What if I dont make eye contact with the examiner in IELTS Speaking?
All people are not same and have different behavior and nature. Some are shy and others are bold. So in IELTS many candidates are shy and don’t maintain eye contact with the examiner and normally have a question in their mind What if I don’t make eye contact with the examiner in IELTS Speaking?. We will try to find the answer for this question today through this article.
Eye contact is a sign of self confidence and if you don’t maintain it the examiner can think that you show a lack of confidence, as a result your scores can get lower. Candidates easily rely on this information and become anxious and forcefully try to make eye contact with the examiner. This can be awkward and uncomfortable for candidates who are introverts and get nervous while doing this exercise as a result they don’t speak or get fumbled.
Now let’s turn to reality and there is good news for you if you are an introvert person: no, your marks will not be deducted if you do not look at your examiner. Your speaking is judged on your command of the language and not your physical gestures, postures and eye contact you do during your interview. So, there is no need to worry and you can talk looking wherever you feel good and comfortable. I repeat eye contact will NOT influence your IELTS band score at all.
Making eye contact shows that you are confident and it also helps boost your confidence whe you see your examiner smiling at you. Moreover, if you will be looking at the examiner than you can come to know his reactions to your answers and if you feel something is wrong you can mould yourself accordingly. You will not get a high score if you lose your fluency and coherence; keep making grammar, vocab and pronunciation errors. But certainly not if you do not look at the examiner!
Keep in mind that you should do those activities which can improve your speaking and make you fluent. So looking somewhere else helps you to boost confidence in replying to questions and gives you more ideas to talk, go for it. If you feel comfortable using your hands while you speak, go ahead and do it. Your examiner is only interested in what you are saying, that’s all. Everything else is irrelevant.
How the speaking band scores are divided between 4 areas:
– 25% of your score is for fluency & coherence
– 25% of your score is for vocabulary
– 25% of your score is for grammar range and accuracy
– 25% of your score is for pronunciation
As mentioned above these are the four criteria on which your speaking test will be judged so you should focus on them and for this you can take help of some tips-
– Try to watch different speeches and movies to enhance your vocabulary and fluency.
– Read Newspapers and magazines to enhance your ideas and get familiar with new topics.
– Study grammar rules. .
– Do conversation drills with friends and family.
Key Tip to improve your speaking
Look for situations in which you must speak/read/listen to English
You will not be able to speak in a fluent way until you practice it on practical ground for that you should be ready to jump in any conversation. This will not only improve your fluency but also boost your confidence to talk with strangers. So don’t miss the chance to speak/read/listen to English. This is the real life practice that will teach you what other modes cannot.
Thank you 🙂
