Things to know about PTE Test Overview: The Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic) evaluates candidates’ speaking, writing, reading, and listening abilities to determine whether they are qualified to study abroad and have a solid command of the English language.
The PTE exam structure comprises 20 different question types that assess individuals wishing to study abroad’s speaking, writing, reading, and listening abilities over the course of 54 to 67 minutes.
Students can demonstrate to the admissions committee and visa officials that they can comprehend the officially recognized language while studying abroad by performing well on this test.
Candidates performing well on the PTE test will be able to convey their ideas, seek worldwide exposure, and carry out international duties in front of foreign audiences.
This makes it easier for the applicants to confirm that they are prepared to interact with international faculty members and students while studying in the same official language.
PTE Academic Online: When you can’t get to a test center, you can pot for the PTE Academic Online at-home version.
You can take the PTE Academic Online exam anywhere in a peaceful, private environment, whether at home or in an office. The exam material, scoring, and structure for PTE Academic Online are the same as those for PTE Academic in a testing facility.
At the moment, PTE Academic Online is not recognized for visa applications. Before scheduling your exam, please see the complete list of organizations that accept PTE Academic Online. Here are 12 Essential PTE Exam Strategies, which are important to know before attempting PTE Exam.
The test patterns and test questions are the same for PTE Academic and PTE Academic Online.
PTE Exam Pattern:
An English language exam that has been developed to test the Speaking & Writing Skills (54 – 67 minutes), Reading skills (29 – 30 minutes), and Listening skills (30 – 43 minutes) of candidates wanting to study abroad in an English-speaking country. The total duration of the test is 2 hours, and it is a computer-based test. It can be either taken at home or in a test center. The section-wise division of the PTE exam is as follows:
Speaking and Writing – 54 – 67 minutes
The two primary forms of communication—spoken and written—are tested in this section, as the name suggests. This phase consists of six brief sections that assess your ability to respond quickly to speech, writing prompts, and the written test that you will be reading for the first time. The entire portion has a time limit of 54 to 67 minutes, with 54 to 67 minutes allotted to each segment as follows:
| PTE Speaking and Writing Section Question Topics | PTE Questions per task (w.e.f November 16, 2021) | Duration per task |
| Personal introduction | 1 | 55 seconds |
| Read Aloud | 6 – 7 | 30-40 seconds |
| Repeat sentence | 10 – 12 | 15 seconds |
| Describe image | 3 – 4 | 25 seconds |
| Retell lecture | 1 – 2 | 140 seconds |
| Answer short question | 5 – 6 | 20 seconds |
| Summarize written text | 1 – 2 | 10 minutes |
| Write Essay | 1 – 2 | 20 minutes |
| Total questions | 28 – 36 | Time Allocation: 54 – 67 minutes |
Reading Section – 29 – 30 mins
In this phase, applicants are evaluated on their competence to follow written language instructions. The length of this section is 29 to 30 minutes and it is subdivided into 5 segments. Look at the time allocation of this section’s parts, segment by segment:
| PTE Reading Section Question Topics | PTE Questions per task (w.e.f November 16, 2021) | Duration per task |
| Fill in the blanks –reading & writing | 5 – 6 | Read 300 words of text |
| Multiple choice, multiple answers | 1 – 2 | Read 300 words of text |
| Re-order paragraph | 2 – 3 | Read 150 words of text |
| Fill in the blanks –reading | 4 – 5 | Read 80 words of text |
| Multiple choice, single answer | 1 – 2 | Read 300 words of text |
| Total questions | 13 – 18 | Time Allocation – 29 – 30 minutes |
Listening – 30 – 43 minutes
The PTE Academic’s listening section lasts for 30 to 43 minutes. This test aims to evaluate the candidate’s comprehension of spoken English. The candidate must closely listen to the audio file being played here and remember what they hear. The time allotted for each of the eight segments in this section is as follows.
| PTE Listening Section Question Topics | PTE Questions per task (w.e.f November 16, 2021) | Duration per task |
| Summarize spoken text | 1 – 2 | 60-90 seconds to retain 50-70 words, 10 minutes to write |
| Multiple choice, multiple answers | 1 – 2 | 40-90 seconds for prompt |
| Fill in the blanks | 2 – 3 | 30-60 seconds |
| Highlight correct summary | 1 – 2 | 30-90 seconds |
| Multiple choice, single answer | 1 – 2 | 30-60 seconds |
| Select missing word | 1 – 2 | 20-70 seconds |
| Highlight incorrect word | 2 – 3 | 15-50 seconds |
| Write from Dictation | 3 – 4 | 3-5 seconds |
| Total questions | 12 – 20 | Time Allocation: 30 – 43 minutes |
Candidates have to follow the above-mentioned pattern for the PTE exam. For scoring good marks in the exam, it is important to get familiar with the exam structure and pattern.
You can practice the sample PTE tests at our site ptezone.com. Here you can find sample tests which will help you in preparing for your final PTE exam.
Summary:
- The PTE test has been introduced to evaluate actual English proficiency.
- The PTE exam is being given at a PTE test centre or at Home.
- PTE Academic online has also started for those who can not take tests at the test centre.
- As PTE is a computer-based test, a headset is required.
- As of November 16, 2021, the PTE exam is two hours long.
- There are 20 different question types in the PTE exam design.
