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The PTE Academic has 3 different parts to it. Part 1 is Speaking and Writing, part 2 is Reading and part 3 is Listening. A lot of people find the Speaking section the most difficult one because it involves talking about different topics in English. Here are some tips for the PTE Speaking test.
Everything is not what it seems
We’ve talked about PTE being a different kind of test in this blog before. Because it’s corrected by an AI system, a huge part of studying for the PTE should be learning the tricks and techniques to beat the AI. That’s why you can still get your target score even if your English isn’t perfect.
What are the PTE Speaking questions?
There are 5 types of questions in the Speaking: Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Retell Lecture, and Answer Short Question. Each of them has a series of strategies and techniques that you can learn in order to do well. Here are some examples to help you out.
Tips for the question Read Aloud
This is one of the most important questions in the whole test. It consists of reading a text displayed on the screen out loud. Don’t worry if your pronunciation is not perfect, there are some strategies you can use in order to read fluently. One important thing is not to correct yourself or make pauses while speaking.
Tips for the question Repeat Sentence
This is also one of the most important questions in the test. You will hear a sentence and you will have to repeat it. A lot of people get scared about having to memorize the entire sentence, but don’t worry! You don’t have to repeat the entire sentence to get points. 50% should be enough!
Tips for the question Describe Image
This is the third question in the Speaking test. In this task you’ll have to describe an image shown on your screen. This image could be a graph, a chart, a map or even an image, among other things. The main thing you should worry about is describing the image, not explaining it!
Tips for the question Retell Lecture
This isn’t a very important question. You’ll hear an audio and you have to retell what was said in the lecture. Do not worry about the content of the lecture, just focus on the key words in the audio. Try to take notes of 20 to 25 words, mainly nouns, adjectives, numbers and the main verbs.
Tips for Answer Short Question
This is the least important question in the Speaking test. You’ll hear a question and you have to give a short answer. These questions are general knowledge questions. Answer even if you don’t know the correct answer for sure. It’s better to say “I don’t know” than saying nothing.
PTE Speaking Test Evaluation Criteria
In the Speaking test, you’ll be evaluated for your Fluency, Pronunciation, and Content respectively. That’s why you should focus a lot on speaking fluently, try to work on your pronunciation, and leave the content for last. As long as you are within the topic, you should be fine.
What is Fluency?
Fluency doesn’t necessarily involve speaking fast. You should also take into consideration your intonation. Besides that, you should avoid having too many pauses or hesitations in your speech as well as speaking in a natural rhythm. All of these characteristics impact your fluency.
Study with a professional
If you take non-official mock tests on random websites in order to evaluate your speaking, you won’t be getting accurate results. The AI from these websites isn’t the exact same AI from Pearson, so it’s important to get an expert to analyze your speaking and help you.
Check out PTE Smart Courses
These are just a few tips to help you with the PTE Speaking Test, but there are many more that we explore in our courses. We recommend that you check them out and choose which one is the best option for you. You can also send us a Whatsapp or Facebook message!