YOUR FUTURE IS PARAMOUNT TO US
At English Guru, we understand the importance of this test for you. Therefore, we don’t risk it in the hands of accountants, nurses or IT professionals who have somehow scored 70 or 80 in PTE. Truly speaking, these so-called student teachers who have scored 79 in PTE are unable to score 7 each in IELTS, and we have witnessed it enough number of times. Therefore, we don’t employ students having 7 or 8 bands as teachers. With us, you are guided by real teachers, well qualified (all teachers at English Guru are masters in English) and highly experienced (all have 12 to 20 years of experience) and are accredited by NSW Department of Teachers.
A SPECIALIST IS A SPECIALIST
Even 10 minutes of advice from a specialist is more beneficial than two hours with a GP. Similarly, even an hour of personal feedback from our experienced and qualified teachers is enough to bring you great results. Able teachers not only save you time but also energy wasted in repeated attempts.
OUR TEACHERS UNDERSTANDS YOU BEST
To be a guru, a teacher requires not only knowledge of the subject matter but also a thorough understanding of the student and his/her requirements. Our teachers understand your background and present compulsions, so they know exactly how to improve your level from where it is, to where it is meant to be. They have taught long enough to know what to do and how to do, to ensure your success.
The most important thing of all is that teaching is their passion. All teachers at PTE Guru love what they do and therefore attempt tirelessly to uplift your knowledge, skills and understanding in every possible way. They ensure not a single student is left behind. Your future is absolutely safe, in every sense, with the Gurus at PTE Guru.
GURUMANTRAS
GURUMANTRA FOR PTE SPEAKING
Gurumantra for speaking module of PTE is ‘BE CONFIDENT.’
Speaking is nothing but a synonym for confidence.
Without confidence your accent, your pronunciation, your fluency, your grammar-all are meaningless. If you take your speaking test with confidence, everything else will take care of itself. So, remember “SPEAKING SCORES ARE DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL.”
HOW TO PREPARE FOR PTE SPEAKING
Listening would facilitate your speaking anyway, but your performance specifically in the Speaking module would improve fastest if you talk in English rather than in your native language. Grab every opportunity to communicate in English; challenge your comfort zone. It is also a good idea to repeat the lectures in your own words after listening to them; enter into interesting discussions with friends. Your self-confidence is the best measure of your improvement.
USEFUL RESOURCES
1. Giving dictations to Siri is great.
2. Watching Four Corners/Documentaries.
3. Listening to My Tuner Radio.
4. www.eslvideo.com
MUST KNOWN FACTS ABOUT PTE SPEAKING
Q1. How many sub-tasks are there in PTE Speaking?
A1. PTE Speaking has five subtasks.
Q2. What does the PTE speaking begin with?
A2. PTE speaking starts with a personal introduction which is not assessed.
Q3. What is read aloud like?
A3. Read aloud subtest is really easy and requires you to read six small passages aloud into the computer’s microphone.
Q4. What does read aloud section test?
A4. Read aloud section tests your ability to read fluently and correctly with right intonation, pronunciation, and stress; alongside displaying the purpose of the text.
Q5. Does the Read aloud section contribute to any other module?
A5. The performance of Read-aloud section also counts towards the reading module.
Q6. How many texts does one have to read aloud?
A6. The test taker can be made to read anywhere from 6 to 7 texts.
Q7. Is there a partial marking in Read Aloud?
A7. Yes, there is partial marking as well as negative marking in this question type.
Q7. Does Read aloud count towards any other module?
A7. Read aloud subtest counts towards both listening and speaking modules.
Q8. What is the second subtask, i.e. repeat sentence like?
A8. Repeat sentence checks your ability to recognise academic vocabulary, comprehend variations in tone, speed, and accent along with proximity to repeat the same at a natural pace using correct pronunciation and stress.
Q9. How many sentences does one have to repeat, in the test?
A9. You can be made to repeat anywhere from 10 to 12 sentences.
Q10. Does repeat sentence count towards any other modules?
A10. Repeat sentence counts towards listening module.
Q11. Does partial credit apply to Repeat Sentence?
A11. Yes, one does get partially marked if a part of the answer is correct.
Q11. What is the third subtask of PTE Speaking test, i.e. DESCRIBE IMAGE like?
A11. Images aim to test the ability of the test-taker to select, support and organise the observed information and present it in the form of spoken discourse, using appropriate words and phrases along with correct grammar.
Q12. How many images can you get in the test?
A12. You can get anywhere from 6 to 7 images to describe.
Q13. Does describe image contribute to any other module?
A13. No, it doesn’t contribute to any other module?
Q14. What are the different varieties of images you can expect in the PTE Speaking test?
A14. The most commonly appearing ones are the line graph, bar graph, line cum bar graph, table, pie-chart, process, diagram and a picture. There can be any combination of these images.
Q15. Does partial credit apply to image description?
A15. Yes, you do get partially marked if the image is even partially explained.
