My speaking test concluded. I am worried about a few things:
1) Why is there a recording? Will they give scores only after listening to the recording?
2) I spoke well on topic 2 but didn't realize I had stopped 10 seconds or so short of 2 minutes, so the examine indicated with body language and I continued. Will this seriously affect my marks?
3) I also made a mistake using the word "I" when speaking generally, and the examiner corrected me saying it was general (so avoid personal stuff), and I continued. Again, is this also serious?
I need 7 band score, so I am wondering if these mistakes are serious enough to drag me down to 5 or 6.
1) As i understand, there will be a second examiner listen to the recording.
2) It has occurred to me before - in part 2, albeit I have covered all the points, I finished my speech within 2[?] minutes. The examiner gestured me to talk more but I just kept repeating what I needed to say. I still achieve a band 7.5, however.
3) that's quite an interesting scenario whereby the examiner actually tried to navigate the candidate not to derail...? i will assume that's part 3?
not sure if it's similar but i have experienced a speaking examiner giving actual [ not scripted ] responses to my speech, for instance i received a question on how photography and history are correlated and play important role in social changes. - i gave two examples: the falling man from 9/11, and the self-immolation buddhist monk from vietnam. it wasn't one way conversation from me as the examiner also "participated" by giving his thoughts to the subjects, [ on how these images are so visceral and haunting; and that most of the politically charged photos are often taken by amateurs / accidents ] which i then take it further. to me that makes the conversation more "natural" and spontaneous, so that segment i almost felt like i was talking to a friend, instead of talking to an examiner.
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in my humble opinion, during the speaking exam, always try to smile, and relax, more importantly, try your best to exert positive energy . the examiners are human too, and sometimes, they will try to help you to build a conversation.
Last edited by robdrake on Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Another thing. I was fluent for the most part, but I struggled while answering one question in part 3. And I didn't use big words throughout. Only simple words but grammatically accurate sentences. Will I be marked down for this?
I don't have much in-depth knowledge how the speaking examiner would assess the speaking. as long as you answer his/her question without derailing too much, naturally and spontaneously, without repeating the same words, you are probably will be fine. again, that's what i think, i could be wrong.
