Stop Paying for IELTS Speaking Courses: A Band 9 Scorer Tells You the Truth

You have watched the videos. You have studied the strategies. You have maybe even paid for a course or two. But your score still hasn’t moved. Sound familiar?

Here is the uncomfortable truth: most people fail to reach their target IELTS Speaking band not because they lack money, but because they are spending their money on the wrong things. Information about the IELTS Speaking test is everywhere. Strategies are abundant. And yet, high scores are still rare. The reason for that disconnect is simple — knowing about the test is completely different from performing well in it.

I scored a perfect Band 9 for IELTS Speaking, with a Band 9 across all four criteria. In this guide, I’m going to show you the exact preparation path I used — one that costs far less than a traditional course and delivers infinitely more speaking practice.

What Paid IELTS Speaking Courses Won’t Tell You

Most paid courses give you a false sense of progress. They load you up with hours of video lectures, hand you a list of idioms you will never naturally use, and then leave you completely alone to figure out the hardest part: actually speaking.

That is where students get stuck. Not because they don’t understand the test format. Not because they haven’t memorised enough vocabulary. But because they have never built a consistent habit of producing the language under pressure.

The hard parts are:

• Speaking — out loud, on demand, under time pressure
• Getting feedback — specific, actionable feedback tied to the official marking criteria
• Understanding why you’re stuck — knowing exactly what is keeping you at Band 6 when you need Band 7

Paid courses rarely address these directly. They want you to believe the secret is inside their premium content. But the only real secret is that you have to open your mouth and speak.

The Free Course: Start With the Right Foundation

I created the Ultimate IELTS English Speaking Course — and it is 100% free, covering every part of the IELTS Speaking exam. It includes the exact frameworks I developed and used myself to achieve my Band 9 result:

• A.R.E. Framework™ — for structuring short, confident answers in Part 1
• Topic Diamond™ — for building a full two-minute response in Part 2
• I.D.E.A. Framework™ — for developing abstract opinions in Part 3

This course is comprehensive, structured, and completely free. But I want to be honest with you: a course alone is not enough. It never was.

Why Output Beats Input Every Time

Here is the pattern I see constantly: students spend hours consuming content — watching videos, reading grammar notes, reviewing vocabulary lists — but they almost never produce the language themselves.

This is called the input trap, and it is the reason scores plateau.

The IELTS Speaking test is a performance. You don’t improve a performance by reading about it. You improve by doing it — repeatedly, under realistic conditions, with feedback that tells you what to fix.

Think of it this way: you would not prepare for a piano recital by only watching YouTube tutorials. At some point, you have to sit down at the piano and play.

The same principle applies here. You speak. You analyse. You improve. You repeat. That is the entire system.

Introducing the SpeakPrac Cycle™

When I was preparing for my own exam, I knew I needed more than passive study. I’m an introvert. I overthink. I get nervous. I needed a way to simulate the pressure of the real exam without the constant anxiety of being judged by another person.

So I built a tool: the SpeakPrac app. It’s what I personally used to reach Band 9, and it is built around a feedback loop I call the SpeakPrac Cycle™:

Step 1: Speak

Select a real IELTS Speaking topic and record your answer — just like you would in the actual exam.

Step 2: Analyse

The app transcribes your answer and immediately gives you:

• Words per minute (your speaking pace)
• Pause frequency and duration (your hesitation patterns)
• Filler word usage (your “um”, “uh”, and “like” count)
• An estimated band score based on the official IELTS marking criteria and my own Band 9 data

Step 3: Improve

This is the most powerful part. The app provides an improved transcript and improved audio — showing you exactly how a high-level or native speaker would have expressed the same idea. You’re not just told that you need to improve; you’re shown how.

Step 4: Repeat

Consistent, self-directed practice is how you close the gap between your current level and your target band.

No partner needed. No tutor to schedule at 2am. Just you and the work.

The Expensive Mistake Most Students Make

I have seen students spend thousands of dollars on private tuition and still fail — because they remained passive. They watched videos. They took notes. They never consistently produced the language.

Passive study feels productive. It is comfortable. But comfort does not move your score.

The students who improve fastest are the ones willing to make mistakes — to record themselves, cringe a little, analyse what went wrong, and try again. That cycle of speak → analyse → improve → repeat is what separates Band 7+ scorers from everyone else.

Do not let a course — free or paid — become another form of passive consumption. Use it as a launchpad, not a destination.

How to Get Started (The Right Order)

Here is the exact path I recommend, from lowest cost to highest impact:

1. Start with the free course. Build your understanding of the A.R.E. Framework™, the Topic Diamond™, and the I.D.E.A. Framework™. Know the official marking criteria inside and out before you ever sit down to practice.

2. Use the SpeakPrac app. All new users get free recordings so you can experience the full feedback loop before spending a single dollar. After that, it is significantly cheaper than most paid courses — and far cheaper than regular private tuition for the same level of instant, detailed feedback.

3. Add human feedback if needed. The SpeakPrac app also gives you the option to receive direct feedback from me if you want that extra layer of certainty. But for most students, the core of your improvement will come from consistent self-analysis, not from waiting for a tutor to respond.

The One Thing You Cannot Afford to Get Wrong

You can have the best practice tool in the world, but if you do not understand how the IELTS examiner is actually grading you, you are playing a game without knowing the rules.

The four official marking criteria — Fluency & Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range & Accuracy, and Pronunciation — are not equally understood by most test-takers. Many students unknowingly optimise for the wrong things entirely.

Before your next practice session, make sure you have a thorough understanding of what examiners are actually listening for. It will change the way you speak, the way you self-evaluate, and ultimately, the band score you walk away with.