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Introducing PTE Academic

PTE Academic is a globally-recognized English language proficiency test for study or work abroad. It is visa-approved for Australia and New Zealand and is accepted by universities across all major English-speaking destinations including UK, USA, Ireland, and Canada. 

PTE Academic is designed to test your ability to use English in an academic setting, by using real academic material across a range of subjects. It typically gives results in 5 days and is designed to ensure complete fairness for all its candidates. For all these reasons and more, PTE Academic is an increasingly popular and trusted English test!

PTE Speaking is one of the most important parts of the test. It is here that you can either shine or go down. So, you must be prepared. All the tests are timed and it must perform well keeping that in mind. Hurray now offers that chance to take the PTE Online Training option where you can have a one-on-one discussion with the trainer about your scores, how to improve them and extra references that will make your foundation stronger.

Quick info

• Standard Test Fee (for Indian nationals): INR 13,300 (INR 11,271 + 18% GST)

(as of October 2018, subject to change without prior notice)

• Test Dates: Flexible, available 360 days of the year

• Scores can be sent to unlimited institutions, at no additional cost

Read Aloud - Description

There will be a passage of about 60 words on the computer screen. Your task is to read the passage aloud into the microphone. 

The passage will be academic in nature. You must finish reading before the recording is completed, but you will be given enough time.

The objective of the task, is to test you on the following:

1. Content: have you read every word in the passage, without changes, omissions or added words?

2. Oral fluency: is your speech clear and at a natural rate of speed?

3. Pronunciation: would your pronunciation of the words enable others to understand you?

Common problems

These are some of the stumbling blocks that we see our students face while answering this task.

1. When coming across unfamiliar words, students stumble or pause for too long.

2. Students start out reading too slowly, and then rush toward the end.

These problems are easy to overcome – if you follow the steps given below!

TIPS & STRATEGIES

To do this task properly you must know certain tips and strategies. Out PTE Online coaching course is designed to incorporate all required strategies and apply them to the questions while answering. You can apply the given tips to this example:

‘Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ Essentially, sustainable development involves an approach that seeks to balance out the different and often conflicting needs of human society. Such an approach necessitates an awareness of the environmental, social, and economic limitations of human society as it exists in the present.

Preparing for the task

1. Practice!

We recommend practicing with a number of PTE mock tests – 3-4 at minimum, and as many as you can!

Practice will help you get used to the time limit, to ensure you maintain a steady pace of reading aloud. It will also help you learn how to use the punctuations and stress important words (as we describe below).

*Bonus tip: record yourself! When you play it back you will be able to hear if you are clear and natural, and where you need to improve.

2. Listen to English in use

Including good TV channels – such as BBC news or Discovery programs, and good movies – preferably, where English is being spoken by native speakers (like British or American). This will help you improve your fluency and pronunciation.

(Though you must never try to adopt a fake accent!) 

3. Build vocabulary

The better your vocabulary, the easier it will be for you to understand the passage – and when you understand what you are reading, you will read better!

Performing the task

You will be given 30-40 seconds to prepare, before the task begins. During this time, read through the passage quickly, to familiarize yourself with the content. 

*Bonus tip: If there are any words that you do not know, keep track of them so that they do not cause you to falter during the task.

While performing the task, keep note of the following tips:

1. Use punctuation for speech modulation

Note: if you pause for 3 seconds or more, the recording will stop – be aware!

2. Stress on the important words 

During the prep time, you will figure out what the main topic is. Accordingly, you will be able to identify what are the important words. These are the words that are necessary to make your listener know what they should information they should learn from the passage.

When stressing a word, you must say it slightly slower, slightly louder and with a very brief pause.

e.g. ‘Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’

3. Do not rush 

You have enough time! Focus on saying each word clearly. 

Remember practice makes perfect! If you listen to native speakers on audios or videos regularly you will understand more of what they are saying and how. Practice sounds that you find difficult to imitate. Make a note of them. Identify similar sounding words or rhyming words and repeat them. Record yourself and make a comparison to the videos you were listening to. Do they sound the same or similar? Is there a particular sound you are unable to grasp? The more you practice and identify the usage, stress and intonation of the words the more confident you will become and speak with clarity and good pronunciation.

If you are looking for the best PTE Online Training center in Bangalore then Hurray is your destination. Our trainers can help provide you more tips and practice opportunities, while also honing your language skills and working on problem areas.

Reach out to us via email: info@hurrayedutech.com or phone: 8971357938, for more details.