The plan in one paragraph
To prepare for the A1, A2 or B1 UK visa English test in two weeks, speak aloud for 15 to 30 minutes every day: in week one, confirm your level on GOV.UK, book the test and answer fifteen questions at your level in full sentences with a follow-up; in week two, build answer length, train your ear on the second question, rehearse the format you booked and sit a timed mock two days before the test. That is the whole method. The tables below give one action per day, about 315 minutes in total, each linked to the material it uses. The questions come from our practice bank, and the AI mock interview plays the examiner when nobody else can.
The level is not yours to choose. GOV.UK sets it by route: on the partner and parent route, A1 for the first visa, A2 at the extension and B1 at settlement, per the GOV.UK family visa page; B1 for citizenship; and, from 26 March 2027, B2 speaking and listening for most settlement applications, per Trinity's SELT page and Appendix English Language. If you are not sure which applies, start with the which-test page, and if you might be exempt (65 or over, a long-term condition, a listed nationality or a degree taught in English) read the exemptions page before you spend two weeks on this.
How hard is the A1, A2 or B1 test, honestly
Hard enough to fail if you freeze, easy enough to pass if you can talk about your own life in sentences. At A1, A2 and B1 the approved tests for partner, parent, settlement and citizenship applicants are speaking and listening only, on everyday subjects, with a pass or a fail. ielts.org's Life Skills format page lists the subjects: personal details and experiences, family and friends, buying goods, work, health, leisure, education and training, transport, housing and weather. Its level descriptions are a fair summary of what any examiner wants:
| Level | What ielts.org says you should be able to do | What that means in the room (TalkDrill) |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | "listen and respond to spoken language including simple narratives, statements, questions and single-step instructions" and "communicate basic information, feelings and opinions on familiar topics" | Three or four short sentences about your family, home or day, and a reply to "why?" |
| A2 | listen to "straightforward information, short narratives, explanations and instructions" and communicate "information, feelings and opinions on familiar topics" | A short story in the past tense, a reason with "because", a comparison |
| B1 | "listen and respond to spoken language, including straightforward information and narratives, and follow straightforward explanations and instructions" | About a minute on one subject with an opinion, a reason and an example; a polite reply to a different view |
The tests are short. The length tells you how many questions you will get and how long your mock should run:
| Test | Length (official pages) | Who asks the questions |
|---|---|---|
| Trinity GESE Grade 2 (A1), Grade 3 (A2), Grade 5 (B1) | 6, 7 and 10 minutes | A Trinity examiner, one to one; Grade 5 starts with your prepared Topic |
| LanguageCert ESOL SELT A1, A2, B1 | 8 to 9, 9 to 11 and 11 to 13 minutes | A live examiner, one to one, on a computer at the centre |
| IELTS Life Skills A1, A2, B1 | "around 20 minutes" | An examiner, with "one other test taker" |
| PTE Home A1, A2, B1 | 30 minutes (Pearson's planning figure) | The computer; no examiner in the conversation |
| Skills for English A1, A2, B1 (outside the UK) | 30, 35 and 50 minutes | The computer; "no examiner/assessor present" |
None of the official pages we read publishes a pass rate, so we will not invent one. What we can say is where the marks go: a silence cannot "respond", and an answer to the wrong question shows the examiner you did not understand it. The plan spends most of its minutes on those two things, not on grammar rules.
Week 1, day by day: level, booking, full sentences
Goal: End the week with a booked date, your level confirmed from GOV.UK, and seven days of answering aloud in full sentences with the follow-up.
