Lindsay McMahon
"The English Adventurer"
Jessica Beck
"Director of IELTS Training"

Today we talk about unacceptable IELTS Examiner behavior.

First, follow All Ears English on Instagram! This is a great way to learn vocabulary, explore ideas, and learn about American culture and our lives.

The monitoring of IELTS Examiners is random, and doesn’t happen often enough. Thus, their behavior is sometimes not appropriate.

Recently, Jane had this experience:

I just took my Speaking Exam, and one of the questions was, ‘Is it acceptable to complain in your country’? My answer was, ‘No, it’s not, because complaining is like a taboo in my country, and it seems like you don’t have the right to complain.’ The examiner disagreed and said, ‘I don’t think so.Does this affect my score?

This is very wrong. Examiners are not supposed to react in anyway, especially verbally. All they’re allowed to say is , ‘Hm‘, and not say anything that seems like they agree or disagree.

Your opinion should have no effect on your score.

If you feel in any way that the examiner has not behaved professionally, or in a way that could impact your score, ask the invigilator to take you to the test center administrator.

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Tell this person exactly what happened. Depending on how bad the experience was, the recording may be checked by another examiner. Or, in some cases, you will be given another test with a different examiner.

You pay for this exam, and you have the right to be treated appropriately.

However, at the end of the day, examiners are just people, and everyone can have an off-day. Nevertheless, that’s not your problem, and you still need to stand up for yourself.

Focus on what you can control. For this student, she should have built out her answer more, with context and specific examples.

Have you taken the IELTS Exam?

Tell us about your experience in the comments section below!

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