Out of the four sections of the PTE test, the Listening section has the highest number of question types. There are a total of eight question types in this section. We are going to discuss Select Missing Words in this article.
What to expect from this question type?
Here you would be listening to a short paragraph, and you would be given 4 options to select your answer from. An audio would be played, however, the last word, or a few words would be beeped out. You have to listen to the audio carefully and select the appropriate response to complete the sentence from the given options.
Marking Criteria:
You would be getting 2 to 3 questions of this type in your exam. You will be getting 1 point for every correct response. In total, this task contributes around 1.3 points maximum out of 90 for your Listening section. This is one of the low priority tasks in the test for this section, although make sure that you do not skip this task. Learn PTE with Nimisha
How to perform this task?
Before the audio for this task starts, skim through the options once. Once the audio starts, start listening to it carefully. Try to understand the grammar, the tense of the passage, the repeated words, and the context. It is absolutely crucial to understand the context in this case carefully. Do not get distracted while listening to the audio, specially, the last sentence, as the beep will be in the last sentence. Make sure you focus only on the audio when it is played. As soon as you hear the beep, you can select the option that makes the most sense and complete the sentence that you just heard.
You must also keep in mind that the listening section has 2 sub-parts. Part 1 is Summarise Spoken Text and Part 2 includes the other 7 tasks. The listening section Part 2 has a total timer, which means that you have to manage your own time in this part so that you would be able to solve all the questions of the Listening section on time. Also remember, Write from Dictation is the most important question type for your Listening and Writing scores, so, you must have at least 6 to 8 minutes to solve this question type. Overall, you would get 22 to 28 minutes to solve the entire listening section (excluding Summarise Spoken Text, which you can solve in 10 minutes for each question). Remember, there is no rollover time from Summarise Spoken Text to the rest of the Listening section. So, use your time wisely here.
For Select Missing Words, you can spend around 5 to 10 seconds after the audio to solve the question, that is, to select the correct response. Another point to remember is, you cannot press NEXT while the audio is going on, so make use of the time that you have by listening to the audio carefully. As this question type is a low priority task, make sure you do not spend a lot of time here.
Before the actual PTE exam starts, there is a section wherein you are given the opportunity to introduce yourself in a few seconds, this is known as the Personal Introduction section.
This section is actually a part of the speaking section, it comes just before the evaluated speaking module. This section is a non-evaluated section. Although it is a very important part of the exam. “Why?” You may ask. There are a few advantages of the PTE personal introduction.
Let’s discuss this in detail:
What test-takers tend to do most of the times is they tend to skip this section as it is anyway not evaluated, however, it is crucial for us to attempt this task. Mainly, it can help Boost Confidence! When you know that a task is not going to be evaluated, you naturally tend to not stress on that task. As a result, you would perform extremely well here in this part. You would not hesitate, your voice would be normal – moderate speed and volume, and most importantly, you would be calm and composed. These are all the traits that you require to score well in your speaking section.
As you must be well aware, that Speaking section can get a little tricky or may make us feel anxious, it is of utmost importance for us to score well in the Speaking section, as it contributes not only to the Speaking section itself, but also in the Reading and Listening sections. In fact, it includes one of the most important questions of these sections.
By performing the PTE Personal Introduction well, with confidence, then it can give you a great head start for the exam and helps you keep motivated. It is proven that the candidates who perform well in the personal introduction section, usually feel better and hence perform well in the entire exam.
How does this task look?
The Personal Introduction task runs for 30 seconds (Relatively small and goes away quickly!). There would be a progress bar that will help you keep track of the time and help you understand how long you can speak for.
What can you include in this section?
Name: you can start the introduction like any normal introduction that you may give. Start by stating your Full Name.
Next, you can move on to stating how long have you been staying in Australia?
What are you currently doing? – That is, you can say where you have been studying or working at the moment.
Lastly, the reason why you are attempting the exam. You can say for studying or for Permanent Residency, etc.
While introducing yourself, make sure you do not hesitate and do not take unnecessary pauses, as it will make you seem hesitant, and it would appear that you are not confident enough. Sit upright and speak with natural pauses.
So, stay calm, prepare well and nail you test with a great start! Learn PTE with Nimisha
As you all may know that Speaking section is the most important section in the PTE test, as it can give you points in three sections in total, Speaking, Reading as well as Listening. Also, you cannot get Speaking scores from any other section. Hence, it is very critical for us to perform well in the Speaking section.