Q15. What is Re-tell lecture – the fourth subtask of PTE Speaking like?
A15. Re-tell lecture involves listening to a lecture ( in particular to the theme and content of the lecture) for 60 to 90 seconds and retelling it within 40 seconds.
Q16. Does Re-tell lecture of the PTE Speaking module contribute to any other module?
A16. Performance in the Re-tell lecture contributes to the listening module as well.
Q17. Does partial credit apply to Re-tell lecture?
A17. Yes, it does.
Q18. What is the last part of PTE Speaking test – Answer short question like?
A18. A simple, common sense question is asked, and you are required to answer in one word or a phrase. Lately, some changes have been made to this question type. A picture is shown, and test takers are required to interpret the asked information from it.
Q19. Do “Answer short questions” of PTE Speaking help any other module?
A19. Answer shot questions contribute a good number of points to the listening module as well.
Q20. Does partial credit apply to Answer short questions?
A20. Partial credit does not apply to Answer short questions.
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GURUMANTRA FOR PTE WRITING
Gurumantra for writing module of PTE is ‘PROOFREAD’.
You don’t realise how many well deserved and fairly earned points you lose by avoiding proofreading. A simple, easy habit of self-correcting your work can straightaway raise your score by up to one band.
HOW TO IMPROVE PTE WRITING
Extensive reading is an easy way to improve your writing. In particular, a good piece of writing is a product of deep thought process, rich vocabulary and dexterity at expressing oneself through varied sentence structures. So, enhancing one’s vocabulary, learning up complex sentence structures, idioms, phrases would all contribute to improvement in your writing style. Summary writing, in particular, is a task type that requires students to master complex sentence structures. Spelling and punctuation are other two areas to be improved upon, to upscale the writing scores further. Nothing except carefulness and conscious efforts can bring about an improvement there in.
MUST KNOW FACTS ABOUT PTE WRITING
PTE tests the writing of students through two different tasks: Summarise written text and an essay.
Q1. How many summarise written tasks does one get to do in a test?
A1. There are minimum two and maximum three Summary tasks.
Q2. What does the summary task expect of a test-taker?
A2. Summary task expects the test-taker to read 300-word long passage and then summarise it in only one sentence, in exactly 10 minutes time.
Q3. Does partial credit or negative marking apply to this section?
A3. One does get partial credit for the semi-correct summary.
Q4. What does the summary task aim to test?
A4. Summarise written text aims to measure your ability to select, synthesise and accurately present in words, the crucial information from the text and that too with in the given time and word limit.
Q5. Does Summarise written text support any other module?
A5. Yes, you get points added to his reading module for your performance in the summary text.
Q6. What is the PTE essay like?
A6. PTE essay question is two to three sentences long. It expects a long, organised response from you in anywhere from 200-300 words within 20 minutes of time.
Q7. How many essays questions can one get in the PTE test?
A7. A test-taker should expect minimum one to maximum two essay questions.
Q8. What does the PTE essay aim to test?
A8. PTE essay question aims to check your ability to write for a particular purpose while displaying the ability to support ideas with details, examples, and explanations. Skill at organising ideas along with grammar, vocabulary and spelling is also tested through an essay.
Q9. Is there any partial marking or negative marking in essay and summary task?
A9. You do get partially marked in the essay.
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GURUMANTRA FOR PTE READING
Gurumantra for reading module of PTE is ‘Focus on UNDERSTANDING’.
There is such a huge difference between reading and understanding. PTE Reading is not a reading test but an understanding test. It checks not what you have read but what you have understood. Fast reading skills, jump reading skills, referencing skills don’t help until comprehension level is high.
So, Gurumantra for excellence in Reading module of PTE is ‘Don’t read, UNDERSTAND’.
HOW TO IMPROVE PTE READING
Reading academic texts is the best way to improve your performance in PTE Reading. Make it a habit to read every text twice: once at a fast speed for comprehension and second time slowly, paying closer attention to collocation, vocabulary, spelling, phrasal verbs etc. Always time your reading and keep track of your performance in terms of reading speed and understanding of the text read.
USEFUL RESOURCES
1. http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/marketing/sfesl/practicereading.html
2. IELTS academic reading tests are great for improving PTE reading
UNDERSTANDING PTE READING
PTE READING comprises of three different question types:
1. MCQ’s
2. REORDER SENTENCES
3. FILL IN THE BLANKS.
There are two categories of MCQ’s:
1a. MULTIPLE-CHOICE (CHOOSE SINGLE ANSWER)
1b. MULTIPLE-CHOICE (CHOICE MULTIPLE ANSWERS)
Q1. WHAT IS MULTIPLE-CHOICE, CHOOSE SINGLE ANSWER like ?
A1. MULTIPLE-CHOICE,CHOOSE SINGLE ANSWER is a short reading text that expects the test-taker to choose one correct answer from the four options provided.
