Everything About PTE

PTE Test Center: http://www.relc.org.sg/eb/ptea/ http://www.ieltswritingessays.com/category/pte/

PTE Exam pattern

Pte test is conducted to evaluate the candidate’s reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and apart from it candidate’s overall proficiency in the language. Pte format is comprised of three parts Part 1: It is consists of speaking and writing together of 77-93 minutes which includes:

Personal introduction



Read aloud



Repeat sentence



Describe image



Re-tell lecture



Answer short question



Summarize written text



Paragraph



Essay

Part 2: It is consists of Reading of 32-41 minutes which includes:

Multiple choice , choose multiple answers



Multiple choice, choose single answer



Re order paragraphs



Fill in the blanks



Reading and writing :fill in the blanks

Part 3: It consists of Listening of 45-57 minutes which includes:

Summarize spoken text



Multiple choice, choose multiple answers



Multiple choice, choose single answer



Fill in the blanks



Highlight correct summary



Select missing word



Highlight incorrect words



Write from dictation

Pte pattern questions are in relation with real life events; candidate might hear extracts from lectures and study through pie charts and graphs. Candidate will hear different accents ranging from British and American to non innate speakers, every kind of accent will be made acquaint to the candidate which he might be able to encounter in everyday life. Pte test format is designed to assess the candidate’s expertise in English language, his overall adeptness of the language. Pte test format is somewhat similar to other English proficiency test like IELTS which is also comprised of reading, writing, speaking and listening sections. The candidate has to answer all the questions asked in part 1, 2 and 3 and in an expected time slot. The pte format for both academic and general varies. In order to score well in pte test, candidate should get himself familiarize with pte pattern through solving different pte sample papers.

PTE Sample Paper -6 The PTE test comprises of 3 parts: 

Speaking and writing.



Reading.



Listening.

Speaking and writing comprises of the following: 1. Personal introduction. Time allowed is 1 minute. 2. Read aloud. Time allowed is 30-35 minutes for this section. 2.1. Repeat sentence. 2.2. Describe image. 2.3. Re-tell lecture. 2.4. Answer short questions. 3. Summarize written test. 3.1 Write essay. Section 1: (Personal Introduction) A candidate is not judged merely on the performance in the personal introduction section but candidate need to answer one or more of the following: 

His/her hobbies.



Ideas for future study.



Why he/she is willing to study abroad?



Why the candidate needs to learn English?



Why the candidate has chosen PTE academic?

A candidate will have 1 minute to respond the personal introduction section. Section 2: (Read aloud) Candidate will have a couple of sentences on his/her computer screen. The candidate has 40 seconds to read the sentences loudly and clearly and the candidate’s response will be recorded. For example: In the past, a motor car was considered an item of luxury and social status, but now it has become a source of necessity and is found in many households. The prices of motor cars have also gone up heavily in recent decades. 2.1 (Repeat section): A candidate will listen to a few sentences and he /she has to repeat each sentence the same way as heard by them. A candidate is allowed to hear a sentence only once. The candidate is required to play the CD and listen to the recordings and repeat the sentence and record the response. For example: Sports can provide great enjoyment and career. But there are those who argue that it is not possible for everyone to become a successful sportsperson. 2.2 (Describe Image): A candidate is required to see the graph or picture chart shown on computer screen. He/she is required to explain what the graph or picture is showing. For example: 

Explain this image.



What is the image mainly focussing on?

The candidate is allotted 40 seconds to describe the image and record his/her response. For example: 2.3 (Re-tell lecture): A candidate is required to listen to a lecture and after that he/she has to re-tell what they just heard in their own words. For example: What does the lecture focus on? The candidate will be given 40 seconds to make the response and record the same. 2.4 (Answer short question) A candidate is required to listen to a question and in turn is required to give a simple and short answer for the same. Write short answers comprises of the following: 

Comprehend the text. Time allowed is 20 minutes. The candidate has to read the passage and summarise it.

