The listening section assesses listening. However, the structure of the questions assess some sections of the communicative skills. Moreover, all the communicative skills are assessed in this section.

Does PTE Listening have negative marking?

There is negative marking in multiple-choice: choose multiple answers otherwise in other questions the lowest mark the test taker may attain is zero while the highest mark may be one or two depending on the question.

Does the listening section only assess the listening communicative skill?

No. The other communicative skills are writing and reading.

How are the enabling skills tested in the listening section?

The question format is structured to include multiple choice, summarize spoken text, fill in the blanks, highlight correct summary, select missing words, highlight incorrect words and write from dictation.

The enabling skills in this section are scored as follows:

Content

• In summary writing, a test taker is awarded 2 marks for a good summary. A good summary must contain all important and relevant aspects. One mark is awarded if the summary is missing some points and fairly written while zero is if there is a lack of misrepresentation of main points.

Form

• A summary in this section must be 50-70 words long. When this requirement is adhered to, the mark awarded is 2, however, if the test taker writes 40-49 or 71-100 words the mark scored becomes 1. Zero is awarded in case of fewer than 40 words and above 100 words.

Grammar

• Correct grammatical structure is awarded 2 marks while 1 mark is awarded if there are grammatical errors but communication can still be understood. Zero mark is awarded in case of bad grammar that hinders communication. 

Vocabulary

• 2 marks are awarded for an appropriate choice of words while 1 mark is awarded if there are minor errors that don’t hinder communication. Zero mark is awarded if the choice of words that hinder communication

Spelling

• If the entire summary is free from spelling mistakes, the test taker gets 2 marks while 1 mark is awarded if there is only one spelling error. More than one spelling error gets a zero mark.

Will I be penalised if leave blank space in multiple choice questions

In multiple-choice questions, you get a zero for a wrong answer and 1 mark for the correct one. However, in multiple-choice choose multiple answers you get a negative mark for a wrong answer. So leaving a blank space may actually be a good idea instead of scoring a negative mark. In multiple choice choose a single answer, blank space is awarded zero. It is not a bad thing to go on a limb and start guessing because you won’t lose marks even if you get it wrong. Who knows you might guess the right answer!

Is the quality of the audio good or bad?

The quality of the PTE audios is good however, if you don’t increase your volume you might think it is bad. The audios are delivered in different accents, therefore, it is important to understand various English language accent.