Speaking: Core English Skills

PTE Author
PTE Author
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Reading time: 3 minutes

In Part 1 of the PTE Academic test, you require certain skills to answer the questions within the test to the best of your ability.

We’ve put together some tips and advice on how to practice and improve your core skills.

Oral Fluency

Oral fluency applies to the Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image and Re-tell Lecture question types.

To improve your oral fluency before your test, we recommend that you speak English as often as you can. If you don’t have anyone you can speak English with, join an English-speaking club or take a short course.

As soon as you’ve booked the test, we suggest that you try to read, listen and write in English as much as you can.

If you’re having trouble with speaking too slow or too fast, record yourself and listen back to identify where you need to improve.

You can also use Tiny Texts to help improve your speaking. Read the text silently to yourself, then listen to a recording while you read and have a try afterward to read at a similar pace.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation skills are required for the Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image and Re-tell Lecture question types.

In PTE Academic you do not have to speak like a fluent speaker of English to do well. However, you do need to use a pronunciation that can be understood by a regular speaker of English.

This means you need to make sure your vowel and consonant sounds are pronounced in a fluent-like way with the correct words. You also need to use the correct sentence stress to convey meaning.

Luckily, there are many online tools that can help with your pronunciation, such as:

Vocabulary

The only question type in the speaking section that will require strong vocabulary skills is Answer Short Question.

The easiest way to improve your vocabulary is to keep a vocabulary notebook to use as your own personal dictionary. When you hear or see new words, add them along with the meaning and put them in a sentence.

Want more prep ideas?

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.

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    If you have completed PTE Academic, you would know by now that it is scored against the Global Scale of English and that you need to practice many skills for each part of the test: Speaking & Writing, Reading, and Listening.

    After completing PTE Academic you will receive an email notification that your results are available online. Typically within 2 days. Learn how to access your Score Report.

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    When you receive your Score Report it will show you your overall score, which is based on your performance across all test items. Your communicative skills that are measured are listening, reading, speaking and writing.

    This is an example of what your Score Report may look like.

    The enabling skills are those skills that are required to fulfill the question types in the test. It’s important to know what each of these skills refers to.

    Grammar

    Correct use of language with respect to word form and word order at the sentence level.

    Oral Fluency

    Smooth, effortless and natural-paced delivery of speech.

    Pronunciation

    Production of speech sounds in a way that is easily understandable to most regular speakers of the language. Regional or national varieties of English pronunciation are considered correct to the degree that they are easily understandable to most regular speakers of the language.

    Spelling

    Writing of words according to the spelling rules of the language. All national variations are considered correct, but one spelling convention should be used consistently in a given response.

    Vocabulary

    Appropriate choice of words used to express meaning, as well as lexical range.

    Written Discourse

    Correct and communicatively efficient production of written language at a textual level. Written discourse skills are represented in the structure of a written text, its internal coherence, logical development, and the range of linguistic resources used to express meaning precisely.

    How do I identify my areas of weakness?

    From the visual graph on your Score Report, you will be able to see areas you need to improve on. You should aim to develop your core (enabling) skills required across all areas of the test.

    The following resources will help you develop your enabling skills:

    How can I improve in each part of the test?

    It’s also worth focusing on particular parts of the test or questions you think you had trouble with. The following articles may help you improve your skills across questions:

    If you don’t already have one, it’s recommended to work with an English teacher to work through areas that may need improvement.

    Good luck!