Speaking Sample

The last task on the test and the longest speaking turn on it. Up to three minutes on one question, recorded as video, and sent to every institution you share your results with. Most test takers have never spoken continuously for three minutes in any language.

The Facts


Time	3 minutes
Preparation time	30 seconds
How many per test	1
Subscore	Speaking
Adaptive	No
Scored as	Speaking criteria, and sent to institutions as video

What You See

A written question asking for an opinion or an experience, and up to thirty seconds to read and plan. Then Record Now, and up to three minutes of speech. The question stays on screen throughout, and your camera is recording.

Institutions receive this as video, from the specific test whose results you send them. They can see you as well as hear you. Sit up, look at the camera, and treat it as the admissions interview it partly is.

A Structure That Survives Three Minutes

Three minutes is roughly 350 to 450 words spoken. Deciding the shape in the thirty-second window is what stops the answer drying up at ninety seconds, which is where most unplanned answers stall.

Section	Job	Roughly
Opening	Take a position in the first sentence.	15 seconds
First argument	Your strongest reason, developed, with an example.	50 seconds
Second argument	A different kind of reason — practical if the first was principled, or vice versa.	50 seconds
Concession	The strongest point against you, answered honestly.	40 seconds
Close	Resolve the question rather than restate it.	20 seconds

The shape in practice

Question: Some people believe a healthy diet is more important than regular exercise. What do you think?
Opening: not really in competition, but if forced to choose, diet — for a reason of scale.
First argument: ten minutes of bad eating can cancel an hour of exercise, and almost nobody has an hour a day.
Second argument: access — exercise needs time, money and safe public space; those are exactly what is scarce.
Concession: exercise does things diet cannot, for mood and for sleep.
Close: if you can only change one thing, change the one with the larger return on the smaller effort.

Common Mistakes

Stopping at ninety seconds. Content is capped by development, and half the clock unused is visible.
Repeating the same argument in three different ways to fill time.
Reading the question aloud to start. It is on screen; the listener has it.
Looking away from the camera to think. It costs nothing under the criteria but it is a test rule, and the video is watched.
Delivering a memorised speech, which is both against the rules and obvious on video.

How to Practise

Record full three-minute answers, on video, weekly. The length is the thing to get used to.
Practise the thirty-second plan alone: read a prompt, decide position, two arguments and a concession, stop.
Watch one recording back with the sound off. If you look tense or keep glancing away, fix that before you fix the English.
A prompt and a full model answer are on the Speaking samples page.

Kirill O'Nayd, Duolingo English Test expert

Written by Kirill O'Nayd

English test expert and educator at TestSucceed, where he builds the Duolingo English Test practice tasks and mock tests and has spent years taking apart how computer-adaptive, AI-graded exams award their points. See all TestSucceed preparation materials.