10 free lesson plans for PTE preparation

PTE Author
PTE Author
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Reading time: 6 minutes

When you’re preparing students for a high-stakes exam like PTE Academic, it’s important to give them the strategies they need to succeed. But teaching exam techniques can be challenging as there’s often a lot to cover in a short space of time.  

A good lesson plan will help you to give your students all the information they need while making sure you are using your class time as effectively as possible. 

So, let’s take a look at some of the free lesson plans available on the PTE website, and see how they can help you save time planning your PTE Academic classes.  

1. Reading & writing: Fill in the blanks 

The Reading & writing: Fill in the blanks task type requires students to use their knowledge of collocation and grammar to help them predict which word best fits in each blank. There are several strategies which students can employ to help them narrow down their choices.  

In the lesson plan, there is an example task for students to practice, pair work activities, and finally a test item for students to use the strategies they have learned. 

Download the lesson plan now

2. Reading: Fill in the blanks  

In the Reading: Fill in the blanks task, test takers will need to use contextual and grammatical cues to choose the correct answer.  

This lesson plan covers a few of the different techniques that students need to learn to answer correctly; reading for gist, word prediction, and analyzing optional answers. There are also two examples for students to practice these techniques and see which ones are the most helpful. 

Download the lesson plan now

3. Read aloud  

The Read aloud task in PTE Academic integrates speaking and reading skills, requiring students to read a short text with the correct pronunciation and intonation. There are three distinct strategies which students need to use to ensure success. They’ll have to decode word meaning from context, and use phonemic awareness to pronounce unfamiliar words. They’ll also need to link words together when speaking to appear fluent.  

In the lesson plan, you’ll see how to teach your students these strategies, step by step, and then use them to answer an example question.  

Download the lesson plan now

4. Highlight correct summary  

The Highlight correct summary task type requires students to listen and read at the same time. They’ll have to understand and analyze information from a recording in order to identify the most accurate summary of this information.  

So, what strategies can they use? This lesson will show you how to help your students develop effective note-taking skills, which are essential for this task. They’ll also need to skim the text, identify the topic sentence and the main ideas, and connect the information they’ve read with the recording.  

Download the lesson plan now

5. Describe image  

Test takers often find the Describe image task to be one of the most challenging questions in PTE Academic. However, when you break it down into logical steps, as suggested in this lesson plan, your students will find it a lot easier.  

Your class will need to study the image and identify the most important features of the graph, then use the appropriate statistical vocabulary to talk about pie charts, bar graphs, and trends in line graphs in a well-structured and simple description.   

If you find these resources useful, you might also like to read our PTE Teacher profiles and get insider tips from PTE professionals. 

Download the lesson plan now

6. Answer short question  

The Answer short question exam task is fairly straightforward and doesn’t require a particular strategy to answer. However, students will need to do a lot of reading to increase their general knowledge, boost their vocabulary and develop their word skills.  

The lesson plan offers suggestions for helping your students to build their academic vocabulary knowledge and details a few strategies which can help students when they are listening to the question, such as listening for direction words. 

Download the lesson plan now

 7. Summarize written text  

In the Summarize written text task, your students will need to use two different reading skills. They’ll have to skim the text for gist, then scan it for keywords. They’ll also need to make notes, and then condense them into one sentence between 5 and 75 words long which summarizes the text.  

In this lesson, your students will practice each step, learning how to identify keywords, making notes, and sharing them with the class. They will then work in pairs to create summarizing sentences.  

Download the lesson plan now

8. Re-order paragraphs  

The Re-order paragraphs reading task requires your students to be familiar with the organization and cohesion, or academic texts. In this lesson, you’ll teach your students how to recognize a topic or opening sentence, and then use that information to identify a flow within the passage. In groups of four, students will swap work and read their reordered paragraphs aloud, then get feedback from their peers. 

Download the lesson plan now

9. Reading: Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers 

In the Reading: Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers task, students will need to use a variety of reading skills. Sometimes, they’ll be able to use their own background knowledge of a topic to help them answer the question - but at other times, this won’t be appropriate.  

You’ll teach them how to choose which approach to use by identifying the focus of the question. Then, they will share their ideas on the type of text they are reading, learn how to find specific information, and work in pairs to rule out inappropriate answers.  

Download the lesson plan now

10. Listening: Fill in the blanks  

When it comes to Listening: Fill in the blanks, your students will need to use both listening and writing skills to answer this question type successfully. They will need to listen for missing words in a recording, and then type the missing words into a transcript of the recording.  

In this lesson, you will explain and practice the strategies to succeed in this question. Timing is of the essence. That makes it important for your students to get lots of practice in listening to long words and taking note of the word roots.  

Download the lesson plan now

What’s included in your lesson plan pack? 

There are twenty lesson plans available to download in total; one for each question type in PTE Academic.  

