Does IELTS judge your accent?

No, the IELTS Speaking test does not judge your accent. The examiner is not looking for a perfect British, American, or Australian accent. According to the official Band 9 marking criteria, examiners assess your clarity and intelligibility. They listen for accurate individual sounds, proper word and sentence stress, connected speech, and natural intonation. Having a noticeable accent from your native language is completely fine as long as it does not require the examiner to strain to understand you. To maximize your Pronunciation score, focus on clarity over accent reduction. Using tools like SpeakPrac’s Pronunciation Flashcards with minimal pairs will help train your mouth muscles to produce clear, easily understood English sounds.