How to crack PTE Listening Test

PTE Listening has the following Question types:-

Summarize Spoken Text: Write the main idea for the lecture in the audio.
Multiple-choice, Choose Multiple Answers: Choose the multiple correct options for a question based on the audio.
Fill in the Blanks: Blanks needs to be filled based on audio.
Highlight Correct Summary: Choose the correct summary for the audio.
Multiple-choice, Choose Single Answer: Choose the single correct option for a question
Select Missing Word: Choose the single correct option as the missing word.
Highlight incorrect Words: Choose the incorrect words from the audio.
Write from Dictation: Write the sentence from the audio.

The duration of the listening section is 45 to 57 minutes depending on the given number of questions in the exam. Here you are tested mainly on your listening skills, and there are integrated speaking & listening questions. For each question, you have the opportunity to adjust the volume. While the audio clip is playing, move the control bar to the right to increase the volume or to the left to decrease the volume.

Let us go to the first question type: Listening: Summarize Spoken Text

This is a long-answer item type that integrates listening and writing skills, and requires test takers to understand, analyse and combine information from a spoken text, and then summarize the key points in writing. It tests your notes taking ability.

The summary should contain the lecture’s main points and a large number of supporting examples. The candidate has to use grammatical structures appropriately and all vocabulary choices within the summary are correct. You should write 50–70 words and have 10 minutes to finish this task. Your response will be judged on the quality of your writing and on how well your response presents the key points presented in the lecture.

Now to achieve that, write down as much information as you can, and always note down any new terms, definitions, facts and statistics. Do not write names of speakers or people mentioned, but refer to their titles or jobs, e.g., psychologist, researcher, reporter, etc. Take all the points in short form, do not waste time in worrying about the spellings while taking the notes.

Next you have 10 minutes to write. Check your notes. Plan for 2 mins. Write 60 words in 6 mins and revise for 2 mins. Do not repeat all the information that you have noted down while listening. Shorten, simplify, paraphrase and synthesize the information into 50–70 words. Listen attentively to what the lecture is trying to convey. Stick to the word limit. Use synonyms and more effective words to convey the message. Check and edit any grammatical and spelling mistakes.

Now I will explain to you as to how you are assessed in this question.

You are scored on content, Form, Grammar, Vocabulary and Spellings.

Coming to Content:

2 Provides a good summary of the text. All relevant aspects are mentioned

1 Provides a fair summary of the text, but one or two aspects are missing

0 Omits or misrepresents the main aspects

Next is Form:

2 Contains 50-70 words

1 Contains 40-49 words or 71-100 words

0 Contains less than 40 words or more than 100 words. Summary is written in capital letters, contains no punctuation or consists only of bullet points or very short sentences

Grammar:

2 Correct grammatical structures

1 Contains grammatical errors with no hindrance to communication

0 Defective grammatical structures which could hinder communication

Vocabulary:

2 Appropriate choice of words

1 Some lexical errors but with no hindrance to communication

0 Defective word choice which could hinder communication

Lastly the spellings are important too:

2 Correct spelling

1 One spelling error

0 More than one spelling error

In this section, you listen to a short lecture. You are then asked to write a summary of that lecture (50-70 words). You have 10 minutes to write down your answer.

The Format of Writing which you need to follow is:

Topic:

The lecture is about / explains ……… (topic) and

………………………………….. (point 1)

In addition, ………………… (point 2)

Further, ……………………… (point 3)

Finally, ……………………… (conclusion).

That is the end of Question type ‘Summarize Spoken Text. Let us now move on to the next question type which is Multiple-choice, Choose Multiple Answers

In this section, the task requires you to listen to an audio script with a multiple choice question beneath it. After 7 seconds, a recording will automatically play, and will last for approximately 40-90 seconds. Once the recording has finished, you will need to answer the multiple choice question by selecting more than one answer. There could be 2-3 of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

What does it test?

Your Ability to Identify the Main Idea: This is how well you recognize the “gist” of the recording its most important points. For example: “What are the main objectives of this lecture?”
Your Eye for Detail: This is your ability to pinpoint the specific information, facts, opinions or sequences of events that contribute to the main idea of the recording. For example: “Which of the following events most contributed to the fall of Rome?”
Your Understanding of Purpose: This means that you can listen to the recording and understand why the speaker included certain pieces of information in it. For example: “What are the main points the speaker trying to convey”?
Your Understanding of Organization: This is your ability to link the ideas present in different parts of the recording and understand the connections between them. For example: “What do the introductory paragraph and the conclusion have in common?”
Your Ability to Infer Information: This means that you can use the information you have heard to draw logical conclusions about the general goals of the recording, or connect it to your previous ideas on the topic.

Having explained that let me explain the Scoring Parameters of this question type

Partial credit, points deducted for incorrect options chosen:

1 Each correct response – 1 Each incorrect response 0 Minimum score

We are now moving to the next question type: Listening: Fill in the Blanks

Listen carefully, to fill in the blanks. Do not leave any blank as the question will not be marked. This activity tests listening and writing.

In this task you will listen to an audio script with a short transcript having some blank text boxes representing missing words. After 7 seconds, the audio recording will play for between 30 and 60 seconds. The recording will contain the full transcript of the short text, and you must listen for the missing words in the text and type them in to each corresponding box.

Scoring Parameters

Partial credit: 1 Each correct word spelled correctly 0 Minimum score

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