Easy & Effective PTE Speaking Tutorial

Pearson Test of English or PTE Exam has several modules. The first part of the test assesses a candidate’s speaking and writing skills. This section of the test takes about 77 to 93 minutes. The purpose of this section of the test is to assess whether a student can speak and write in English proficiently, especially in an academic environment.

When you are solving questions of the ‘Speaking’ module of the PTE exam, you will also need to exercise listening, reading, and writing skills. 

The section starts with a Personal Introduction, where you need to introduce yourself. This is not part of the assessment process though. You can treat it as a warm-up exercise.

Point to note: When you speak, your response is recorded. There’s a progress bar that shows how much of the test you have completed. But if you remain silent for more than 3 seconds, the recording stops automatically. This will result in you losing points.

Types of Questions asked in the PTE Speaking Test

You need to answer 5 types of questions in the ‘Speaking’ module of the test:

Read Aloud Questions

6 to 7 questions in the exam fall into this category. You need to read aloud the text on the screen. This test is up to 60 words long. The time you get to answer these questions may vary.

These questions assess a candidate’s reading and speaking skills.

Repeat Sentence Questions

10 to 12 questions are of this type. You need to listen to the sentence played for you carefully and then repeat it verbatim. The clip can be 3-9 seconds long. You get 15 seconds to answer each question of this type.

These questions assess a candidate’s listening and speaking skills.

Describe Image Questions

6-7 questions are of this type. In these questions, you have to describe the image displayed on the screen. You get 40 seconds to describe the image.

These questions assess a candidate’s speaking skills.

Re-tell Lecture Questions

3-4 questions are of this type. You hear a sound clip of up to 90 seconds. You need to memorize everything said in the lecture. Then, you have to describe it in your own words in 40 seconds.

These questions assess a candidate’s listening and speaking skills.

Answer Short Questions

10-12 short questions are asked in the PTE exam. You hear a sound clip of 3 to 9 seconds. Then, you need to answer the question in one word or few words. You get 10 seconds to answer the question.

These questions assess a candidate’s listening and speaking skills.

You get only zero or full marks in the last category of ‘Answer short questions’. In all the other categories, you can get partial credit. Partial credit means that if you answer a part of the question correctly, you can get a part of the full marks allocated to the question.

Tips to solve different types of questions asked in the PTE Speaking Test Module

How to give your Personal Introduction in the PTE Exam?

This section is sent to the personal institutes where you want to apply for higher education. You are not scored on this section but this is the first impression your chosen institute will have about you.

Things to Remember:

• You have 25 seconds to think about what to speak. Once the countdown’s over, the microphone starts working and recording. As soon as you hear the beep sound, you need to start giving your introduction.
• Many students start speaking too early. Anything said before the beep sound doesn’t get recorded. Your response only gets recorded once. Hence, our experts advise students to speak calmly and clearly. 
• Candidates have 30 seconds to introduce themselves. They should finish their introduction before the progress bar reaches its end. Anything said after that doesn’t get recorded. After recording, the message ‘Recording’ changes to ‘Completed’.

How to score better in the Read Aloud questions of the PTE Speaking test?

In this section, you have to repeat what’s written on the screen word by word.

Things to Remember:

• You have 30 to 40 seconds to read the content and prepare yourself. Once the countdown’s over, you hear a beep sound. You have to start speaking as soon as you hear it.
• Anything said before the beep sound doesn’t get recorded. Your response only gets recorded once. Hence, our experts advise students to speak calmly and pronounce the words correctly and clearly. 
• You get marks for reading the words correctly, speaking them correctly, pronunciation, and oral fluency. If you do not say the whole sentence correctly but get some of it right, you get some marks.

How to score better in the Repeat Sentence questions of the PTE Speaking test?

In this section, an audio clip is played for you. You have to listen to the sentence carefully and then, repeat it word by word.

Things to Remember:

• When you reach the question, the audio clip starts playing automatically. As soon as the clip is over, the microphone turns on and you have to repeat the sentence.
• In this section, you do not hear any beep sound. So, you need to start repeating the sentence as soon as the microphone appears.
• You need to speak clearly. While you don’t have to hurry, you need to finish the sentence before the progress bar reaches its end. Once the recording stops, the message ‘Recording’ changes to ‘Completed’.
•  You get marks for listening to the sentence correctly, speaking it correctly, oral fluency, and pronunciation. If you do not say the whole sentence correctly but get some of it right, you get some marks.

How to score better in the Describe Image questions of the PTE Speaking test?

In this section, you see an image on the screen. You need to describe it in your own words.

Things to Remember:

• You get 25 seconds to see the image and think about what to say. Once the countdown is over, you hear a beep sound. You need to start speaking immediately.
• Anything said before the beep sound or after the progress bar ends doesn’t get recorded. You need to speak clearly. Once the recording is done, the message changes from ‘Recording’ to ‘Completed’.
• Fluency is very important in these types of questions. If there’s too much to describe, focus on the highlights or key points of the picture. Any hesitation in your voice may cause you to lose marks. Filler words or the ‘hmmm’ sound should be strictly avoided.
•  You get marks for the content of what you say, speaking, pronunciation, and oral fluency. If you get some of these elements right, you still get some marks.

How to score better in the Re-tell Lecture questions of the PTE Speaking test?

In this section, you hear an audio clip of an academic lecture. Once it’s over, you need to re-tell it in your own words.

Things to Remember:

• Sometimes, the audio clip is accompanied by an image for better understanding. The audio clip starts playing automatically. Once it’s over, you get 10 seconds to think about what to say. You need to start speaking as soon as you hear the beep sound.
• Anything said before the beep sound doesn’t get recorded. When you re-tell the lecture, do not hurry to finish it. Speak calmly and clearly.
• Writing down the keywords or key phrases on a notepad while listening to the lecture may help you recall it when you are retelling it.
•  You get marks for listening, speaking, content, pronunciation, and oral fluency. You get partial credit for these questions if you get some of the elements right.

How to score better in the Answer Short Questions category of the PTE Speaking test?

In this section, you will have to answer a question related to our day-to-day lives. You will have to answer it in one word or few words.

Things to Remember:

• You may see an image or listen to an audio clip in these types of questions. The microphone starts as soon as the audio clip finishes. You need to start speaking immediately.
• There’s no beep sound in this item. Once the recording is done, the message changes from ‘Recording’ to ‘Completed’.
• You are assessed for listening to the question correctly, answering it correctly, and your vocabulary. You get partial credit for these questions if you get some of the elements right.

Watch the online videos or do practice tests to score your best in the PTE exam!