In this blog, we will discuss everything about the Read Aloud task: its format, scoring criteria, preparation tips, test-day strategies, common mistakes to avoid, and useful resources to help you excel.
Understanding the Read Aloud Task
The first type of question in a speaking module is Read Aloud. In this task, a short text up to 60 words will appear on the screen. You will get 35-40 seconds to prepare, post preparation time recording will start after a short beep tone, indicating you to start speaking immediately. You will have about 35-40 seconds to read the text. When the microphone begins recording, clearly read the text out loud.
You will have about 40 seconds to read the text before the microphone starts recording you. When the microphone begins recording, clearly read the text out loud. It is one of the most important & scoring questions among all question types. It assesses Speaking & Reading skills.
Important: If you remain silent for longer than 3 seconds, the recording will stop.
Task Format
In the Read Aloud task:
- Prompt Length: Text in between 40-60 words
- Preparation Time: You will have 35-40 seconds to prepare before speaking
- Speaking Time: Around 35-40 seconds to read the text aloud
- Skills Assessed: Reading and Speaking
- Skills Profile: Reproducing Spoken or Written Information
- No. of Tasks: 5-6
Scoring Criteria
The scoring is based on 3 parameters:
Content: It is in the range of 0-5, Content is scored by counting the number of correct words in your response. Each replacement, omission or insertion of a word counts as one error.
Pronunciation: it is in the range of 0-5. Score depends on the clarity of the speech, the clarity in vowels and consonants and how well the stress has been words and phrases. Overall, the responses should understandable. The biggest advantage of PTE Academic is that it recognizes regional and national varieties of English pronunciation. Smoothness and naturalness in your response without undue pauses or hesitations.
Oral fluency: It is in the range of 0-5. Score depends on your rhythm, phrasing and stress which have to be smooth. The rate of speed has to be natural with appropriate phrasing. Repetitions and false start will reduce your score. The clarity and correctness of your spoken English, so that it is understandable to native speakers.
Read Aloud carries around 25-30 points in Speaking and 20-30 points in Reading skills. Points will depend on the range of questions comes in the test.
PTE Academic recognizes regional and national varieties of English pronunciation to the degree that they are understandable to most regular speakers of the language.
Read Aloud Tips
You will have 35–40 seconds to go through the given text of the paragraph, before the microphone opens, utilize the given time to divide the text into meaningful phrases, using the punctuation as a guide. This will give you an idea where to give a slight pause and change the intonation.
Pausing after finishing a phrase increases the fluency, gives the meaning to the text and increases the score. For Instance:
Just how stressed are teachers?/ A recent Gallup poll found teachers /are tied with nurses / for the most stressful occupation in America today. /Unfortunately, that stress can have a trickle-down effect/ on their students, / leading to disruptive behavior / that results in student suspensions.
Stress The Important Words:
While reading the text in the given paragraph, stress the words that the important by being louder and emphasizing the key syllables. In the paragraph given below, the words are in BOLD which are to be stressed and rising and falling intonation is marked by UP(↑) and DOWN(↓).
Just how stressed are teachers? ↑ A recent Gallup poll found teachers are tied with nurses ↓ for the most stressful occupation in America today. / Unfortunately, that stress can have a trickle-down ↓ effect on their students,/ leading to disruptive behavior ↓ that results in student suspensions.
The student should be loud and clear, there is no need to rush. The normal volume and speed will get the good score. Don't hurry. It’s better to record calmly than to make mistakes by speaking too fast. Take a deep breath before the exam if one feels nervous. It generally helps you keep cool. The key lies in how much one has read aloud, focusing on clear pronunciation, steady pacing and natural intonation.
Test-Day Strategies
Preparation Time
Skim the Passage: Run your eyes over the passage just to get a sense of the content.
Identify Difficult Words: Observe words that may be difficult to pronounce and, in your head, go through them in advance.
Plan Intonation: Consider what kind of natural intonation and emphasis you will adopt while reading the passage.
During the Task
Steady Pace: Keep up a steady, medium pace. Not too fast or too slow.
Clarity and Accuracy: The words should be clearly readable and accurate. The words are not supposed to be skipped or omitted, nor are extra words added.
Stay Composed: One needs to be calm and composed. Nervousness can affect the performance of a person; thus, always take a deep breath before you start reading.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mispronunciation: Mispronunciations will impact negative on your test result. Practice as much as possible to avoid mispronunciations.
Irregular pace: Too fast or too slow is going to reduce your fluency score. Try, therefore, to develop a regular pace.
Ignoring Punctuation: Punctuation marks play a big role in intonation and is the mark for clarity. Pay attention to commas, full stops, and other marks to make your reading sound natural.
Stuck on a word: Don't stop if there is a difficult word. Go on smoothly without much hesitation. It is more important to maintain fluency without long breaks even if the pronunciation may be a little off.
Fast Speech: Some students have this myth that speaking faster will increase their score in fluency.
Read Aloud Practice
Now, practice the mock test on ptepanacea.com. You will realise your strengths and weaknesses in the four PTE skills: Speaking, Writing, Reading & Listening. We are here with real exam simulations and question-wise practices especially for Read Aloud to concentrate on weak areas. If you compare our material closely, it closely resembles actual PTE content. You get the same format and question types in time limits. Such comprehensive practice will help you to be very well prepared and confident enough to ace the Read Aloud test item and the whole PTE exam.
