What Does It Mean If The IELTS Examiner Interrupts You

I often have my Singapore students tell me that they were upset, because they felt as if the examiner did not let them finish there speaking answers, and kept interrupting them. Their biggest concern was this somehow affected their score or that it meant they were doing something wrong during their test. In this article I aim to dispel the common misconceptions about the IELTS speaking test and examiner interruptions

When Can The IELTS Examiner Interrupt Candidates?

The main reason that examiners interrupt students is due to limited time. Remember that the speaking test lasts for 13 to 15 minutes and around 14 questions have to asked and answered during this time. Most often the examiner just wants to make sure that there will be enough time for you to complete all the components of the test.

Another reason that the examiner might cut your answer short is that they feel you have already provided enough information about your language skills for that particular question, and the examiner wants to assess you on a different topic or skill.

The only time other time that the examiners can interrupt you is  if you are completely off topic and it’s clear that you did not understand the question, in that case they will clearly let you know the reason for the interruption.

Why Examiner Interruptions Can Be A Good Thing!

Another point to note about part three interruptions, is that if the examiner interrupts you during a part three answer, it is most likely a good thing! It sounds strange but it’s true. Part three of the speaking test is the most challenging, Basically, the examiner will decide on whether you should stay at the score you are at, based on your performance in Part 1 and Part 2, or whether they should improve your score.

If the examiner feels that your answers are too simplistic they will challenge you by asking more and more challenging questions. This means that they feel that you could do better and improve your score. That is why many students find this part a little bit more demanding than previous parts.

How Do These Interruptions Affect Your IELTS Band Score

Examiner interruptions will not affect your score. However, these interruptions can throw you off and make you lose your train of thought. This is especially true if you are unprepared for the speaking exam, and have no idea what examiner interruptions really mean. The best you can do is be confident and make sure that your answers are related to the question.

By now you should know that examiner interruptions are not a bad thing at all, and they do not affect your speaking score. In fact, as we have seen, they can even be a good thing!