'Behind the Scores' w/ a DELF Examiner

I had the chance to ask Konstantina, an expert DELF examiner with over 15 years of experience, how examiners think and what goes into scoring on test day. Hope this is helpful for those you gearing up for the DELF/DALF.

When a candidate's nerves are clearly getting the better of them during the speaking test, what's going through your head?

He/She is highly stressed, and I should try to make him relax.

Do you notice when someone has memorized a phrase or used a certain preparation technique? How does that factor into scoring?

Yes, of course. It is usual for candidates to memorize single phrases. It does not usually affect scoring.

How do you manage different speaking styles or personalities (really confident v. timid, heavy accents, etc.)?

Depending on the candidate, I adapt my style.

Are there any common misunderstandings about examiners or the test process?

They think that our role is to judge them. Our role is to find out if the candidate has reached a certain language level.

What immediately signals "high quality" or "fluent" to you when assessing writing or speaking candidates?

If he/she has acquired the fluency, vocabulary, and morphosyntax of the level needed.

You can connect with Konstantina here to get extra guidance with your exam prep.