For example:

From centuries, we have managed to maintain a strong religious identity for ourselves. This identity preservation has helped to keep us united and this process is going on and on and will continue for the times to come. We can easily remember religious values being taught to us at school and a lot of precious learning would take place. Religious identity is a sensitive issue and this involves being very knowledgeable regarding our religious history. Here, the candidate needs to summarize the above example in 50-75 word count in his/her own words. As far as write essay section is concerned the candidate will have 20 minutes time duration to plan, write and revise an essay regarding the topic asked in 200-300 words. The response of the candidate will be judged on the basis of how well the candidate has presented his/her ideas and the accuracy of English. For example: Good defence capability is a vital feature for wellness and dignity of any nation. The better the defence is, more protected and prosperous the nation becomes. Now, the candidate has to discuss to which extent he/she agrees with the statement. The candidate needs to explain the reasons from his/her own experience and observations. Section 3: Writing test comprises of the following: 3.1 Summarize written text. As far as summarize written text is concerned, a candidate has to read the passage and summarize it. For this he/she will get 10-20 minutes to finish the task and the candidate’s performance will be judged by the quality of his/ her writing skills. For Example: Rich and famous include public figures like politicians, film-stars and sports-person. Such people are in the kind of jobs which leads them to be tested by the public and the press. Media is legally free to investigate and publish details of rich and famous. There are a few countries which are stricter than other countries in protecting privacy.

Now, a candidate needs to summarize the above example in his/her own words in 50-75 word count in 20 minutes duration. 3.2 Write essay In the write essay section the candidate will get 20 minutes duration to plan, revise and write an essay in about 200-300 words. Their performance will be judged on how well a candidate has expressed his/ her ideas in Standard English. For Example: The claim that poor have all “rights” has been a subject of debate since decades. Are we helping or hurting the poor people? Should poor be financially aided? Do you agree or disagree? Now a candidate needs to express his or her view point in detail for essay in 20 minutes duration. Reading test comprises of: a)

Multiple-choice, choose single answer.

b)

Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers.

c)

Re-order paragraphs

d)

Reading: fill in the blanks.

e)

Reading & writing: fill in the blanks.

The time allowed for reading section is 32-41 minutes and comprises of 5 parts. a)

In multiple-choice, choose single answer- the candidate has to select one single correct

response for the question asked. There are multiple choices but they need to select only one option. For example: Sportsperson were not very famous people in the past, but without a doubt they were very talented. They possessed a combination of skills. They were the guys with deep emotion for the sport they played. These days’ sports are played with same emotion and passion as in the past.

The candidate needs to select one option: 

Sportsperson were very famous in the past.



They did not have enough skills.



They were the guys with deep emotion for the sport they played.

b)

In multiple-choice, choose multiple answers; a candidate has to select all correct responses

from the options provided for the given question. For example: American troops invaded Vietnam with full military might. They fought Vietnamese for 15 long years. This operation had serious consequences as many American soldiers got killed. Vietnam finally won the war and emerged victorious. The candidate requires selecting more than one correct option: 

American troops invaded Vietnam.



They fought Vietnamese for 15 years.



America finally won the war.



This operation had serious consequences.

c)

In re-order paragraph part, the candidate will see the text boxes in random order and the

candidate has to re-order the text boxes and allot the numbering 1-5 to each box. For example: 

An economically poor student was asked to submit information regarding his father’s income.



A direct link was established between his tuition fee and fathers income.



He was convinced by the teachers that he will be assisted economically.



It was established that he was poor.

Now, the candidate needs to put them in correct order to make a complete sense. d)

In the fill in the blanks part, a candidate is required to fill the missing words from the drop box; a

text will appear on the screen with a few gaps. A candidate has to select a right answer for each blank. For example: 

Industrial revolution has added to………….prosperity.

Human, social, basic, individual

e)

In the reading and writing: fill in the blanks part, candidate will see a text appearing on the

screen with few gaps. Candidate needs to fill in the gap from a list of options. For example: 20% of the world’s total population lives in Europe. They have …………. to basic facilities like food, shelter and water.

Excess, access, recess

The listening test comprises of the following: i.

Summarize spoken text.

ii.

Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers.

iii.

Fill in the blanks.

iv.

Highlight correct summary.

v.

Multiple-choice, choose single answer.

vi.

Select missing word.

vii.

Highlight incorrect words. 1. Write from dictation.

i.

In summarize spoken text part, a candidate will hear a short report and has to write 50-70

words within the time duration of 10 minute. ii.

In the multiple-choice, choose multiple answers part; a candidate will hear a recording and

answer the question by selecting all the correct answers. As far as the fill in the blanks part is concerned, a candidate will listen to a recording and type the missing word in each blank For example: Nature is full of ………., who knows what will happen next moment. It is very tough……predict the nature.

Miracles, gifts, are, in, to

iii.

In the highlight correct summary part, a candidate will see a video and click on the

paragraph that best describes the video. iv.

In the multiple-choice, choose single answer, a candidate will hear the recording and

answer the multiple choice question by selecting one correct response.

For example: Russia is the largest country in the world. It is 6 times larger than India. Now, a candidate has to select the real answer.

v.



Russia is a small country.



It is 6 times larger than India.



It is a poor country.

In select missing word part, a candidate will listen to a recording and at the end of

recording; the last word or the group of words will be replaced by a beep. The candidate has to replace the beep by selecting a correct option to complete the recording.

PTE Speaking Tips – Speak up At the start of the test, a Pearson representative informed all of us that because we would be writing the test in close proximity to one another, we must keep our voices down so as not to distract others. This resulted in me cowering in my corner and whispering out of the side of my mouth into the microphone because I was afraid I was going to get in trouble for unleashing my booming voice upon my fellow test-takers. However, when I think back on it I realize that nobody else taking the PTE let a fear of distracting others undermine their resolve to be as loud and clear as possible, and they certainly didn’t get into any trouble for speaking at this volume. It’s important to understand that the PTE online test is assessed entirely by a computer. This means that a human being is NOT sitting there listening to your audio files and realizing that you are whispering like a terrified mouse because you are a polite Canadian who doesn’t want to throw anybody off! With this in mind, it’s your responsibility to speak as loudly and clearly as you need to in order to best demonstrate your language skill. If you are being too loud, somebody will come in and let you know. DO NOT be afraid to be a little selfish when you’re paying 330 AUD to be there! Along the same lines; at the beginning of the PTE test, you must speak into the microphone and listen to yourself to make sure the microphone is working. When I did this, I noticed there was a bit of background noise interfering with the sound quality of my recording, but I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal and I didn’t raise my hand and notify anyone about it. It’s very possible that this issue (in conjunction with all that whispering) is a large part of why I failed the PTE speaking section. If you think something is wrong, let someone know. An accurate representation of me during the PTE speaking section.

PTE Speaking Tips – Don’t be fazed Ok, I’ll admit it. Sitting in a small, enclosed cubicle and listening to nine other terrified people talk at their computers and click furiously on their keyboards is not the most relaxing way I’ve ever spent a Friday afternoon. Neither is staring blankly at your own screen as an unforgiving clock counts down and you struggle to think of what to say. It’s not an easy or natural setting in the least, but there are some ways you can make the experience it a little easier on yourself: First off, I would highly recommend doing some breathing exercises before you begin the test. One way to do this is to close your eyes for a minute and become aware of your breath and try to slow it down until it’s slow, deep and even. It must be noted that the “hyperventilate as your sweaty fingers click to the next page before you’re even ready to deal with it” method probably didn’t do me any favours. DO NOT drink coffee, tea, soft drinks etc. anytime before beginning the test if caffeine has any sort of stimulating effect on you. I literally chugged some delicious Melbourne espresso

