PTE Speaking practice
Speaking is tested at the start of the exam, together with Writing, and every response is recorded through your microphone and machine-scored. Most Speaking tasks give you a short preparation time, a beep, and then a fixed recording window — so the skill you are really building is speaking clearly and steadily the moment the microphone opens.
Speaking question types
PTE Academic
- Personal Introduction
- Read Aloud
- Repeat Sentence
- Describe Image
- Retell Lecture
- Answer Short Question
- Summarize Group Discussion
- Respond to a Situation
PTE Core
- Read Aloud
- Personal Introduction
- Repeat Sentence
- Describe Image
- Answer Short Question
- Respond to a Situation
What makes the difference
- Each Speaking response is judged on what you say (content) and how you say it (pronunciation and oral fluency). Steady pace and clear word endings usually matter more than speed.
- Recording stops if you are silent for about three seconds, and you cannot record again — keep talking, even after a small mistake.
- Several Speaking tasks also count towards your Reading or Listening score, so they are some of the most valuable minutes of the test.
Guides for this skill
- PTE Personal Introduction: What It Is and How to Prepare How the PTE Personal Introduction works: the reading and recording times, why it is not scored, and how to use it as a warm-up for the Speaking section.
- PTE Read Aloud: Format, Scoring and Tips How PTE Read Aloud works: the preparation and recording times, what is scored, practical strategies, common mistakes and a worked example.
- PTE Repeat Sentence: Format, Scoring and Tips How PTE Repeat Sentence works: how long you have, how it is scored, memory strategies that help, common mistakes and an example.
- PTE Describe Image: Format, Scoring and a Simple Structure How PTE Describe Image works: preparation and speaking time, what is scored, a simple structure for graphs, maps and pictures, and common mistakes.
- PTE Re-tell Lecture: Format, Scoring and Note-Taking Tips How PTE Re-tell Lecture works: the lecture length, preparation and speaking times, what is scored, note-taking strategies, common mistakes and an example.
- PTE Answer Short Question: Format, Scoring and Tips How PTE Answer Short Question works: the question length, how long you have to answer, how it is marked, quick strategies and common mistakes.
- PTE Summarize Group Discussion: Format, Scoring and Tips How PTE Summarize Group Discussion works: the discussion length, preparation and speaking time, what is scored, a structure for your summary and common mistakes.
- PTE Respond to a Situation: Format, Scoring and Tips How PTE Respond to a Situation works on PTE Academic and PTE Core: preparation and speaking times, what is scored, how to sound appropriate, and an example.
Other skills: PTE Writing practice · PTE Reading practice · PTE Listening practice
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