Most of you are dreaded by the Speaking section (I know! We have all been there!). But do not panic, in this article we will discuss how to improve your score in the Speaking section, specially through Pronunciation.
The Speaking section is evaluated mainly by three parameters:
For each question and question type that you solve here, you get points divided into these three categories. So, let’s look into a few pointers that will help you improve your pronunciation score, which would help you crack that 90 in you Speaking module.
Regardless of the question type, the way that you speak in the entire Speaking section must be uniform. You do not require to have an accent or mimic the regular speakers of the language. It is simply scored by determining if your speech can be easily understood by the native English speakers.
Low pronunciation score is a contributor to low Speaking scores, so let’s have a look at what we can do to improve our Pronunciation scores in speaking.
Enunciation: Rule of the thumb would be enunciating the words. This is probably the most important aspect of pronunciation, as murmuring or not opening the mouth which speaking would result in the microphone not catching your voice properly. So, remember to practice speaking with clarity.
Phonetic Sounds: Try to get the pronunciation of the words itself correct. Make sure you focus on the each and every sound in the word, be it the consonant or vowel. Do not replace your phonetic sounds, at it may change the entire word, and you may lose your score, specially, in Read Aloud. To improve your Phonetics, you can look into the 44 phonetic sounds of English. All you got to do is listen to each sound individually and mimic the sounds. You may find that you cannot pronounce some of the phonetics, all you got to do is make a list of such sounds. Keep practicing the sounds that you have made a note of daily to improve the sounds. Once you have improved the phonetic sounds, your pronunciation score would definitely boost up.
Voice Pitch: A very high-pitched voice has proven to not be caught be the microphone in the PTE test. If you are someone who has a high-pitched voice, you would have to practice the normal pitch. We have tested when a person speaks in a high pitch, their clarity deteriorates and the microphone tends to catch a noise, due to which, pronunciation scores are depreciated. So, practice speaking in a normal or a slightly low pitch.
Microphone Positioning: Always ensure that you check the microphone positioning, as ignoring that may lead your voice not being caught at all, or your breath might be caught in it as well. Also, once you have fixed the position of the microphone, do not keep touching it as it created a noise while doing so.
Remember, pronunciation can’t be improved in a day, so keep practicing daily and don’t give up!!
PTE seems to be very dreadful at the first glance. Considering that its format is quite the opposite of IELTS. In reality, PTE is much easier than IELTS in terms of scoring. Both of them test your English abilities, but PTE has a lenient scoring algorithm. It’s all about knowing the question types, time allocation and the marks distribution to crack this test.
Let’s have a look at the basics!
PTE consists of 4 sections, and 20 question types in total. Each question has dedicated times and marks allocated to it. Not all questions are of the same weightage. Some of the questions are important, while some are of low priority. Here is what your test questions would look like:
It may look complicated at first, but it is comparatively simple once you have understood the algorithm. In PTE, unlike IELTS, from some questions, you can get points in 2 sections. For instance, when you perform Write from Dictation, you get points for Listening as you listen to the sentence, but you get points for Writing as well, as you have to write the sentence that you listen. So please make note of all question types that give you points in two sections.
Next, keep an eye on the timer. This is a time-based test, so make sure you know how much time is allocated for each question type and keep an eye on the timer so that you know that you are on track.
Let’s see section wise how you can improve your skills and hit that 90s mark.
Speaking:
This can be a tricky section. You do not need to speak like a native speaker or have some sort of accent to get full points here. There are three parameters on which speaking is tested, which are Oral Fluency, Pronunciation and Content. Try to maintain moderate speed, speak clearly and focus on what you speak. Clarity is the key, the microphones in the test are extremely sensitive so make sure you don’t shout or speak to softly. Stay calm and consider the time.
Writing:
Both the question types in this section are time based, meaning they have a fixed timer. Summarise Written Text gives you 10 minutes and Write Essay gives you 20 minutes per question. A few tips to get the perfect score here is check your spellings, always proofread your work. Divide your time in such a way that you have at least 2 minutes at the end of each question here to proofread your work. Always keep an eye on the timer, this way you won’t panic, and you will be prepared. Always plan before you start writing, do not start typing straight away.
