PTE Speaking Test – Tips and Techniques: Part I

Read Aloud

What is the task?

You will be given 6 passages of about 4-5 lines each, which you will have to read aloud into the microphone, with 40 seconds. The purpose of the Read Aloud section is to test your ability to read aloud keeping in mind voice modulation, use of punctuation in sentences and pronunciation of the given vocabulary.

Tips and techniques

a. Voice modulation

• In the time before the task begins, briefly read through the passage – try to understand what is the main topic of the passage, and accordingly, what are the most important words being used in the passage. These are the words which you will emphasise, by saying them a little more forcefully or loudly than the others.

b. Punctuation:

• Punctuation marks indicate that there must be a pause while reading the sentence aloud. They also help to modulate your voice.
• When you briefly read through the passage before the task begins – keep in mind how many sentences there are and how long they are, as well as the approximate placement of the punctuation marks, in order to know when the pauses are likely to come.
• Each type of punctuation mark indicates a particular type of pause:
  • The comma (,) indicates a very short pause within a particular sentence, in order to indicate a slight change in what the given sentence is talking about. The pause should be for one second.
  • The full stop (.) occurs at the end of a sentence, and indicates a longer pause to show that the sentence is over, before you start reading the next sentence aloud. The pause should be for 2 seconds – during this time, remember to take a breath, so that you will not lose your breath while reading aloud the next sentence, particularly if it is a long one.
  • The question mark (?) also occurs at the end of a sentence, and indicates that the sentence is in the form of a question. It indicates a pause while reading the sentence, but in the same way you would ask a question in conversation. 

c. Pronunciation: Better pronunciation comes mainly with practice. However there are a few tricks that you can make use of during your preparation time, in order to improve your pronunciation.

• From the vocabulary list you have prepared based on the probable topic areas, look up the pronunciations of those that you do not already know, online – YouTube and Wikipedia are a couple of sources where you will find pronunciations.
• Watch or listen to as many English language movies or news channels as you can – the more you hear the language being spoken, the easier it will become for you to get a hang of pronunciation.

d. Time limit: Finally, being able to complete each passage within the time limit is achievable with practice – the more mock tests you complete, the better you will get. The trick is to say each word clearly, without dragging it out unnecessarily. Similarly, while you must pause according to the punctuation, do not pause for longer than necessary.

Practice under professional guidance is one of the best ways to absorb these skills – and ace the test! Get in touch with Hurray Academy for more – email us at: info@hurrayedutech.com or call us on: 8971357938.