IELTS Tips: Asking for Clarification during the Speaking Test

It’s perfectly normal and acceptable if you have some trouble understanding the examiner’s questions during the Speaking section of the test.

This week’s IELTS lesson will give you tips on how to ask for clarification when you’re stuck.

First of all, don’t worry! It happens to everyone, including native English speakers. Here is one common example:

A: “Your appointment has been booked for 3:50pm next Friday.”

B: “I just wanted to confirm if it’s at 3:15 or 3:50. Do you mean ‘one, five’ or ‘five, zero’?”

A: “It’s at 3:50, so ‘five, zero’ or ‘ten to 4:00’ in the afternoon.”

If you have difficulty understanding the examiner’s questions, you can ask for clarification in the following ways:

“Sorry, could you please repeat the question?”

“Could you please say that again?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your question.”

“Sorry, I’m not exactly sure what you mean.”

“Could you please explain the question in a different way?”

If you understood part of the question but need more details, these are some phrases you can use to ask for more information:

(*It’s also a good idea to make reference to the parts of the question that you did understand to show that you comprehended part of the question.)

“Sorry, I didn’t catch the last word.”

“Could you please repeat the first part of the question?”

“I got the part about travelling, but could you please repeat the question so that I can make sure I understand it correctly?”

“Sorry, are you asking about my last vacation or my favourite vacation?”

“What do you mean by ‘holiday?’ Are you talking about travelling or holidays like New Year’s Day?”