Does Accent Affect Your Score in the IELTS Speaking Test

In todays society, we have so many different English accents. British, American, Irish, Canadian and Scottish. Plus many more sub-accents along with those. Many people wonder whether an accent will affect your IELTS speaking test score. The short answer to this is: NO! So don’t fret about it if you have an accent! You will not be penalized.

As long as your accent doesn’t affect your ability to communicate, you can have any accent you like. One thing to point out is to never fake your accent because this will most likely end up having a negative affect on your IELTS speaking test score.

Use whatever accent comes naturally to you. This will depend on a variety of different factors including where you learned English, what accent your English teacher has and where you come from in the world.

My suggestion is to just focus on speaking and the rest will come naturally.

Check out this article from IELTS Express explaining some of the most common mistakes made during the IELTS speaking test.

Remember that IELTS preparation is crucial to your success on the exam. Lastly, try to relax during this part of the IELTS and you’ll do great!