Behind a spoken performance: test takers’ strategic reactions in a simulated part 3 of the IELTS speaking test

Making inferences about a test taker’s language ability has been a concern for language testers. Defining language ability in a speaking test is made difficult because the construct involves factors within and beyond the test taker. One underlying factor is the use of strategies. This study probes test takers’ strategic processes and their use in completing the simulated part 3 of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Speaking Test. Data based on stimulated recall from 12 international university students in Sydney, Australia, upon the completion of the speaking task reveal that strategies are mobilised from the moment an input question is presented to the end of a response. Overall, a total of 18 individual strategies from three categories were used by participants in this study: seven cognitive, five communication and six metacognitive strategies. Findings suggest that strategies were deployed in clusters to produce a response. Commonly mobilised strategies were not always useful nor did they positively impact participants’ test response quality.