moments before I entered the testing centre, and about 5 minutes into the PTE speaking section I became a terrifyingly scattered and hyper version of myself that I like to refer to as “Caffeine Kaia”. Needless to say, my concentration was quite difficult to maintain and I found it very challenging to focus on the test information or stay on track when I was speaking about each topic. The Pearson Academic representatives will tell you to pretend you are on a busy tram talking to a friend in order to make you feel better about the fact that there will be loud voices all around you. I’m not sure this is the best way to conceptualize the situation. On a busy tram with your friend, you are not in a stressful, high-stakes situation where your entire academic future or residency depends on how well you are able to communicate. Also, the computer doesn’t tell you how nice you look today or nod knowingly at you as you delve into the complexities of a bar graph. If I could re-do the PTE speaking section, I would pretend that I were in a busy public place recording a brief overview of a topic for a friend who hadn’t been present in class that day. I would just think about the basic points my friend missed and outline them as concisely as possible without trying to over-explain, keeping in mind that because they were not present to ask me for clarification, I would need to be as clear as possible on the first try. In short, don’t pretend the computer is a person that is having a conversation with you; see it for the tool that it is and use it that way.

PTE Speaking Tips – Be organized Anyone who knows me knows that I am probably the least organized person who has ever roamed the earth. Worse, I’m one of those procrastinator types who spent most of my university days pulling caffeine-fueled all-nighters the day before the big term project was due. If you are one of my kind, let me warn you right now: the PTE format will not be kind to you. Instead of taking notes in the 7-10 second countdown you get before you are recorded, I was busy staring out the window at the breathtaking Melbourne skyline! You don’t get a lot of time, but there is certainly enough to jot down some quick notes about what you are seeing or hearing in order to organize your thoughts while you speak. My inner procrastinator told me I would be able to assess and analyze the information in the moment and this was a spectacular miscalculation. What happened instead was that I ended up giving information in the wrong order and coming back to things I had already said to add further detail. The result was most likely a disjointed mess of information instead of a methodical explanation of a relatively simple topic. The best advice I can give to anyone doing PTE training before the test is topractice pinpointing important information and organizing it in a simple way in sequential order.

I’m still not 100% sure why I failed the PTE speaking test, but I do suspect that it may have been a combination of all the things I’ve listed above. I hope it helps at least one person to know that

the Pearson Academic test is challenging for native speakers too, and that I got to learn this lesson the hard way! And hey, whoever you are- make sure prepare yourself sufficiently!!!

Written by Kaia Myers-Stewart. July 13, 2016PTE, PTE Academic Test Tips, PTE Speaking, PTE Speaking Tips13 Comments PREPARING FOR THE TEST

One-on-One Teaching Trumps Classroom Learning Every Time I’ve been a classroom teacher and I am guilty of neglecting most of my students’ needs. The time I spent in the classroom was by and large a waste for my students. Each class that I taught would have very little relevance for the bottom third, very little relevance for the top third, and only be generally of interest to the middle third. I had to aim for the middle so as to not completely bore everybody. I’m not a bad teacher. Quite the contrary, I loved my classroom teaching days and I tried my very best. But no matter how good my preparation and delivery was, it was never relevant for all. Scientists have long known that no two learners are the same because no two brains absorb information the same way, at the same time. Perception and things like what you ate for breakfast determine what you cognize. Language learning exemplifies this rule. If you gave a class of “intermediate” language learners an identical IELTS, PTE, TOEFL or OET test, the questions they would get right and wrong would be almost completely random. The average level would be the same, but the specific errors would be individual. What one person understands, another doesn’t. What one person says, another can’t. The only influence that may mitigate the randomness of the errors would be the first language background of our imagined class. Indonesian speakers would generally struggle using gender pronouns, Korean speakers would generally struggle to use articles, Telegu speakers would generally struggle distinguishing “v” and “w”. In most language classrooms the language backgrounds are mixed. And even if they were the same, most teachers would not know how to direct lessons to improve “general” influences of first language. If I were to take a language test like the IELTS, TOEFL, PTE or OET, there’s no way I would prepare in a busy classroom. My second language is individualised. It’s mine. I know a certain amount of vocabulary. I have a certain grasp of the grammar. I can only write so well, in a particular way. I would need one-on-one tutorials rather than a generalised, broadcast lecture.

