How to Improve Pronunciation for IELTS Speaking

Are you worried your accent might hold you back in the IELTS Speaking test?  

Don’t be. 

Your accent is part of who you are. In IELTS, the goal isn’t to sound like a native English speaker. It's to speak clearly and confidently, so the examiner can follow what you say. 

In this article, we’ll share our top IELTS pronunciation tips so you can make sure your speech is clear, natural and easy to understand in both your test and real life.  

IELTS examiners know that you’ll probably have an accent from your native language. But they’ll be focusing on how well you can communicate, not what your accent sounds like. 

That said, your accent can affect your pronunciation. If it’s difficult for the examiner to understand you, it could lead to a lower score. 

That’s why it’s important that you show the examiner you can use English clearly and effectively. 

In the IELTS Speaking test, examiners use assessment criteria to give a score for each of the following four areas:   

• Fluency and Coherence 

• Lexical Resource 

• Grammatical Range and Accuracy 

• Pronunciation 

 Each of these carries equal weighting, and the overall average gives the IELTS score for Speaking.  This means ‘Pronunciation’ accounts for 25% of your IELTS Speaking score.  You are assessed on the range of pronunciation features you can use such as stress, intonation, rhythm and chunking.  Your examiner will be listening to how clearly you pronounce words and whether any pronunciation errors affect understanding. They’ll also be assessing how well you use stress and intonation to emphasise important words or to contrast ideas.  Read the IELTS Speaking Band Descriptors to find out more about how your pronunciation is assessed. 

So, what areas of pronunciation do you need to improve before your IELTS test? 

Look at the list below. Do any of this sound familiar to you? 

Individual sounds 

Some non-native English speakers mix up short and long vowel sounds such as the /ɪ/ and /iː/ sounds in words like sit and seat. Others struggle with differentiating voiced and unvoiced consonant sounds such as /v/ and /w/ in words like vet and wet. 

Word stress 

Another problem is placing stress on the wrong syllable in a word. If you do this, other people may be unsure of what you’re saying or may think you mean a different word.  Example:  

• DES – ert = an area covered by sand or rocks with little rain or plants (stress the first syllable. 

• De-SSSERT = a sweet course eaten at the end of a meal (stress the second syllable). 

Sentence stress and intonation 

Some people struggle to use intonation, which can make their sentences sound flat and unnatural. Others may mistakenly stress every word in a sentence instead of just the key words. 

Here’s an example: 

× IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY. (stresses every word) 

✓ It was my BIRTHDAY yesterday. (stresses the most important word) 

Rhythm 

Some English language learners speak word-by-word instead of pausing between groups of words or using connected speech. This affects the natural flow of their sentences.  

Let’s take the sentence “I’m going to the shops” as an example.  

× I | am | going | to | the | shops. (pauses after every word)  

 ✓ I’m going | to the shops. (adds a natural pause between two groups of words) 

“I’m going” is one idea (the action) and “to the shops” is another (the destination). This is a natural place for the speaker to pause and take a breath. When speakers group words into meaningful groups, it makes it easier for others to understand. In pronunciation, this is called chunking. 

You’ll also notice that in the second sentence, the speaker uses the contraction ‘I’m’ instead of saying ‘I am’. This is common in conversational English as it adds natural rhythm by making the sentence quicker to say.  

So, what can you do to work on your pronunciation before test day? 

Master the sounds that you find difficult 

Does English have sounds that don’t exist in your native language? Focus on practising these first. 

Start by downloading a copy of the phonemic chart at the bottom of this article, which shows all 44 sounds in the English language. 

Is there a particular word you always struggle with? Most online English dictionaries include an audio feature where you can tap on a word and listen to its pronunciation. 

Record yourself 

When you record yourself speaking and play it back, it’s easier to spot areas where you can improve.  

If there are parts of the recording that you’re unsure about, ask a teacher or an English-speaking friend to give you some feedback.  

Listen and practise in the real world 

Combine pronunciation apps and online dictionaries with real-life practice. 

Listen to how native English speakers use intonation, connected speech and other pronunciation features. 

Speak English whenever possible. Chat with your barista, join a language exchange or talk with friends. The more English you speak, the better your pronunciation will become. 

Try these four pronunciation-boosting activities during your IELTS preparation. Tongue twisters Tongue twisters are short phrases or sentences that have a lot of similar sounds repeated closely together. Practising tongue twisters can help you train your mouth and tongue to move quickly and accurately through difficult sounds. 

Start with these: 

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. 

• She sells seashells by the seashore. 

• Three thin thieves thought a thousand thoughts 

• Wayne went to Wales to watch walruses 

Shadow native English speakers 

Improve your pronunciation by watching how others do it. Listen to a native English speaker in a podcast or video. Then repeat what they say, mimicking their stress, intonation and rhythm.  

Listen back and compare. Practise again if you need to. You can do this with monologues like news reports.  Or get a friend involved and practise with dialogues from your favourite movies. 

Read aloud  

As mentioned earlier, native English speakers chunk their words to make it easier for others to follow and understand.  

Practise chunking at home by using scripts from podcasts or movies. Mark where you think the pauses should be and then listen to check. Next, practise reading them aloud until the pauses feel natural.  

Karaoke 

Start with singing along to slow songs that have clear lyrics to build confidence, then challenge yourself with faster tracks like pop or rap.  

Pay attention to how singers link words, use weak forms, and drop sounds — just like in everyday speech. Repeated lyrics and choruses help train your ear and make it easier to practise natural patterns when you sing along. 

It’s also the perfect way to unwind after a long study session! 

• Watch our video series for more IELTS pronunciation tips. 

• Explore the IELTS Speaking test format and watch a practice test. 

• Practise what you’ve learnt with our IELTS Speaking sample questions. 

• Get answers to your questions with a free IDP IELTS masterclass.  

Improving your pronunciation helps you succeed—not just on test day, but in whatever comes next.