What should you do if you don’t understand a question in the speaking test?

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The first thing to remember is that it is a speaking test, not a listening test. It is designed to give you an opportunity to express your opinions and convey your ideas as well as you can in English. So don’t panic if you don’t understand the question. Just do what you would normally do if someone asked you a question in your first language that you didn’t understand. That is, you would ask for clarification.

 

For example, if an examiner asks “Are low literacy rates a problem in your country?” a candidate who doesn’t know the meaning of ‘literacy’ may be confused. Perhaps they think they heard the word ‘literature’, but they’re not sure. In such situations, the candidate may ask the examiner questions such as:

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“Could you repeat the question, please”

“Are you asking me about literature rates.”

“Sorry, I’m not sure what ‘literacy’ means”

 

The examiner would then respond by repeating the question, perhaps using simpler vocabulary, for example, “Is lack of the ability to read and write a problem for many people in your country?” The examiner won’t be able to do this unless you first ask for clarification of the question.

 

Although the ability to ask for clarification is not addressed anywhere in the Speaking band descriptors, it is an indication of a confident speaker and something that we often naturally do when conversing in our first language. If a candidate fails to do this and simply responds according to what they guess the question means, it may limit their potential to get a high score in the Fluency and Coherence category.

 

According to the descriptors, a candidate at band 8 “develops topics coherently and appropriately”. Thus, in the above example, if you mistakenly guessed that the examiner was asking about low literature rates and you responded by talking about whether there are enough novelists in your country, you would not be developing the topic appropriately.

 

So, it’s still possible to get a 7, even if you misunderstand several questions and give answers that are off-topic, but why not give yourself a better chance of an 8 for Fluency and Coherence by making sure that your answers always develop the topics appropriately.