Tips for PTE Academic Listening

Part 3 which is the last part of the PTE Academics is listening and it assesses the listening and writing skills. This section is allocated 45-57 minutes with the following questioning format: Summarize spoken text, fill in the blanks, highlight correct summary, select missing word, highlight incorrect words, write from dictation, multiple choice choose multiple answers and multiple choice, choose a single answer.

• Summarize spoken text assesses listening and writing. The task is to summarize the content of the audio in 50-70 words. At the end of the audio, the test taker has 60-90 seconds to deliver their response.

• On this section, the test taker must use the provided writing material to note keywords and key phrases. These could be dates, names, events and other similar words that will make it easier for the learner to remember the content of the audio.
• Type the summary without giving much attention to the word count just so you could have all the important details then edit afterwards.

• Multiple Choice questions assess listening skills. It is divided into two parts. In part 1, the test taker has to select multiple answers based on the content of the audio. This part is 40-90 seconds long. In part two, you only select one correct answer after listening to the audio.

• The keywords are still important in this section, so scan through provided answers as it will be able to spot a relevant option
• Remember there is negative marking in multiple-choice therefore answer with caution.
• Listen to the audio attentively until it ends. Sometimes answers are towards the end.

• Fill in the blanks assesses listening and writing skills. There will be a passage with blank spaces. The task is to fill in the blanks in 30-60 seconds with appropriate words learned from the content of the audio.

• Tips for this part of the question is to quickly scan through the written text just to get an idea of what it is all about.
• Try to type the missing words as the audio plays or simply write down your answers on the notepad. NB! Check spelling and other errors before submitting your answers

• Highlight correct summary and highlight incorrect words assess listening and reading skills. In both scenarios, there will be an audio playing a lecture. In highlight correct summary, the task taker has to select a summarized paragraph that best describes the content of the audio in 30-90 seconds. In highlight incorrect words, there is written text whose content matches the content of the audio. The task is to select words different from the written text.

• In highlight correct summary, you must note the words repeated both on the summary and the audio.
• Skim through the given options while the audio is still playing taking note of keywords, repeated word and so on.
• Remember summarizing involves paraphrasing and cutting out unnecessary words. Be accustomed to the art of summarizing
• In highlight incorrect words be alert and have your mouse ready to click any word that differs from the audio. In this section, you have an option to deselect wrong answers and reselect the right one. However, wait for the audio to finish in order to avoid missing other words then go back at the end of the audio to make necessary changes.

• Write from dictation assesses listening and writing skills. The task is to type the exact content of the audio in 3-5 seconds.
• when taking notes, try to shorten long words by maybe writing the first four letters to avoid wasting time
• Keywords are still important since they will remind the learner about the content of the audio.

Tips on How to prepare for Tips Listening section

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Listening to podcasts, audio and video clips

The learner is advised to listen to the spoken media delivered in the English language of course and to try different media with different accents. This will help the learner to get accustomed to different accents and style of pronunciation which will improve not only the listening skills but other sections of the PTE Academics. Moreover, the learner may also use this technique to write the spoken content in order to improve both listening and writing skills.

Listen to understand

Listening to understand requires one to listen attentively and to have high concentration skills. The audios played during the PTE Academics only play once and if the learner doesn’t grasp the content first-hand there is no second chance to re-play the audio. Therefore the learner needs to strive for high concentration skills. This can be achieved by avoiding distractions on a daily basis. When doing a task, it is important to devote one’s undivided attention to the task at hand, this will spill over to other areas as well.

Practice, practice and more practice

To gain enough confidence one has to work hard. Working hard means to go over all the resources that the learner feels at best will help her/him to succeed. Practice will improve the skill and help the student perform better in PTE Academics.