's always the case?" Many candidates abandon their position immediately when challenged, switching to "Yes, you're right, actually..." This demonstrates poor discourse management and scores badly.
What to practise: The challenge drill. After a student gives a Part 3 answer, partner challenges: "But surely there are cases where that isn't true?" Student must maintain or modify their position with reasoning, not abandon it. "You're right that it's not universal, but I'd still argue that in the majority of cases..."Mistake 9: Limited vocabulary range in abstracts
Part 3 topics require vocabulary that candidates often haven't specifically practised: social responsibility, inequality, systemic change, ethical implications. Without these, candidates circle the same simple words even as they try to express complex ideas.
What to practise: Topic-specific vocabulary building sessions before Part 3 practice. Give students 10 key terms for the day's topic, ask them to use at least three in their responses, then review which ones appeared naturally and which ones felt forced.The cross-part mistakes
Mistake 10: Not listening to the examiner's follow-up question
Under anxiety, candidates sometimes continue delivering prepared material rather than responding to what the examiner actually just asked. This is immediately obvious to the examiner and signals poor interactive communication.
What to practise: Active listening checks. After a partner asks a follow-up question, the speaking student must identify what specifically changed in the question before answering. "You're asking about whether it's changed recently, specifically..."Mistake 11: Starting most sentences with "I think..."
Every sentence in English doesn't need to begin with "I think." Examiners notice when the same opener appears repeatedly. Varying discourse markers (In my view... / From my perspective... / It seems to me... / One could argue... / Research suggests...) signals better lexical resource.
What to practise: The banned phrase drill. In a practice session, students cannot use "I think" as a sentence opener. They have to find alternatives. After several sessions, the alternatives become part of their automatic repertoire.A random student picker is useful when calling on pairs to demonstrate a corrected version of a common mistake for whole-class feedback. For the IELTS band descriptors that explain how these mistakes affect scores, see IELTS speaking band descriptors explained.
Sources:
- Cambridge Assessment English. IELTS Speaking Band Descriptors (Public Version). - How examiner scoring criteria map to common errors.
- Taylor, L. (2011). Examining Speaking. Studies in Language Testing. - Examiner perceptions of common test-taker behaviours.
- Foster, P. & Skehan, P. (1996). The Influence of Planning and Task Type. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. - Planning time and its effects on avoiding common production errors.