Reading:
Two of the most important questions here are both Fill in the Blanks questions. These are a little complex. You need to understand the basics of English Grammar and apply it while solving. To improve your basics I Grammar, you can start reading news articles or books or anything that has academic English. Apart from that, time management is another thing that would help you score better, as in the Reading section you get a total timer, and you have to manage your time so that you can solve all the questions.
Listening:
Listening to podcasts or listening to news for improving your listening skills. Watch English series with subtitles for a start, that can help you understand different accents and speeches. Remember, in the test you can get a variety of different accents, so diversify your practice. The most important question type here is Write from Dictation, make sure you keep practicing this question type as much as possible daily and strive perfection in this question.
Even though PTE is not a particularly user-friendly test, considering it is completely computer based, scoring 90s on it is achievable with enough preparation and in-depth knowledge of the PTE algorithm and scoring criteria.
Let’s discuss a very interesting and fun task from the PTE test, I bet most of you would love solving this question type – it is Highlight Incorrect Words in PTE. The Listening section, as you must be well aware of, is the longest section. Although not all tasks in this section are of equal priority – some are more important than others. So, it is worth keeping in mind which questions are low priority and which ones are high priority. Highlight incorrect Words is definitely one of the high priority tasks in the Listening section.
What are you expected to do in this question type?
This is the 7th task in the Listening section, comes right before Write From Dictation. You will get around 2 to 3 questions of this type in the test. It contributes towards two sections, Reading and Listening. In fact, this is one of the important question types for the Reading score.
In Highlight Incorrect Words, you will get a passage for reference and an audio, with preparation time of 10 seconds. In the audio the speaker would be reading out the passage. There will be a few words in the passage that would be replaced with either similar looking words or similar sounding words. You have to listen to the audio carefully, while listening to it you would have to read along with the speaker, and as soon as you see an incorrect word, you have to click on it. As soon as you click on the word, it would be highlighted in yellow. You have to try to find out all the incorrect words from the text.
This particular question consists of negative marking, when you select a word which is not incorrect, you get negative marks (for more go through the marking criteria below).
If at any instant you feel that you have selected a “correct” word, then unselect it immediately, as you might forget to unselect it once the audio is over.
Note: Each and every word in the passage is enabled to be highlighted. However, you know that you would get negative marks for every “Correct” word you select. So do NOT choose all the words from the text.
Marking Criteria:
It contributes around 8.9 points in the Reading section and around 7.9 points in the Listening section. Overall, it contributes 16.7 points.
In this question, for selecting every incorrect word you would get 1 point. Although remember that this question can give you negative points as well. So keep the following in mind:
Incorrect word: +1
Correct word: -1
No Selection:0
So that means, you have to focus on reading along with listening so that you do not select the correct word, as it can result in negative points. When in doubt do NOT select the word.
How can you nail this task?
For getting full points in this task, you have to work on your reading and listening skills together. Take a deep breath in the preparation time, no need to read anything in that time. Once the audio starts, use your mouse pointer as a guide and start reading with the speaker.
Pro Tip: Try to be one word ahead of the speaker, it helps!
Note: The speaker’s accent and speed would vary, so be ready for that!
Once you are well-versed with the way that you have to solve this question, this will definitely be one of your favourites!
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Many students wonder if PTE is the right step for Permanent Residency in Australia. The answer to this wonderment is that it is actually the best step one could take in order to get maximum points for Australian Permanent residency which make PTE 79 score the most coveted among aspirants. Here at Englishfirm we did research to provide students in depth and comprehensive knowledge of PTE and how it can help to secure your dream life in Australia.
PTE Introduction:
You must be wondering what PTE actually is. PTE which actually stands for Pearson English Language Test is an unbiased and most convenient English test available online. It is a computer based test which scores marks in four different sections: Speaking, Writing, Reading and Speaking. These marks are given out of 90 for each section and an overall score of 90 is decided based on individual sections. PTE is one of the most popular English exams and preferred by students all over the world as it is fast and easy. It usually takes 3 hours to complete the test and results are usually published within 48 hours of giving the test.
Sections in PTE:
As mentioned before, PTE tests four basic skills one should know to master a language. Each section have different tasks assigned to it as listed:
Speaking: This is the most important section for PTE exam and it contains following tasks
Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Re-tell Lecture and Answer Short Questions.
Writing: After Speaking in PTE exam writing section come which contains following tasks:
Summarise Written Text and Write Essay.