Download the full lesson plan pack and get a PDF of each lesson plan and the audio files you’ll need to use for sample tasks which require them. Also included are model answers, so your students can see what they are working towards.  

Discover more PTE Academic preparation resources 

For more preparation resources, head to the PTE Academic website, where there are lots more PTE Academic resources for teachers who are helping students to prepare for their tests.  

And finally, sign up for our monthly PTE Teacher newsletter, where you’ll get advice, resources, and inspiration. 

Related Content

  • Image- study group 800px
    Part 1: English Speaking & Writing Test Introduction
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Part 1 of PTE Academic will take 77-93 minutes and will test your speaking and writing skills.

    To test speaking skills, you will be assessed on your ability to produce spoken English in an academic environment.

    Your writing skills will be assessed by giving written responses in academic English using correct grammar, spelling, and structure.

    Personal Introduction

    First, you will be asked to give a personal introduction to give some information about yourself.

    You will have 25 seconds to read the prompt and prepare your response. You will only have 30 seconds to record a response and can only record this once.

    Don’t worry, your personal introduction is not scored but will be sent together with your score report to the institutions selected by you.

    For the speaking and writing test, there are seven types of questions that you will be scored on. Below, we will break down each part of this section of the test.

    Read Aloud

    The first question type to test your reading and speaking skills will be the Read Aloud assessment. In this test there are 6-7 questions.

    You will be shown a text prompt that will be up to 60 words. You will have 30-40 seconds to prepare by reading the passage. You will also have a set time to read aloud, which will vary by item, depending on the length of the text.

    To complete the question, speak clearly and straight away after you hear a tone. You must finish speaking before the progress bar on the screen reaches the end.

    You can receive a maximum of 3 points for the content spoken, a maximum of 5 points for oral fluency, and a maximum of 5 points for pronunciation.

    Repeat Sentence

    The second question type is Repeat Sentence, which will test listening and speaking skills.

    You will listen to a recording between 3-9 seconds and are given 15 seconds to answer.

    Once the microphone shows as recording, you will need to speak straight away and say all the words that the speaker uses, in the same order.

    For this question, you can receive a maximum score of 3 for content, a maximum 5 for oral fluency, and a maximum of 5 points for pronunciation.

    Describe Image

    The third question type will test speaking skills by describing an image. There are 6-7 questions.

    You will be shown an image and have 25 seconds to study the image and prepare your response. For this task, use the Erasable Noteboard Booklet to take short notes.

    After a short tone is heard, start speaking straight away. You will have 40 seconds to answer and must finish speaking before the progress bar reaches the end.

    In this question type, you can receive a maximum of 5 points for content, a maximum of 5 points for oral fluency, and a maximum of 5 points for pronunciation.

    Re-tell Lecture

    The fourth question type, Re-tell Lecture, will test your listening and speaking skills. There are 3-4 questions in this test.

    You will be given a prompt of up to 90 seconds and will have 40 seconds to answer.

    Audio will be played straight away and you may also see an image related to the audio. While you are listening use the Erasable Noteboard Booklet to take short notes.

    Once the audio finishes you have 10 seconds to prepare. To complete the task, in detail, you will need to cover the situation, characters, aspects, actions, and developments given in the recording.

    You can receive a maximum score of 5 points on content, a maximum of 5 points on your oral fluency, and a maximum of 5 points for pronunciation.

    Answer Short Question

    The fifth question type, Answer Short Question, will assess listening and speaking skills. There are 10-12 questions in this test.

    Here, you will be given a prompt of 3-9 seconds and will have 10 seconds to answer the question.

    You will be required to answer a short question with a clear, simple, single word or a few words. This will not test general knowledge, it will simply test your vocabulary.

    You will receive 1 point per correct word. No points are given for no response or incorrect response.

    Summarize Written Text

    In the first question type in the writing section, you will be required to Summarize Written Text, which will test reading and writing skills.

    You will read a text of up to 300 words and have 10 minutes to write your summary. You will do 2-3 of these questions depending on the combination of tasks in the given test.

    In this assessment, you must write just one sentence. Try using the Erasable Noteboard Booklet to take notes of the main points.

    Make sure to include the main points of the text in a full, single sentence of no more than 75 words.

    You can receive a maximum score of 2 points for content, maximum 1 point for the formal requirements, a maximum of 2 points for grammar and a maximum of 2 points for vocabulary.

    Essay

    The last question type of the Speaking and Writing Test will test writing skills.

    In this question type, you will be provided with 2-3 sentences of text prompt and have 20 minutes to answer, by writing a 200-300 word argumentative essay on a given topic.

    Time management is important for this task as you will need to plan, write and proofread your essay.

    In this question, there are many parts where you can receive points. You can receive a maximum of 3 points for the content, maximum of 2 points for the formal requirements and maximum 2 points for development, structure and coherence.

