Speaking Test Results
Olivie Inoue
Had a great and memorable experience with IELTS - IFI. The staffs are supportive and very accommodating. Venue is stellar and conducive for testing. Not to mention, the online review is comprehensive and mock exam is absolutely helpful.
The IELTS Speaking test assesses your ability to communicate in English. The examiner awards band scores for your spoken English-language skills. The Speaking test will take place in a face-to-face interview with a qualified IELTS examiner in a quiet room.
IELTS Speaking tests are conducted by trained and certified IELTS examiners. They must hold a relevant teaching qualification and have extensive teaching experience to become an IELTS examiner. When assessing your performance, they work with clearly defined criteria to assess your Speaking test.
Examiners assess your performance against 4 criteria. Fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. Your Speaking results are given as band scores which range from a band 0 to a band 9. Each whole and half band score corresponds to a level of English-language competence.
MET can be taken as a digital 2-skill test that consists of listening and reading sections or as a digital 4-skill test that includes writing and speaking sections. If you are an international student planning to use MET to apply to a university, or a healthcare professional applying for an occupational visa to work in the US, you will need a 4-skill exam taken in an Authorized Test Center. The 2-skill version of MET is used by some institutions to meet internal or local requirements. Please note 2-skill MET can only be taken in an authorized test center and the 4-skill MET is not offered as a remote test in all countries.
The MET Writing Section consists of two separate tasks to cover a range of writing types and functions. Test takers write a few sentences in response to three related questions about personal experiences, and then write a formal, multi-paragraph essay in response to a prompt. Typically, higher-level responses will have at least 250 words.
The MET Listening Section reflects language used in real-life situations. It contains three parts and assesses the ability of a test taker to understand a variety of speech in public, personal, educational, and workplace contexts. Questions feature short and long conversations as well as talks given by one person. Topics range from familiar to less familiar, covering both concrete and abstract ideas.
The MET Reading Section includes grammar. Grammar items reflect language used in real-life situations. They consist of one sentence containing a blank. For each, test takers select the word or phrase that is grammatically correct.
The MET Reading Section covers a variety of global, local, and inferential reading skills. The single-text reading part features two informational reading passages of academic or general interest. The multiple-text reading part contains two sets of three thematically related passages based on texts found in real life, such as newspapers, advertisements, emails, letters, and magazine articles. Each is followed by multiple-choice questions.
The MET Speaking Section gives test takers the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to describe a picture, talk about a personal experience related to the picture, give a personal opinion related to the picture, explain advantages and disadvantages of a given situation, and give an opinion and try to persuade the examiner to agree. The five stages of the test build on each other; as the test progresses, the linguistic and interactional demands become increasingly more challenging.
The listening and reading sections of the MET are scored by computer at Michigan Language Assessment. Each correct answer adds to the final score for its section; points are not deducted for wrong answers.
Test takers receive a scaled score from 0-80 for each test section, and an average score for all sections taken. Instead of receiving a pass or fail, they are shown where their skills fall in terms of the CEFR, including a detailed description of abilities at that level. An MET Certificate of Achievement is available upon request.
The MET is aimed at the high-beginner to advanced levels (A2-C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) with emphasis on the intermediate levels (B1 and B2). See the MET Scoring Table for can-do statements for each level.
Make sure you are familiar with the format of the test. You will hear 12 questions and respond to them by speaking as clearly as you can and saying as much as you can in the time allowed. You will have 30-90 seconds to speak depending on the question. The test lasts less than half an hour, so fatigue will not be a problem. The best thing you can do on the day of the test is to relax and say as much as you can about each of the 12 topics.
You can preview Sample MSU Speaking Test Questions (PDF download). If you go through this practice test, you may be less nervous on the day of the test. It is also a good idea to have a friend listen to your practice responses and give you feedback.
In short, raters are evaluating the comprehensibility of your spoken English and your ability to elaborate in providing original, spontaneous answers to questions. You will not receive higher scores for clever content, nor will you receive lower scores if your answer is not necessarily true or accurate.
Students may only take the MSU Speaking Test if they have met the university minimum proficiency requirement for English and if they are requested to do so by their home department. Registration is required. Qualified students may register for the MSU Speaking Test, starting three weeks before the test date.
The SPEAK test is used by the Graduate School to determine the language skills of non-native English-speaking graduate teaching assistants. The SPEAK test is administered by trained professional staff. Each non-native English-speaking graduate teaching assistant is required to take the SPEAK test. The test ensures teaching assistants are assigned teaching duties consistent with their ability to communicate effectively in spoken English. The SPEAK Test can be taken before or after arriving in the U.S.
The SPEAK Test is offered to University of Nevada, Reno students by appointment. It will be delivered via an online format. Students will need to first pay the fee ($75.00) using the Testing Center website.
There are no practice materials as this is a skills-based test. The test asks a series of questions that include giving directions, explaining information, telling about sequential events, and providing opinions.
The test is independently scored by two trained professional staff members. If the scores are not in close agreement, a third staff member scores the exam as well. The score reflects the English language speaking ability and hence the degree to which the teaching assistant can communicate in a teaching situation.
The Educational Testing Service, which produces the SPEAK test, suggests that a student should wait at least two months before retaking the SPEAK test. However, in cases of extreme nervousness or if an international student has just arrived in the United States, exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis by the SPEAK test administrator. In this case, if a student receives a score of 45, they may retake the test within two weeks. If the student does not achieve a score of 50 on the second test, they must wait two more months before retaking the test.
The Application for Pathways for ECFMG Certification for the 2024 Match has reopened for international medical graduates (IMGs) who need to meet the clinical and communication skills requirements for ECFMG Certification through a Pathway and wish to participate in the 2024 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Main Residency Match (The Match). The new deadline for submitting a 2024 Pathways application is February 15, 2024.
Applicants who pursue one of the Pathways are required to attain a satisfactory score on the Occupational English Test (OET) Medicine to satisfy the communication skills requirement for ECFMG Certification. All Pathways applicants, regardless of native language, language of instruction at medical school, or citizenship, must satisfy this requirement. There will be no exceptions.
OET Medicine is designed specifically for physicians, in consultation with physicians. The test assesses the health care-specific English language competency and communication skills of physicians. It is more than a test of English language proficiency, emphasizing the type of language physicians will need to communicate effectively in a clinical setting with peers and patients. For more information on OET, please visit the ECFMG page on the OET website .
Applicants who do not attain the minimum score on one or more of the measured sub-tests must retake all OET Medicine sub-tests (Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking) and achieve the minimum score on all sub-tests in a single test administration.
Applicants to the 2025 Pathways who took OET Medicine on or after January 1, 2023 and attained the minimum passing score on each of the four components, as described above, do not need to retake OET Medicine. These applicants will need to ensure that their test results are released to ECFMG. See Release of Test Results below.
OET@Home, a version of the test that can be taken at home through remote proctoring, also is available to certain applicants. OET@Home is available only to applicants who do not have a physical test venue (for paper-based or computer-based testing) in their country. Applicants with a test venue in their country should plan to take OET on paper or OET on computer at a physical test center to ensure that they test in time to meet Pathways requirements for participation in the 2025 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Main Residency Match (The Match). To determine whether you need to take OET Medicine on paper or on computer at a test venue, or whether you are eligible for OET@Home, visit the OET website and enter your location information.
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