PTE English Speaking Part | Question Types & Mistakes Students Must Avoid

The PTE exam is a computer-based test known as The Pearson Test of English. PTE is used to measure the English knowledge of non-native speakers who are interested in applying to universities/colleges in English-speaking countries. 

PTE is divided into three versions. 

• PTE General
• PTE Academic
• PTE Young Learners.

The PTE exam test students’ proficiency through three different sections.

• Speaking & writing
• Reading
• Listening

In this blog, we will discuss the PTE English speaking part, but before that let’s discuss who is eligible for the PTE exam.

Read our other blog to learn how to book PTE exam.

Who Are Eligible For PTE Exam?

Students who have crossed 16 years can apply for the PTE exam. The official PTE website didn’t release any upper age limit for students. 

But the students between 16-18 should submit a parental consent form in advance, which is always available on PTE official site. You can download that from there.

PTE English Speaking Part Question Types And Common Mistakes

The PTE English speaking part was approximately 54-67 minutes. This speaking part has 5 different types of question sets. 

Your speaking accent and fluency were tested with these 5 different types of questions. But do you know what are the five categories of questions asked in PTE speaking? 

Here are the 5 different types of questions in the PTE English speaking test:

1. Read aloud

2. Repeat the sentence

3. Describe the image

4. Retell the lecture

5. Answer short questions

Before the PTE test actual questions start, there is a self-introduction part in PTE English speaking part.

Self-Introduction

This is the beginning of the session. This session allows you to introduce yourself. But note that this session has no points. 

This session just lets you introduce yourself to the institute you selected. This session will begin after the countdown appears on the screen. 

You have 25 seconds of preparation time. After the preparation time, you will hear a beep sound. you can start introducing yourself and have to complete your introduction before the progress bar reaches the end. 

And you can be checking whether it is recording or not by the word recording blinking on the screen. Once you finished your introduction the ‘recording’ will turn into ‘completed’.

Common mistakes in self-introduction

Start speaking after the beep sound or the recording symbol appears on the screen. You only have half a minute to record and Don’t rush your words. 

Speak Calmly because it is your first impression and that should look clear. You have only one chance to introduce yourself. so prepare yourself before taking a recording.

Read Aloud

Your actual examination session starts here. This session wants you to read the texts appearing on the screen.

You have 30-40 minutes to prepare yourself. You will have a paragraph-type question. you have to read the paragraph aloud without any accents or pronunciation mistakes. 

You will hear a beep sound after the preparation time ends. At that time you have to start and you need to finish before the progress bar reaches the end and the progress bar is always running on the screen.

Common mistakes in read aloud

This session’s name is read aloud. According to that, you have to read the texts clearly and loudly to the institute examiner. 

If you are struggling with any words don’t read them fast just hold on a few seconds and read them confidently. 

In PTE sometimes the accent of the language is not a big problem. And always make sure the recording symbol is blinking on the screen while you are recording.

Repeat Sentence

This session wants you to repeat the audio clip that appears on the screen. The audio clip starts playing automatically without any intimation or beep sound. 

Once the audio clip ends, the microphone will be on and you need to repeat the words that you hear from the audio clip.

Common mistakes in repeat sentence

Most of the people make common mistakes in this session. Because they didn’t know whether the microphone was turned on or not. 

Once the audio clip ended, the microphone automatically turned on. At that time your recording will start. 

Don’t confuse yourself with whether to record or not. If it is recording, you should see the recording symbol on the screen. 

When your listening is over, come closer to the microphone and Speak near the microphone because, unlike in another session, you will not hear any beep sound.

Describe Image

This session wants you to describe the image that appears on the screen. you will have 25 seconds time to look through the image. 

After 25 seconds, you will hear a low tone or a beep sound. At the time of the beep sound, your gazing time gets over, and your recording time will start automatically. you have to describe all the data present in the picture.

Common mistakes in describe image

Most people concentrated on covering all the data in the picture instead of fluency in speaking. Don’t make these kinds of mistakes. Language frequency is more important than covering all the data. Speak calmly and try to describe the image at your knowledge level. Do not forget that there is no intimation before the microphone is turned on, you will hear a beep sound, and after that, the microphone automatically gets turned on.

Retell Lecture

In this session, audio accompanied by images will play. Just watch the lecture. You will have 10 seconds of preparation time after the lecture gets over. then you will hear a beep sound immediately when the preparation time gets over.

Common mistakes in retell lecture

Speak in your own words. Don’t mug up the content and repeat. You can speak Whatever you understand in the lecture. Just imagine it is your class, and you are taking the lecture.

Answer The Question

In this session, you have to answer one or a few questions appearing on the screen. These questions moreover about your day-to-day activities. 

An audio clip or an audio clip with an image will be shown on the screen. Once the clip is over, the microphone is automatically turned on, and you must speak immediately. 

You will not hear a beep once the clip ends, and there is no preparation time. These clips will play one by one without any interval time.

Common mistakes in answer the question

Give lengthy answers. Don’t shorten your words. Don’t use words like hmmm…grrr… These kinds of words may spoil your fluency and create a bad impression. 

Speak slowly and steadily in your own accent. Frequently should check whether the microphone is turned on or not.

Strategies For PTE English Speaking Part

If you want to score high in the speaking section of the PTE exam, you must follow some tips and strategies for PTE speaking. Here you will get the best strategies for the speaking section, which will improve your PTE English speaking part score.

Regular Practice

Practicing daily for PTE speaking is most important to improve your speaking skills. No matter how much time you get, whether 10 minutes or 1 hour, just practice speaking in English. There are numerous ways to practice speaking you can practice with a partner or hire a tutor. You can also practice speaking in front of a mirror and recording yourself.

Improve your vocabulary

Improve your vocabulary by reading newspapers, magazines, books, and articles. You can also watch English movies or shows with subtitles to improve your vocabulary. Note down new words and use them in sentences to remember.

Improve your pronunciation

Pronunciation is an important part of the PTE English speaking part. You must listen to words very carefully and learn their exact pronunciation. You must practice pronouncing difficult and common words by reading them aloud. Record yourself speaking and listen to the recording to find out whether you pronounced the word correctly or not.

Learn time management

Another skill you must have is time management for the speaking section. As there is a time limit for every type of question in the PTE exam, so learning time management will not only help you in the speaking section but also be beneficial for other sections.

Use proper grammar and sentence structure

Your grammar and sentence structure must be accurate to get a good score in the PTE exam. While speaking, you are required to use the appropriate verb, tense, and structure for the best result. You can purchase grammar books or take online classes to improve your grammar skills.

Build up confidence

When you practice daily and improve all the necessary skills, the last thing you must have is confidence. Be confident and believe that you can achieve your desired score. If you speak confidently, you will have fewer chances to make mistakes.

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Conclusion

In this blog, we have discussed the PTE English speaking part questions and common mistakes students make in those questions.

Speaking section of the PTE exam is very important for you to get a good overall PTE score. Speaking is the first section of the exam, and if this section went well, then there are chances that all other sections will also go well. And if you make mistakes in this section, you will lose confidence and can make mistakes in upcoming sections.

If you are one of those students who feel difficult to solve these questions, then you can use our online exam preparation help.

We hope we have cleared all your queries about PTE English speaking part, and if you still have any queries or questions, you can contact our experts. For more content like this, keep visiting CourseMentor™.

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