3 Biggest IELTS Speaking Mistakes You're Likely Making (and How to Fix Them)

It is always important to know what to do, but sometimes it is even more crucial to understand what not to do. Today I will walk through some of the biggest mistakes that test-takers make.

Mistake #1 - being too formal

First off, don't stress about memorizing or cramming a bunch of formal, academic phrases for IELTS speaking. It'll just make you sound stiff and robotic. Of course, it is fine to use them, just don't overuse them.

While it helps to have some linking phrases and discourse markers here and there, IELTS speaking isn't super formal academic exam. IDP has an interesting article about this called Formal and Informal English on IELTS, where they clarify that you should sound natural and not use too many formal phrases, and, more importantly, use them incorrectly. Give this article a read, it will be pretty enlightening.

This totally debunks the idea that you should avoid informal English or that the test is overly academic. The speaking section is all about how well you can communicate naturally, just like in everyday situations. In reality, how often do we have formal, academic conversations? Probably less than 1% of the time. So, it'd be unrealistic for the test to focus only on that when most conversations involve more casual language—think slang, phrasal verbs, idioms, and the like.

Mistake #2 - using big fancy words without knowing how

A common tip you'll hear is to use a lot of uncommon, fancy words in the speaking section, or to memorize long vocab lists to impress the examiner. This is all fine and dandy, but it is not as simple as it sounds.

Let's check in with the British Council on this one. In their video IELTS Speaking: Improve English & prepare for IELTS - Vocabulary, they break down how vocabulary should actually be used in IELTS speaking. They say that a lot of candidates memorize fancy vocabulary lists but end up using the words wrong because they don't fully understand them. This is the key part - you should never use words you're not comfortable with, because it'll just lead to mistakes and actually hurt your score instead of helping it.

On top of this, IDP backs this up in their article IELTS Speaking: 10 tips from Experts. They clearly state that you should avoid using big, unfamiliar words. They say that you might think using big, complex words will impress the examiner, but if you don't really know them, it's more likely to hurt you. Mispronouncing words or using them in the wrong context will drag your score down.

In short: using big words without being confident in them is just a bad strategy. So, what should you do instead?

While prepping, definitely work on building your vocabulary. But when it comes to test day, stick to what you're confident with. If you fully understand the word—its meaning, how to use it, when to use it, and how to pronounce it—then go ahead and use it. But if you're not 100% sure, or if it's a word you just learned recently, it's best to skip it. Playing it safe here will help your score.

Trying to throw in unfamiliar, fancy words doesn't just hurt your vocabulary score—it can mess up your fluency too because you'll spend too much time overthinking. Your pronunciation will also suffer as you're likely to mispronounce words you're not used to, and your grammar could take a hit as well because of the mistakes you might make trying to fit in those tricky words.

So, in short: keep it simple, stick to what you know well, and you'll be in great shape.

Mistake #3 - memorizing phrases and sentences

Let's talk about why memorizing phrases can actually hurt your score.

According to a British Council article called Eight Ways to Boost Your IELTS Speaking Score, while it's helpful to know relevant vocabulary and common phrases, you should avoid memorizing large chunks of speech. Examiners are trained to spot memorized responses, and they'll mark you down for it.

It's really easy for examiners to tell when you've prepared a response for what you think is a common question or when you're rattling off a memorized list of sentences. You're not outsmarting anyone, and in the end, you're just lowering your own score.

Imagine you've memorized a perfect answer to a question like “Tell me about your family” or “Tell me about your school,” and you deliver it flawlessly. The examiner's going to think that the answer was memorized. And guess what? They're going to throw a curveball. They'll ask you something completely different that you didn't prepare for—like, “What's your opinion on space exploration?” Suddenly, you're talking about a topic you haven't rehearsed, like the pros and cons of space exploration, and your true speaking ability will be tested.

IELTS speaking isn't about how well you can recite memorized responses; it's about how well you can communicate naturally in real-life situations. In real life, people will ask you random, unpredictable questions—just like in real conversations.

So, what should you do instead?

You need to get your English level and speaking ability to a point where it doesn't matter what question comes up. Let's say I'm in the speaking part, and they ask me about something I know nothing about, like modern art. I might not know much about famous artists or styles, but I could still give an answer like, “I'm not really into modern art, but I've seen a few paintings at galleries that were interesting, even though I didn't fully understand them.”

That's an answer! They're not testing your knowledge of modern art—they're testing your ability to communicate. Can you use appropriate vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and keep the conversation flowing? That's what really matters.

The key is to focus on improving your grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency to a point where it doesn't matter what question they throw at you. That way, you're ready for anything, without needing memorized answers.