Speaking test: If a student hesitates a lot, should the examiner stop at the time limit or continue until all questions have been asked?

The speaking test does not need to last exactly 10 minutes. For example:

• if the role play lasts less than 2 minutes, you do not need to add extra questions
• if the role play lasts more than 2 minutes, do not reduce the time allocated to the topic conversations
• if the topic conversation lasts 3½ minutes or less, even after asking extension questions, you must ask up to two further questions of your choice on the same topic as the other questions to make sure that the conversation lasts 4 minutes.

The teacher/examiner is responsible for keeping the conversation to 4 minutes. Candidates are encouraged to develop their answers, however it is important to try and cover all five tasks within the 4 minutes available. 

If a candidate gives extremely long responses, and the teacher/examiner is concerned that there won’t be sufficient time to cover the remaining questions, the teacher/examiner should interrupt the candidate and move on to the next question (or end the conversation if it is the last question). 

If a candidate hesitates a lot and cannot answer a question, the teacher/examiner should move on to the next question so that all 5 questions can be asked.