One-on-one time with a teacher is undoubtedly the fastest way to improve your second language because the teacher can focus in on your errors. Your writing is visual evidence of your grammar and vocabulary skills. Your speaking is audible evidence of your speaking skills. Let’s do some maths to make the comparison of classroom-based learning and one-on-one tuition more evident. Let’s imagine 15 students in a language classroom. They are 15 students vying for the teacher’s attention. So, we have to divide the amount of time of a class by the number of students in that class. Let’s say the class is one hour long. 60 minutes / 15 students = 4 minutes each. So, for every one hour spent in a classroom you will receive just 4 minutes of one-to-one attention from the teacher – barely enough to correct a few sentences. Put simply, what you can get in 40 minutes in a one-on-one tutorial would take you 10 hours in a classroom. Put another way, one-on-one tutoring is 15 times more efficient than classroom learning. If you want to prepare efficiently, avoid busy classrooms and get focused, personalised attention from an expert. http://www.e2language.com offers live, private tutorials with a language expert to help you build the skills you’ll need to succeed on the IELTS, PTE, TOEFL or OET. Sign up for free today and book an online consultation with one of our experts!

Written by Jay Merlo. July 6, 2016IELTS, OET, PTE, TOEFL2 Comments Yeap! I am Canadian, and this is my journey to the PTE exam. I knew from the beginning that moving from Canada to Australia would be one of the easiest transitions of my life. I mean, the culture is similar (excluding the fact that Canadians don’t ever feel comfortable walking around in public with no shoes on!), the food and coffee is actually better (I see you, strong skinny latte!), and of course the language spoken here is the same as the one I speak at home (although often shortened down to two syllables for some strange reason!) Australia also seemed like the ideal place for me to pursue graduate studies in psychology, as the programs in Melbourne come highly recommended, but more importantly are shorter than Canadian programs and thus ideal for lazy people like me who can’t fathom the idea of being chained to their university for nearly 7 years! And so it was that I left my life in Canada

to pursue the “Australian dream” (one hopefully filled with adorable kangaroos, fancy avocadobased brunches, and maybe even a handful of public shoeless adventures)! Here I am living out a shoeless adventure with my roommates!

When I arrived in Australia, I applied for a masters program at several well-known Melbourne universities and then immediately got to work hunting for scholarships to help offset the inordinate amount you have to pay as an international student if you want to study in Australia (for my program about 40,000 AUD a year). Within less than a month, I had gotten an email back from a major Melbourne university notifying me that I had gained early acceptance for my program! I was overjoyed, and spent about 30 minutes happy dancing around my living room before returning to my laptop to actually read the full offer. When I could finally contain my joyfilled victory spasms, I read my university offer more closely and realized something strange. I had been offered entry to my program —yes— but only on the condition that I sit an English proficiency exam like the PTE (Pearson Test of English). I thought this had to be some sort of mistake; I am a native English speaker from an English speaking country and it had never even crossed my mind that I might need to take some academic English test to prove my proficiency! Upon reviewing the full offer, I gave the university a call with the intention of explaining their mistake and then happily accepting their offer. I thought it would be a 10-minute conversation in which I explained the error, had a few laughs with the administration on the other end of the phone, and then went on my merry way. Instead it was a 3 hour ordeal in which the administration refused to withdraw the English proficiency condition and refused even further to take our extensive conversation as proof of my English ability. It turns out that because I had completed my high school and university courses partly in French (an excellent Canadian initiative known as “French immersion”) I did not meet the English language criteria for the program without taking a test. After my many and varied attempts at getting around this failed spectacularly, I found myself grudgingly typing “what is pte test” into the google search bar. It wasn’t really the prospect of sitting a redundant English test that bothered me, I actually enjoy the kinds of reading and writing activities found on the PTE; it was the fact that I would need to shell out over 300 AUD in order to do so. It seemed vastly unfair and I pretty much complained about it to anyone who would listen for weeks. Never once in my bilingual education did I think that learning in French would be anything but a massive advantage in the academic world. I even had to take an exam similar to the Pearson academic test in order to get bilingual certification, and I still remember the pride I felt at being able to prove my ability in my second language. There’s no pride in passing an language test presented to you in your mother tongue, and certainly no incentive for paying for it! After a few weeks of pointless self-pity, I pulled my head out of the sand for long enough to realize how lucky I really am. Sure, I’m not thrilled about the cost of proving I can speak my own language, but in the end if I am willing to pay the exorbitant university fees (or at least willingly incur that debt), taking the PTE shouldn’t be more than an inconvenience for me. For

