What PTE listens for
Most speaking tasks are scored on three things:
- Content: did you say the right things, in your own words?
- Pronunciation: are your sounds and word stress easy for most English speakers to understand? You don't need a native accent.
- Oral fluency: do you speak smoothly at a natural pace, without long pauses, repeats or restarts?
Fluency is the one people underestimate. A smooth answer with a small mistake usually scores better than a hesitant answer that's perfectly correct.
Practise each task
- Read AloudRead a short text with natural pausing and stress
- Describe ImageA simple structure and four practice images
- Respond to a SituationNew in 2025: everyday situations, formal or informal
- Summarize Group DiscussionNew in 2025: two minutes to summarise three speakers
Record yourself
The fastest way to improve is to hear yourself as the examiner would. Our speaking practice recorder uses the real preparation and speaking times for each task, then plays your answer back. The recording stays on your device.
Five habits that lift speaking scores
- Start speaking as soon as the microphone opens. Three seconds of silence can end the recording.
- Keep going after a mistake. Correcting yourself costs fluency points. Just carry on.
- Speak at a steady, natural pace. Rushing hurts pronunciation; slowing down too much hurts fluency.
- Use a simple structure for open tasks: overview, main points, conclusion.
- Practise with a headset, as you'll use one on test day. Keep the microphone near your chin, not in front of your mouth, to avoid breathing noise.