PTE Academic Speaking Section Tips

Items	Task	Number of Items	Prompt length	Scoring	Skills assessed	Time to answer
Read aloud	You need to read aloud the text there on the screen.	6 - 7	text up to 60 words	Partial Credit	reading and speaking	vary
Repeat sentence	After listening to the sentence played, you need to repeat it verbatim.	10 - 12	3 - 9 seconds	Partial Credit	listening and speaking	15 seconds
Describe image	You need to describe an image that is displayed.	6 - 7	N/A	Partial Credit	speaking	40 seconds
Re-tell lecture	You need to memorize what all is told in the lecture. Then, you need to describe it in your own words.	3 - 4	up to 90 seconds	Partial Credit	listening and speaking	40 seconds
Answer short question	You need to answer the question in one word or a few.	10 - 12	3-9 seconds	Correct / Incorrect	listening and speaking	10 seconds

Personal Introduction

This section gives you a chance to let the selected institutes know something about you. Note that this item has no score.

When to begin?

There will be a countdown until microphone starts working and recording. You have 25 seconds to prepare the content. After you hear a beep sound, you should start speaking about you.

Alert:

Don't speak before the microphone starts because your voice won’t be recorded. Speak clearly, and do not hurry. You'll be able to record your response only once. You should be done with your speaking before the progress bar reaches the end. The word 'Recording' will then turn into 'Completed'.

Do it this way:

Speak calmly but clearly. You don’t need to be in hurry for this. You have half a minute to record the response. You should be done with your introduction before the progress bar reaches the end. There, the word 'Recording' changes to 'Completed'.

Read Aloud

As the heading suggests, you need to read aloud the text displayed on your screen.

When to begin?

The countdown is displayed on the recording status box. The countdown ranges from 30 to 40 seconds to prepare the content. You’ll then hear a short tone after which you should promptly start speaking.

Alert:

Don't speak before the microphone starts because your voice won’t be recorded. Speak clearly, and don’t make any hurry. You’ll be able to record your response only once. You should be done with your speaking before the progress bar reaches the end. The word ‘Recording’ will then turn into ‘Completed’.

Scoring: Partial credit

How are you judged? Reading, speaking, oral fluency, pronunciation and content

Practice Now

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Repeat sentence

What is it?

You need to repeat the sentence verbatim. This means you need to speak the sentence exactly what you hear in the audio clip.

When to begin?

The audio clip starts getting played automatically within a few seconds. When the clip is over, the microphone gets ‘on’ and the recording begins.

Do it this way:

You need to speak clearly. Don’t be in hurry. Finish speaking before the progress bar reaches to the end. The word ‘Recording’ will turn into ‘Completed’.

Alert:

Speak into the microphone immediately because unlike other items, you will NOT hear any short tone/beep.

Scoring: Partial credit

How are you judged? Listening, speaking, oral fluency, pronunciation and content

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Describe image

What is it?

You need to describe an image that will be displayed on your screen.

When to begin?

You have 25 seconds to study the image and prepare yourself with content. Once the given time (25 seconds) are over, you’ll hear a short tone/beep. Start speaking immediately.

Alert:

Don’t start speaking before you hear the tone/beep or else, your voice won’t get recorded. Speak clearly. No need to be in hurry. Finish speaking before the progress bar reaches the end. The word ‘Recording’ will turn into ‘Completed’.

Scoring: Partial credit

How are you judged? Speaking, oral fluency, pronunciation and content

Do it this way::

Don’t hesitate. Avoid having ‘hhmm’ or ‘a….’ in your speech. Fluency should be maintained and is more important than describing everything that you see. If the image has too much data to cover in your speech, highlight only that are important.

Practice Now

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Re-tell lecture

What is it?

As the label says, you need to re-tell the lecture in your own words. You’ll hear an academic lecture that you need to repeat once the audio clip is over.

When to begin?

The lecture will start automatically. At times, the lecture is accompanied by an image for better understanding. Once the audio clip is over, you’ll have 10 seconds to prepare yourself. After 10 seconds, you’ll hear a short tone or beep. Start speaking immediately after it.

Alert:

Don’t speak before you hear the sound/beep or else your voice won’t be recorded. Speak clearly and there is no need to rush to finish the lecture.

Scoring: Partial credit

How are you judged? Listening, speaking, oral fluency, pronunciation and content

Do it this way:

It is better to write down the keywords or phrases in the notepad given to you. These keywords will help you recalling the lecture.

Practice Now

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Answer short question

What is it?

In this item, you will have to answer the question in one or a few words. The question will be quite general related to our day-to-day life.

When to begin?

The audio clip will begin to play automatically. At times, this item also has an image. Once the clip if over, the microphone will start recording your voice. The status box will show ‘Recording’ and once you are finished with it, it’ll turn into ‘Completed’

Alert:

There is no short tone/beep. Also, you need to answer it in one word or a few. You shouldn’t stretch the answer explaining the stuff.

Scoring: Either correct or incorrect

How are you judged? Listening, speaking and vocabulary