many, it’s a lot more than an inconvenience; it’s a barrier that will stop them from reaching their educational goals. For many, the time and money that will go into attempting an English proficiency test like the PTE will wreak financial and emotional havoc on their lives. When I started working for E2Language, this reality hit me like a ton of bricks. There are so many people out there who have spent thousands of dollars trying to pass their English exam so they can have the opportunities that I have by default. There are people that ace the PTE writing section but fail the PTE speaking portion miserably because of their crippling anxiety. There are people who make a PTE exam booking every single week in the hopes that next week something will finally click for them. There are even people who give us their PTE login passwords because they are too terrified to check their own test results. And then there are the people who just give up on their dreams because they don’t believe they will ever have the language tools to succeed. This is something I’ve never worried about, despite the minor inconvenience of writing the test. Needless to say, I am incredibly proud to work for an organization that helps prepare people for the Pearson Test of English and other proficiency exams. It’s helped me understand the incredible advantages I have been handed because I was lucky enough to grow up speaking the world’s most commonly used language. It’s humbling to watch people work as hard as they do to get where they’re going, and I’m thrilled to be a small part of their journey. I finally bit the bullet and will be writing my PTE on July 1st, which is fittingly Canada day! Although I’m not too worried about my own PTE results, I can now appreciate how good it will feel to so many people to walk out of the Pearson test center knowing that they’ve achieved the next step in their own versions of the “Australian Dream”, and I hope I can continue to play at least a small part in making that dream a reality. Why PTE may be right for YOU!

The Pearson Test of English (PTE) has been gaining popularity over the last few years and is often referred to by test-takers as a “friendlier test”. Many individuals find it to be more intuitive and less intimidating than other English Proficiency tests, and this is for a number of reasons. In this PTE tips article, we shared why this test may be right for you. So why you should take PTE? PTE test is entirely computer based. This is helpful to test takers in a couple of ways. Firstly, there is no interaction with another person for the speaking tasks, and many people find this less stressful. It also may be easier for test-takers to focus on just the speaking, rather than on the assessor’s body language, facial expressions and so on. It’s over in 3 hours. Unlike IELTS, you complete the PTE in one sitting (with breaks, of course!). You do not need to wait in line for the speaking portion of the test, and this means you get to go home all the earlier! In addition, you can use all of your energy and focus in one sitting, rather than conserving energy for a task later in the day. It has quick and easy scheduling. Unlike some English tests where you can only schedule a

sitting on specific dates, you can literally book a PTE sitting with only 24 hour notice. The advantage to this is that you can pick and choose a test time that works around your schedule and fits with any time constraints you may have. A further added bonus is that you will receive your score within 5 business days of taking the PTE, which is the fastest response time out of all the mainstream English Proficiency tests offered.

March 10, 2016PTE, PTE Academic Test Tips, PTE Tips1 Comment

PTE-A Exam – Important Links”

https://drive.google.com/folderview?...3lNSnRxc3NWcU0 https://pteacademicreview.wordpress.com https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...ERsUXOxXaocZnE https://www.dropbox.com/sh/55pb4vg3a...0k9Eq29fbQTepa IELTS pie charts - range of vocabulary https://moodle.unitec.ac.nz/file.php...grams_2008.pdf https://dylanaung.blogspot.ae/2015/0...and-ideas.html EssayBuilder - BarCharts 1 PTE Academic Writing- information about the exam and links to free practice tests Describing-graphs-vocabulary-worksheet http://pearsonpte.com/wp-content/upl...core_Guide.pdf https://dictation.io/ Vocaroo | Online voice recorder Summarizing Worksheets | Learn How to Summarize | Ereading Worksheets