    You can also receive a maximum score of 2 points for grammar, maximum 2 points for general linguistic range, maximum 2 points for vocabulary range and a maximum of 2 points for no spelling errors.

    There is a total of 15 points that you can pick up in this question type.

    What's next?

    Read more about Part 2: Reading Test Introduction.

    Want more prep ideas?

    Plus, explore Smart Prep, which combines all our practice materials in one place, so it's easier for you to stay on track with your PTE preparation.

    • Smart Prep is a clear path to test day, guiding you through the official paid and free resources available for your test

    • It can be accessed whether you’ve booked a test or not – just create, or sign in to your myPTE account

    • Preparation materials include guided practice tests, introductory videos, video courses and test tips.

    Ready to get started?

  • Image, student, 800px x 451px
    Australian loans for international students
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    It’s not hard to understand why so many international students want to move to Australia. The country has a world-class education system, excellent climate, and high quality of life. But studying in Australia can be expensive – and you need to be financially prepared before you take the leap.  

    In this blog, we’ll help you get started. We’ll explore the student loan options available for international students in Australia, as well as other ways to fund your studies.  

    How much money will I need? 

    Before you begin to research student loans, it’s important to understand how much it costs to live and study in Australia. You can use the Course Search Tool to find out detailed tuition fee for your dream course and the Cost of Living Calculator to estimate the living cost based on the city you want to move to.  

    What student loans in Australia could I be eligible for? 

    Australia’s student loan system is known as the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP).  Unfortunately, HELP can only be accessed by Australian citizens or individuals who hold a humanitarian visa. However, there are still lots of other student loans available for international students in Australia.  

    University loans 

    Universities across Australia provide loans for local and international students. Most institutions offer both short-term and long-term loans; these can help students cover emergencies, as well as pay for bigger expenses.  

    Here are a few examples of what some universities offer:  

    • The University of Melbourne will loan eligible students up to$5,000 AUD ($3,883 USD) if they have an Australian co-signer. They’ll loan students up to $3,000 AUD ($2,330 USD) if their co-signer lives overseas or isn’t an Australian citizen/ permanent resident. 

    • The University of Sydney offers loans up to $2,000 ($1,550 USD), which can be paid back up to two years after graduation.  

    • Students in need of financial assistance at Monash University can take out loans between $750-$3,000 AUD ($544 – $2,330 USD), to be paid back within 6-12 months. 

    Universities across Australia offer similar loans. It’s best to check directly with your institution to see exactly what loans are available to students – and to make sure you’re eligible.  

    International student loan schemes  

    You might be eligible to take out federal student loans in your home country to study in Australia. For example, students from the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Norway, or Denmark who attend the University of Sydney can access government funding from home.  

    Private loans  

    A private loan is one of the simplest forms of international student loans in Australia: you borrow money from a bank or similar lender and repay the loan (with interest) over an agreed-upon period of time. These loans can be secured – which means they’re tied to collateral – or unsecured. But with unsecured loans, interest rates are usually higher. 

    How else can I pay for my studies? 

    Student loans aren’t the only way to pay for your education in Australia. Here are a few other options to consider:  

    Work in Australia  

    Many international students are attracted to Australia because they know they’ll be able to work. Unlike other studies abroad destinations, you can work up to 48 hours every two weeks while studying and unlimited hours during study breaks on an Australian student visa. Even more, the minimum wage in Australia is $24.10 per hour or $915.90 per week – meaning many international students are able to pay for some of the costs associated with living in Australia while they study.   

    Apply for scholarships 

    There are a number of scholarship opportunities for international students in Australia – both funded by the government, and universities. Some, like Australia Awards scholarships, support students with full tuition, living costs, and airfare. Check out the Australian Government’s search tool to find a scholarship that’s right for you.  

    Read more: scholarships for international students in Australia 

    Take out a private loan in your home country

    To apply for a student visa in Australia, you need to prove you have sufficient funds. For this reason, many students decide to take out a private bank loan in their home country before coming to study in Australia.

    As you can see, there are lots of ways to fund your studies in Australia as an international student. But everyone’s financial situation is different, so we recommend doing lots of research to find a loan you feel confident about – and one that will work for you both during, and after university.

    Still, deciding where in the world you want to study? Check out our article types of loans for international students, which explores more loan options in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.

    We are not immigration agents. For all up-to-date information about visa rules and regulations, see the official guidelines on the Australia Department of Home Affairs website.

    Last updated 20 December 2024.

  • Image- scholarships, 800px x 451px
    Scholarships for international students in the UK
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    The UK is home to some of the most prestigious universities in the world. And, being awarded a scholarship to study in the UK can give you access to a top-level education at a more affordable price.  

    So, how do you apply? UK university scholarships are offered by both the UK government and individual universities – and are available for undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students alike. In this blog, we’ll highlight some of the top scholarships for international students in the UK:  

    Undergraduate scholarships in the UK