Tips for PTE Academic Speaking

Academic Speaking-Tips

The speaking section on PTE is one of the trickiest sections since it involves multiple sections and tests your skills on not just speaking but also listening & observation, however this is a section which can give you a very high score and if practiced well & if the strategy is right even a score of 90 is not impossible, here we have complied some useful tips to score high on the PTE Academic Speaking section.

Before you start the Speaking section, there is a small personal introduction task to complete, which is not scored. This response is also shared with the institutions that you select to report
the scores to.

Tips for Personal Introduction

  • Your interests
  • Your background
  • Your plans for future study
  • Why you chose to study abroad
  • Why you choose this test

Your introduction should be less than 30 seconds and can include a mix of 2-3 topics.

SECTIONS:

Section-1 : Read Aloud:-

  • Scan for hard words and Spell it clearly before it starts recording.
  • Rising and falling tone for some words is important.
  • Be aware of Plurals, don’t spell wrongly.
  • No long disconnection of sentences.(i.e. Gap to each sentence)
  • Avoid uneven words or Irregular Phrasing.
  • Beware of Inappropriate stress and incorrect pronunciation to some words.
  • Before it starts recording, read the total sentence once.
  • Rate of Speech should be moderate, do not speak too fast or too slow.
  • There’s enough time for this section, so don’t hurry
  • Avoid silence of more than 2-3 seconds
  • Don’t fake any accent be natural. 
  • Be fluent.

Section-2: Repeat Sentences:-

  • Concentrate on the recording, don’t freak out if you miss 1-2 words
  • Avoid long pauses.
  • Be careful not to not add new text or omitting Listened text.
  • If you can’t remember whole sentence at-least give importance to Keywords.
  • While practicing this section ensure you practice in different situations / environments

Section-3: Describe Image:-

  • Use these phrases such as to illustrate…, it shows, the image depicts to show… etc…
  • Speak about Highest and Lowest figures or key points or axis, this is the most important aspect
  • In describing image use the words such as: on the left-hand side / the right-hand side, next to, above, below or bottom, at the top, foreground, background…
  • For graphs use – ‘X-axis on graphs shows…. range……’, and ‘Y-axis on graph shows…. range….’
  • Use the words like over, about, under… to point out the values on the axis.
  • Don’t keep silent, speak something about the image as you see.

Section-4: Retell Lecture:-

  • Note the keywords by understanding the context of the topic.
  • If you can’t remember exact names, you can use titles where applicable such as doctor, the Scientist, the teacher etc…
  • Key is to understand the context and the gist of the recording which can help in re-telling the narration
  • Use phrases such as ‘The lecture provides brief information about….’ or ‘According to the speaker, he said…..’ etc… to elaborate the given lecture.
  • Avoid silence, speak something relates to lecture. 
  • Do not add your own story.

Section-5: Short Answers:-

  • If you don’t know the answer, just repeat the words in the question.
  • Don’t forget the articles a,an,the before some words.

General Tips for PTE Speaking:

  • Fluency and accuracy are the key to score high on PTE.
  • Avoid Silences / long gaps while answering.
  • Be familiar with question types and timings.
  • Practice with headsets and in different atmospheres.
  • Try to familiarize with different accents.
  • Record yourself while practising and hear it to identify mistakes.