Thursday, November 12, 2015

Speaking

Introduction of the test

This part of the test consists of some questions where an audio is listened to and then a spoken response given. This test is divided into 2 sections. 
Section 1: Personal introduction
Section 2: Read aloud, repeat sentences, describe images, re-tell lectures and answer short questions. 










Section 1: 

Personal Introduction

Although it is not marked, this part is also important. You will be allocated 1 minute to describe about ourselves. You will be given 1 minute to complete this task. The questions you will be asked: 
  • Your interests 
  • Your plans for future study
  • Why you want to study abroad
  • Why you need to learn English
  • Why you chose this test
A Sample: 
My full name is XYZ. I am from ABC. I am a student of Commerce. I finished my Master in Accounting and Finance. I like reading books, watching movies and travelling, I am taking this test as it is a requirement of the immigration for my permanent residency. Also, I believe PTE is a fair and without human involvement test. 

Section: 2

  1. Read aloud: In this section, you are given a text (up to 60 words) and are asked to read the text aloud. You do 6 to 7 of these items. It will assess your reading and speaking skills.
  2. Repeat Sentences: In this section, you hear a sentence. You are asked to repeat the sentence exactly as you heard it. You do ten to twelve of these items. 
  3. Describe Image: In this section, you are given an image (picture, graph, table, etc). You are asked to describe in detail what the image is showing. You do six to seven of these items. depending on the combination of items in your test. 
  4. Re-tell lecture: In this section, you hear a lecture, you are asked to retell the summary in your own words. There will be 3 to 4 lectures on this items. 
  5. Answer short question: In this section, you are asked a question, the answer to which is a word or short phrase. You will get 10 to 12 items. 

How to practice and be successful in the test 

Majority of people find PTE speaking is harder, get nervous and fail to get desire score. In this section, fluency and pronunciation are mainly get priority. First rule for this section is be confident about your speaking, and increase and improve your fluency and  pronunciation. I will describe one by one and give some tips and tactics. I hope it may help you. 

1. Read aloud: 

  • You will have 30-40 seconds to go through the text. Read it silently and try to figure out any words you do not know using context and word structure clues.
  • When you speak into the microphone, read every single word. Do not miss out words or rush through. Apply your letter-sound knowledge or phonemic awareness to pronounce unfamiliar words. 
  • When you speak, try to link the words within phrases and do not emphasize grammar words such as prepositions and articles. This will help achieve native-like rhythm and phrasing, and sound more fluent. 
  • Don't eat up any words. 
  • Read aloud before the microphone open. It may help you to continue the fluency and find out the unfamiliar words. Try to pronounce the unfamiliar words again and again. 
  • To learn this section, you can read any short paragraph or text from any book or newspaper. Develop a habit to read blogs or magazines and read it aloud. 
  • If you have pronunciation problem with any certain word, take help from online dictionary and play the word, listen and repeat again and again. Try to do that with similar words. 
You can practice from the given link below: 
Read aloud- click here

You can listen and read the script at the same time: 

2. Repeat sentences: 

You will be score on the correct word sequences that you produce in this item. You have to repeat as you listen. If you listen and remember any meaningful words, just repeat that one accurately. Make a mental note of the way the speaker uses stress and intonation, try to follow that one and repeat it.
It requires lots of practice, focus and development in short-term memory. Here is some resources to practice more and more.

For initial stage:

Link 1- click


Link 4- click

Link 5- click

Some important resources to practice repeat sentences: 

click here 1

click here 2

click here 3

click here 4

click here 5

click here 6

click here 7


3. Describe image: 

  • You will be given 25 seconds to prepare the answer, and 40 seconds to speak about it. 
  • You have to identify the main features or treads, and names of features or variable in labels. Identify the significant features, major contrasts or changes over time. ( Introduce the image, mention the highest/lowest point, trend and conclusion). 
  • Speak fluently, clearly ( do not rush). 
  • Here fluency and pronunciation will be assessed. 
  • Don't try to describe everything, only main features and trend. 
So, there are several types of images and charts can be appeared in the exam, for example, bar chart, line chart, pie chart, maps. flow charts, and any images that you will be asked to describe.
We just need to keep in mind that we have to fluent with a normal speed of speech and produce a clear pronunciation.
Divide the image in three section:
1. Introduce the graph/image- what type of image and what is about it?
2. Main/ key points - Highest and lowest number or percentage, what is the significant points?
3. Conclude it with the trend- upward trend, downward trend, or increased/ decreased, or no change.

Finish it within 4- 5 sentences. Keep it very simple. Remember that only your fluency and pronunciation will be assessed. 
A sample:

"The line graph shows the population of Denmark from year 1996 to 2007. The population was 5.25 million in year 1996 and about 5.45 million in year 2007. So, we can say Denmark’s population grew/increased steadily by 0.25 million".

How to describe a image: 

Some useful words and phrases to describe the image: 

Describe the Graph
What  How  How much Trend
Increase Present- Increase/Grow/Rise,        Past-                            increased, grew, rose,  Significantly/ rapidly/quickly, slowly, gradually, steadily, sharply by %, by (units), from X to Y an upward trend
Decrease Present- Decrease/fall/decline/drop, past- decreased/fell/declined/dropped Significantly/ rapidly/quickly, slowly, gradually, steadily, sharply by %, by (units), from X to Y a downward trend
No change Remain constant/static/the same, no change Remained unchanged



This link is really helpful to learn how to describe graphs and charts- click here

4. Re-tell lecture: 

  • You will be asked to summarize a lecture. As you listen, start taking notes of the main and supporting ideas. 
  • Don't write down everything you hear. Use key words, short form, symbols and arrows to capture the most important ideas. 
  • When the recording stops, you have 10 seconds to prepare you answer. 
  • Use notes to summarize all the main points and add as many supporting details or examples as you can, as well as any implications or conclusions. 
  • Speak clearly and at a natural pace. 
A short-cut suggestion to take note for re-tell lecture: 

Few links to practice re-tell lecture:



5. Answer short questions: 

You will be asked few short questions. You have to give the answer using a word or using few words.


Here is a file to practice short answer questions: click here







5 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. out of hundreds of tips i have come across on internet, this is best one..
    Really i must appreciate the efforts this author has put behind making all this collection and uploading here

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thx, mate.

    Your tips are really helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. thank you, this tips are really awsm

    ReplyDelete