PTE is a test of English as a Foreign Language created by Pearson.
Unique test features
Speaking section
Listen to a sentence and repeat it
PTE has a lot of small tasks such as listen to a sentence and repeat what you’ve heard.
Describe a graph
PTE has also a section where you need to describe a graph, bar chart, line chart or a diagram. You will need to describe it orally using specific vocabulary. For example, after looking at a bar chart, you will say in a microphone, “The consumption of coffee in Australia significantly increased in 2024. The chart shows that in 2022 50% of Australian population bought a cup of coffee everyday but by 2024 this figure went up by 20%.
Listen to a lecture and retell it
PTE also has tasks where you need to listen to a short lecture and then retell it. For example, in 2013 PTE practice tests the themes of such lectures were: the importance of museums in building communities through education and entertainment; how graffiti evolved from low to high art; how to use focus groups in research.
Writing section
Summarise a passage in one sentence
PTE has also a task where you need to read a text and then summarise it in one sentence. This task tests your ability to understand the text and synthesise your ideas in a complex sentence. You also need to be able to understand what details in the text were essential and which details were not so important. You need to zoom out on the text to see a bigger picture and summarise it succinctly.
Write an essay
You are given 20 minutes to write an essay. In some essay questions you will be asked to express your opinion on a topic, discuss advantages and disadvantages of something, and provide examples to support your point of view. It’s important to structure your essay well. Example essay questions: “Schools should prepare students for university, rather than work.” Explain if you agree or disagree with this statement (Pearson Education Limited, 2013, p. 28)
Arina teaches PTE courses in Cambridge, UK and online.
When you get in touch with Arina please include the following information:
- When would you like to sit for the test?
- What score do you need to achieve?
- Have you taken this test or any other similar tests before, such as IELTS, B2 First, TOEFL, and if yes, what was your score?