We see many people ask this question. They have taken the IELTS test and become very stressed during the speaking test because the IELTS examiner interrupted them a lot. They feel upset and worried in case it affects their score. In this blog post, we are going to explain why your IELTS speaking examiner interrupts you, and what to do to stop this happening so much.

Is this your experience in the IELTS test? You go into the IELTS speaking test and start answering the questions for Part 1. The examiner interrupts you before you finish answering the question. In Part 2, you plan your answer during the one minute, and then before you get to the end of the story, the examiner interrupts you again. Then in Part 3, the examiner seems to interrupt you all the time. You never get to the end of what you want to say before they say ‘Thank you’ and move on to another question.

Why does this happen? This is why your IELTS speaking examiner interrupts you

Part 1 – Your answers are too long

The IELTS exam has strict timings. Part 1 is 4-5 minutes long and the IELTS speaking examiner has to stop it at 5 minutes. There are 12 questions in Part 1, so that is 20-30 seconds per question. Many IELTS candidates give very long answers to Part 1 and the examiner has to stop them so they can ask more questions.

One of the reasons why candidates give long answers is that they use the model answers they find online. On many IELTS blogs and social media pages, there are sample answers or Part 1. However, many of them ARE TOO LONG! 20 seconds is about 2-3 sentences. You cannot tell a long story for Part 1. The people who write these blogs and social media posts do not actually understand the IELTS test properly.

Another reason for long answers is that you are trying to give the ‘whole’ answer. For example, if the examiner asks about your last birthday, you do not need to describe everything you did on your last birthday. You just need to give a brief answer, ideally using past tenses and some idiomatic language.

Part 2 – You speak for more than 2 minutes

In Part 2 of the speaking test, you need to talk for two minutes about a topic the examiner gives you. However, you cannot see the timer. The examiner has the stopwatch and you will not be able to see it. You therefore do not know when 2 minutes is over.

For Part 2, you just need to keep talking. The examiner actually says “Don’t worry if I stop you. I’ll tell you when the time is up”. If you have not finished your story in two minutes, it is ok.

Many IELTS candidates worry that they have not covered all the four points on the cue card. This does NOT matter. The cue card questions are just prompts to help you with ideas. You can skip them or miss them and it doesn’t matter.

When the examiner says ‘Thank you’, stop talking. Do not worry if you haven’t finished what you were saying.

Part 2 – your answers to the ’rounding off’ question are too long

At the end of Part 2, the speaking examiner usually asks a short question like ‘Do you think you will…..again?’ or ‘Have you told anyone else about this?’. This is called a ’rounding off’ question and it is just to finish Part 2. You do not need to give a long answer. It is fine to say ‘Yes, if I have time‘ or ‘Yes, I told my wife when I got home’. If you try to give a longer answer, the examiner will say ‘Thank you’.

Part 3 – your answers are too long

Just like Part 1, the examiner has to keep the time in Part 3. It is 4-5 minutes long and the examiner has a certain number of questions they have to ask. If you give answers that are getting over 40 seconds, they will stop you and ask a follow up question. This is so they can ask you a variety of questions to really assess your English level. It is to help you. If you want a band 7.0 or higher, you want to get off the simple questions as quickly as possible so the examiner can ask the harder ones.

Part 3 – you are talking about yourself

In Part 3 of the IELTS speaking test, the examiner will ask you questions related to the topic of Part 2. For example, if Part 2 was ‘Describe a crowded place you have visited’ they will ask about crowds and busy places. If Part 2 was ‘Describe a time when you made a difficult decision’ Part 3 will be about decision making. These are ‘global questions’. You are expected to answer with your observations and thoughts about the world, not your personal experience. If you talk about yourself or your family and friends too much, the examiner will stop you and ask another question to get you back to the right topic.

If the topic is crowds and the examiner asks ‘why do some people not like crowded spaces’ and you talk about why you don’t like crowded spaces, they will stop you and ask ‘what about other people?’.

The reason for this is to make you answer the question more globally. It is to help you using a wider range of grammar and vocabulary.

Part 3 – You are off-topic

Sometimes in Part 3 you may misunderstand the question and start talking about something different to what the examiner has asked you. They may ask ‘how will AI affect how we make decisions in the future’ but you talk about AI now. They may stop you and say ‘what about the future?’. Again, this is to help you show the range of language they are looking for.

Part 3 – Your answers sound memorised.

Some people prepare for their IELTS speaking test by looking at the recent speaking questions and memorising the answers. In Part 3, if the examiner thinks you are doing this, they will stop you and ask another question, to see how well you can deal with other questions. In Part 3, the examiner can create new questions based on what you said, so this means they can ask a question you haven’t memorised.

There are many reasons why the IELTS speaking examiner interrupts you, so it is likely that it will happen in your IELTS speaking test. The key thing to remember is that it doesn’t affect your score, and the examiner is trying to help you, not hurt you.

How can you make sure the IELTS speaking examiner doesn’t interrupt you a lot?

Being interrupted will naturally make you feel a bit stressed, even if you know it is normal. So what can you do so your IELTS speaking examiner does not need to interrupt you so much?

Practice giving concise answers to Part 1

IELTS speaking part 1 is only 20-30 seconds, so practice giving answers that show a range of language and answer the question quickly. Avoid the long model answers you find online and just answer the question yourself

Practice Part 2 so you have an idea how long 2 minutes is

Choose an IELTS Part 2 topic, prepare for 1 minute and then talk for 2 minutes. Watch the timer and stop after 2 minutes is over. See how much of your story you told in that time. If you only got half way through, try again and try to get to the point more quickly. Many IELTS candidates give too much background information in Part 2 so they do not get to the story. Practice telling stories with a short background.

Do not keep practising the same question until it is perfect, because your answer will sound memorised and this will lower your score. Do the same question twice, and then either: 1) answer the same question with a different story or 2) choose a new question.

You will get used to how long 2 minutes is so you will be aware when the examiner is going to stop you.

Do not memorise answers

Even if you find the lists of recent IELTS questions online, do not try to memorise them. If the examiner suspects that you are reciting answers, they will interrupt you more in Part 3. Memorising answers actually lowers your score, it does not help.

Make sure you talk globally in Part 3

Part 3 is about your thoughts and opinions about the world and how different groups of people consider issues. You need to be ready to discuss the common IELTS topics in detail. If you struggle with developing ideas on the Part 3 questions, then look at our Boost your ideas course, as this is designed to help with this.

Do mock speaking tests with real IELTS examiners

Doing a mock speaking test with an IELTS examiner will show you how the IELTS speaking examiner will behave in your real test. They will interrupt you if you are talking for too long or you go off-topic, so when it happens in the real test, you will be less stressed.

As former IELTS speaking examiners for the British Council and IDP, we can help with this. We can do a mock speaking test with you and then give you feedback at the end, so you know what to do to improve your performance in the real exam. Look at our Study with us page for more information about this.