Reading: Once writing finishes students are presented with reading section which has following tasks:
Multiple Choice-Single Answer, Multiple Choice-Multiple Answer, Reorder Paragraph, Reading Fill in the Blanks, Reading and Writing Fill in the Blanks.
Listening: The last section that appears after 10 minute optional break is listening that contains enumerated tasks:
Summarise Spoken Text, Multiple Choice-Single Answer, Fill in the Blanks, Multiple Choice-Multiple Answer, Highlight Correct Summary, Select Missing Word, Highlight Incorrect Words, Write From Dictation
Steps for PR application and significance of PTE
There are many different VISAS one can apply in order to obtain Permanent Residency in Australia. To give an example the most popular ones are 189, 190 and 491. 189 is also known as skilled independent VISA, 190- state nominated VISA and 491- regional VISA. No matter which type of VISA you apply for, the steps remain the same.
In Australia, one is granted PR based on his points on skill select and there are different things that give points to an aspirant. To list things that you get points on:
Age, Education, English Skill, Skilled Employment, Partner Skills, Study in Australia/Regional Area, Credentialled Community Language, Professional Year in Australia, Nominated by State.
Each and every one of them have different points. So the first step for a PR application is to gain as many points as one can. After you have those points it is also important to get a positive skills assessment from an authorised body as for Engineering it is Engineers Australia and so on. Once an aspirant has collected desired points and a positive outcome of their skill assessment they can file an application. Second step here is to create an account on skill select and apply for Expression of Interest in their desired VISA process i.e 189, 190 and 491. After applying for an EOI once approved by a state they are invited to file for PR and this is the place where points play a huge role as people with higher points are usually called first.
Thus, at this point PTE score can make/break your PR dream. There are three categories to English skills and points given for them as follows:
Competent English: 0
Proficient English: 10
Superior English: 20
As one can observe there is a complete 20 points difference between a competent English speaker and Superior English Speaker. PR application where even a 5 point difference is a huge opportunity having 20 points extra puts you before almost 50% of the total applicant. Also, PTE is one of the easiest ways to gain those extra 20 points and make PR applications less challenging.
PTE vs IELTS: Which one is better for PR?
Lot of students wonder which exam to opt for. To be honest, PTE is the best bet one can place to get good results and superior English for PR applications. As PTE scoring is easier and it involves lots of tricks and templates that if one is familiar with it, they can easily get a good score. On the other hand IELTS is considered to be one of the most difficult English exams and it is hard to get 8 bands in IELTS in a short amount of time.
PTE Score- Accelerate PR Application
As mentioned before there is a complete 20 points difference between a competent and superior English Speaker. These point differences can accelerate your PR application by months. As one who has a 50 score in PTE after receiving correct guidance and improving his skill by practice can easily achieve 79+ in a months time making him a superior English speaker therefore gaining 20 extra points which will put his application ahead of hundreds of students thereby getting a positive PR outcome sooner.
Assistance for PTE:
Most crucial thing when applying for PTE is to get the right guidance. Englishfirm is one of the best coaching institutes to make your dream come true. When one is studying for PTE it is of utmost importance to get regular feedback and individual strategies. As no two people are the same so being in a huge group class generally will not make a difference to your skills. So, for all aspirants who are aiming for 79+ it is important to have a trainer that is invested in your success and helps you at all steps with proper guidance and materials.
Eligibility Criteria for PR:
In order to apply for PR in Australia one needs to be:
Below the Age of 45.
Have minimum 65 points on point calculator
Receive and invitation to apply
Have and occupation on the Skilled Occupation List
Be in possession of a suitable skills assessment for the occupation
Have an English Test Score.
Best Time to apply for PR
At present is actually the golden opportunity for PR applications in Australia. Pre Covid the number of applications was very high. However, post covid the scenario has changed. Almost 500,000 international students have left Australia for their home country and with border restriction offshore applications have been reduced drastically. The competition is lessened at present where students have been getting invites for as low as 70-75 points. The States have eased their process and increased their seats as Australia is facing a huge skilled shortage especially in critical areas like Registered Nurses, Age Care, Midwife etc. To illustrate, New South Wales have added many occupations in their skilled occupation list where earlier it used to be 49 occupation it has now increased to 99 occupation giving students in those occupations huge opportunity to get a quick turn around in their application. So, if you have a positive outcome on your skills assessment it is the right time to maximise your PTE score and apply for PR invitation as Australia is in critical shortage of workforce.
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