| Day | Time | The one action | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 20 min | Confirm your level from your route on GOV.UK (A1 first partner or parent visa, A2 at extension, B1 at settlement and citizenship; B2 for most settlement from 26 March 2027). Write the level and the test name on a card you will see daily. | which test do I need |
| Day 2 | 25 min | Pick the provider and book. In the UK: Trinity, IELTS Life Skills, PTE Home or LanguageCert. Outside the UK: IELTS Life Skills, PTE Home, LanguageCert or Skills for English. Type your name exactly as on the passport you will carry; GOV.UK says a changed surname still books in the passport name. | fees, booking and centres |
| Day 3 | 20 min | Questions 1 to 5 at your level from the practice bank: read the question, answer aloud, read the follow-up, answer aloud, then read the model. Record on your phone. | practice bank |
| Day 4 | 20 min | Questions 6 to 10 at your level, this time in the AI mock interview set to simple personal questions, so the follow-up comes from a voice you cannot predict. | AI mock interview |
| Day 5 | 20 min | Read the mistakes page for your first language and pick the two sounds or habits that apply to you. Then five minutes of minimal pairs aloud (v and w, p and f, p and b, s and sh, th and t). | read-aloud practice |
| Day 6 | 25 min | Questions 11 to 15 at your level. Then learn four keep-going phrases from the bank table, one from each row, and use one in every answer from now on. | keep-going phrases |
| Day 7 | 20 min | Talk for one minute each on three everyday subjects from the daily conversation topics list, recorded. Trinity Grade 5 candidates use the same 20 minutes to draft the Topic Form (the Trinity page shows the five-point shape). | daily conversation topics |
What "done" looks like on day 7. A1: you can answer all fifteen A1 questions with three sentences each and a reply to "why?", without stopping for longer than a breath. A2: each answer has a "because" or a "but" and at least one past-tense verb where the question asks about the past. B1: each answer runs about forty seconds and contains your opinion. If you are not there, repeat days 3 to 6 before moving on; the second week assumes the habit is in place.
Day 2 is not optional. A date in the diary is what makes the other twelve days happen, and booking early keeps you inside the free rescheduling window if you need to move: LanguageCert allows free changes "up to 72 hours before your exam start time", PTE Home more than 14 full days before, per the providers' own rules on our fees and booking page. Type your name exactly as it appears on your passport. GOV.UK is clear that a changed surname still books in the passport name.
For day 5, the sounds that cause the most trouble differ by first language. Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi speakers usually start with v and w and with p and f; the Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi page has the drills, and our v and w guide has more pairs. Bengali and Sylheti, Gujarati, Tagalog, Arabic and Yoruba speakers have their own page: mistakes by first language.
Week 2, day by day: length, listening and the mock
Goal: Answer at the length your level needs, catch the one word that changes the question, and finish a timed mock in the format you booked with two clear days before the test.
| Day | Time | The one action | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 8 | 25 min | Listening pairs: a partner or the AI reads "What do you do every day?" then "What did you do yesterday?", and six more pairs from the bank. Your answer must change when the question changes. | the listening check |
| Day 9 | 25 min | Length day. A1: three or four sentences per answer. A2: a past-tense story with "because" and "then". B1: one minute with an opinion, a reason and an example. Ten questions at your level from the easy topics list, recorded; count the sentences afterwards. | easy speaking topics |
| Day 10 | 25 min | The paired task: run the "plan a day out" script from the bank with a partner, a family member or the AI, then swap roles. Ask the other person at least two questions. IELTS Life Skills candidates: this is your test format (an examiner and one other test taker, per ielts.org). | role-play practice |
| Day 11 | 25 min | Provider day. Trinity Grade 5: the Topic phase, then conversation on two subject areas, with the AI asking about your Topic Form. LanguageCert: personal questions, a short role play, talk about pictures, listen and answer, then a short talk (its five parts). PTE Home and Skills for English: answer ten questions into a microphone with no examiner, the way the computer test runs. | AI mock interview |
| Day 12 | 30 min | Full timed mock at the length of the test you booked (Trinity 6, 7 or 10 minutes; LanguageCert 8 to 13; IELTS Life Skills around 20; PTE Home 30; Skills for English 30 to 50). Questions from the bank in random order with follow-ups, asked by someone you do not live with or by the AI. Listen back once and write down one thing to fix. | practice bank |
| Day 13 | 20 min | Fix the one thing from yesterday with the matching drill on your first-language page, then five minutes of your two hardest minimal pairs. No new material. | mistakes by first language |
| Day 14 | 15 min | The day before: take out the same ID you booked with and check every detail matches the booking (GOV.UK: if you cannot prove your identity you will not be allowed to take the test). UK eVisa users: have the share code ready. Save the booking confirmation. Trinity Grade 5: pack the Topic Form. Ten easy questions aloud, then stop. | test-day checklist |
Day 8 is the most important day in the plan. Every approved test at A1, A2 and B1 is a speaking and listening test, and in a conversation test the listening is checked by the follow-up: if you answer "What did you do yesterday?" with your daily routine, the examiner has learned you missed one word. Ten minutes of listening pairs a day from day 8 to day 13 is worth more than any list of vocabulary. If you do not catch a question, ask: "Sorry, could you say that again, please?" Asking is itself speaking and listening; our short lesson on asking someone to repeat gives the phrases.
Day 12 is the full mock, with two clear days before the test to fix one thing. Run it at the length of the test you booked, with a person you do not live with if possible, because a familiar voice is easier to understand than an examiner's. Listen back once, write down the one thing that cost you most (a silence, a missed question, a word nobody could understand) and fix only that on day 13.
Adjust the plan to the test you booked
Trinity GESE (UK only)
Grades 2 and 3 are short one-to-one conversations with an examiner: 6 and 7 minutes per Trinity's grade pages. Grade 5 is 10 minutes in two phases, Topic and Conversation, and you bring a Topic Form you prepared in advance. If you are taking Grade 5, start the Topic Form on day 7 and say your Topic aloud on days 9, 11 and 13; the Trinity page has the five-point form, topic ideas and the examiner's likely questions. Trinity emails a provisional result by 9am the next day.
IELTS Life Skills
You take it "with an examiner, and with one other test taker", for "around 20 minutes", per ielts.org. That makes the paired task on day 10 central rather than optional: do it twice in week two, once with the script and once without, with someone who is not your spouse if you can, since the other test taker will be a stranger. The IELTS Life Skills page has more paired set-ups.
LanguageCert ESOL SELT
One to one with a live examiner, on a computer at the centre, in five parts at A1 and A2: personal information, a role play, exchanging information about images, listen and respond, and a short long turn. The pass is 60 out of 100 on the GOV.UK approved tests list. Use day 11 for the role play and a picture you describe for one minute. The LanguageCert and Skills for English page has practice items for each part.
PTE Home and Skills for English (computer tests)
There is no person to rescue you with a second question, so the skill is speaking clearly into a microphone at a steady pace, with no long gaps. On days 3, 4 and 11, answer with a timer running and no one in the room, then play the recording back and ask: could a stranger understand every word? Skills for English says its test is "entirely computer-based with no examiner/assessor present"; the PTE Home task types are on our PTE Home page.
Test in five days or less: the compressed plan
If the test is sooner than two weeks, keep the order and cut the length. Each day is 25 to 30 minutes.
| Day | Do this |
|---|---|
| 1 | Check the level and the booking details against your passport. Questions 1 to 5 at your level from the practice bank, aloud, with follow-ups. |
| 2 | Questions 6 to 10 in the AI mock interview. Learn four keep-going phrases and use one in every answer. |
| 3 | Ten minutes of listening pairs ("every day" and "yesterday"). Ten minutes on the two sounds from your first-language page. Trinity Grade 5: finish the Topic Form. |
| 4 | A full timed mock in your format: paired task for IELTS Life Skills, Topic then conversation for Trinity Grade 5, recorded answers for PTE Home and Skills for English. |
| 5 | Fix one thing from the mock. Check the ID, the confirmation and the route to the centre. Ten easy questions aloud, then stop. |
If on day 1 you cannot yet answer "Tell me about your family" in three sentences, think about moving the date while it is still free to do so. LanguageCert's free window closes 72 hours before the test; PTE Home's 14 full days before; Skills for English refunds a cancellation made more than 5 days ahead. A second attempt costs more than a week's delay.
Two sample fortnights, written by TalkDrill
These are illustrations of how the plan bends for different people. They are not real candidates.
Harpreet, near Ludhiana: A1, first spouse visa, LanguageCert
Harpreet left school at 16 and has not spoken English since. She has 20 minutes after dinner. Week 1 she does exactly as written, but answers each question first in Punjabi in her head, then in three short English sentences, which stops her translating word by word. On day 5 her two sounds are v and w ("very", "wife", "vegetables", "work"). Her husband in Southall plays the examiner on video calls on days 4 and 8. Because LanguageCert has five short parts, on day 11 she practises the role play ("You are in a shop. Ask the price.") and describing a picture of a kitchen. Her day 12 mock is 9 minutes. On day 13 she fixes the one thing her husband noticed: she says "yes" and stops. From then on every answer has "because".
Tunde, Peckham: A2, partner extension, Trinity Grade 3
Tunde's English is fluent, and that is his risk: his answers run long and drift away from the question. He skips the length day and spends day 9 on the opposite drill: answer in two sentences, then stop and wait. Day 8's listening pairs matter most to him, because his habit is to answer the question he expected. His sister asks the day 12 mock questions in random order for 7 minutes, the length of Grade 3. He decides against Exam Protect after his mock, which is the kind of call the arithmetic on the fees page is for.
A third case is common enough to name: a B1 candidate settling on the partner route who passed B1 at an earlier application. Before following any plan, check the GOV.UK family visa page: "If you pass level B1 or higher, you can use your test result again when you apply for settlement after 5 years", as long as the certificate has not been withdrawn.
The day before and the morning of the test
- Identity. Take the same document you booked with. GOV.UK: "The details used to book your test must match the document you provide at the test location." Accepted everywhere: passport, convention travel document, stateless persons travel document. In the UK only: an eVisa share code (Trinity asks for it on its booking site; codes last 90 days), or an expired BRP or BRC no later than 24 months after its expiry date or 31 December 2026, whichever is sooner.
- Name. If your surname changed after marriage, the booking and the document must still match each other. LanguageCert lists a marriage certificate and a spouse visa among the documents it will not accept for a new name.
- Arrival. LanguageCert: 30 minutes early, "late arrivals may not be admitted". Skills for English: "at least 15 mins before the test time". PTE Home: at least 30 minutes, per Pearson's handbook. Trinity and IELTS: follow the time in your confirmation email.
- What goes in the locker. At LanguageCert, phones, bags and watches go in a locker and nothing personal enters the test room; the ESOL SELT has no breaks, so use the toilet first.
- Trinity Grade 5. Pack the Topic Form.
- The morning. Ten easy questions aloud at home or on the way, the same ones you know well. No new material. Eat.
If you fail: what happens, and the next 14 days
A fail at A1, A2 or B1 means you book the test again; your visa application needs a pass from an approved test, valid for 2 years from the date it is awarded, per the GOV.UK SELT guidance. What the second attempt costs depends on what you bought the first time:
| Provider | After a fail |
|---|---|
| Trinity | Exam Protect (GBP 35, bought at booking) gives one resit for GESE Grades 2, 3 and 5 within "4 months from the date of your original exam"; otherwise a new GBP 160 booking. Provisional results arrive by 9am the next day, so you can rebook quickly. |
| LanguageCert | Take2, bought at booking, gives a second attempt "at a discounted rate" for ESOL SELT A1, A2 and B1; otherwise a new booking. |
| PTE Home | Book a new test once you have your scores, per Pearson's handbook; results come in as little as 48 hours. |
| IELTS Life Skills | A new booking at the full fee; no retake product on the IDP India fee page. |
| Skills for English | A new booking; the FAQ recommends waiting "a minimum of twenty-eight (28) days". |
Then restart this plan at week 2, day 1, with one change: before day 1, write down what happened in the room. You can usually name it in one sentence: "I did not understand the second question", "I stopped", "she asked me to repeat three times". That sentence decides what you do with the extra minutes. A missed question means more listening pairs; stopping means the keep-going phrases from the practice bank every day; being asked to repeat means the sounds on your first-language page and slower answers. The easy speaking topics and daily conversation topics posts give you new subjects so the second fortnight does not repeat the first word for word.
When you pass, the results and validity page explains the reference number the Home Office checks and the two-year rule. If you will settle on or after 26 March 2027, the B1 to B2 page is your next plan. Everything else for this test is on the UK visa English test hub.