Q2. WHAT DOES MULTIPLE-CHOICE, CHOOSE SINGLE ANSWER test?
A2. MCQ Single Answer checks your ability to read for a purpose, which could be identifying the main idea/theme or identifying the supporting ideas with special reference to establishing a connection between different pieces of information. It also emphasises upon the test taker’s ability to analyse , interpret n evaluate a short reading text on an academic subject.
Q3. How many multiple-choice, choose single answer does one get?
A3. There are two questions of this type.
Q4. Does partial marking or negative marking apply to this question type?
A4. Partial marking or negative marking does not apply to this section.
Q5. What is MULTIPLE-CHOICE, CHOICE MULTIPLE ANSWERS like?
A5.MULTIPLE-CHOICE , CHOICE MULTIPLE ANSWERS is a comparatively longer reading text that expects the test-taker to choose two to three correct answers from five to seven options provided.
Q6. What do MULTIPLE-CHOICE, CHOOSE MULTIPLE ANSWERS really test?
A6. These blanks in particular, test your ability to identify specific details, modifications in expressions, usage of collocation along with inferring the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Q7. How many of MULTIPLE-CHOICE, CHOOSE MULTIPLE ANSWERS does one get?
A7. One can get anywhere from two to three of these questions.
Q8. DOES PARTIAL MARKING OR NEGATIVE MARKING APPLY TO THIS SECTION?
A8. In the case of Multiple-Choice, choose multiple answers PARTIAL SCORING takes place. There is Negative Marking for each incorrect choice.
Q9. What are re-order paragraphs like?
A9. This question type expects the test-taker to sequentially and logically rearrange the randomly misarranged sentences of the paragraph.
Q10. What does reorder paragraph really test?
A10. This question type judges your ability to identify the sequence of events and to find the connection/commonality between sentences in a paragraph by working through organisation and cohesion.
Q11. How many questions on re-order paragraphs does one get in the test?
A11. There can be two to three questions on reorder sentences.
Q12. Does partial marking or negative marking apply to re-order sentences?
A12. Partial Marking applies to re-order sentences, but they are not negatively marked.
FILL IN THE BLANKS
Fill in the blank are of two categories.
1. Reading: Fill in the blanks
2. Reading and writing: Fill in the blanks.
Q13. What does Reading-Fill in the blank denote?
A13. This question type has four to five blanks in a short text. Options are nearly double of the number of blanks provided.
Q14. What does this question type test?
A14. Fill in the blanks, reading check your ability to identify the theme of the text; understand academic vocabulary; the difference between connotation and denotation; explicit and implicit and abstract and concrete information along with understanding the chronology underlying the sequence of events. Collocation is the most commonly tested skill for this particular question type.
Q15. How many Reading, Fill in the blank, question types does one get?
A15. There could be four to five different question types.
Q16. Does any partial marking or negative marking apply to this question type?
A16. There is no negative or partial marking for these questions.
Q17. What does (Reading and writing) Fill in the blank mean?
A17. Reading and writing, fill in the blank is quite of a longer text with several blanks and each blank has a drop-down list of four options to select from.
Q19. What does this question type test?
A19. These blank types, in particular, check your ability to identify the theme of the text; understand academic vocabulary; the difference between connotation and denotation; explicit and implicit and abstract and concrete information along with understanding the chronology, underlying the sequence of events. For writing sub-skill, there is focus on testing the use of grammar and words and phrases appropriate to the context.
Q20. How many Reading and Writing: Fill in the blank questions does one get?
A20. One could attempt five to six reading and writing, fill in the blank tasks.
Q21. Does any partial marking or negative marking apply to this question type?
A21.In Reading and writing-fill in the blanks partial credit applies.
Q22. Does this question type contribute to any other module?
A22. Yes, Reading and writing-Fill in the blank contributes to the writing module as well.
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GURUMANTRA FOR PTE LISTENING
Gurumantra for the listening module of PTE is ‘CONCENTRATE’.
Concentration is SIMPLY EVERYTHING when it comes to listening. Even a second’s loss of concentration can cost you a lot while listening. Your scores in the listening module are directly proportionate to your confidence level.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR PTE LISTENING?
The best preparation for PTE listening would be through listening to a wide range of accents and dialects. You could choose to listen to podcasts, documentaries, movies, TV serials, talkes shows and so on. Listening is best done through HEADPHONES. It would also be highly beneficial if you could pause the audio after a minute and recall or even write, all that you understood, in a summary form. If you are preparing for 80 or more points, it’s advisable to predict even the future course of the talk before you turn it back on. This exercise would be the best preparation for nearly all the listening task types.
MUST KNOW FACTS ABOUT PTE LISTENING
Q1. How long does the PTE listening task last?
A1. PTE Listening task lasts anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour.
Q2. How many tasks are there in PTE listening?
A2. There are eight task types in total in PTE listening.
Q3. What is Summarise spoken text in PTE listening like?
A3. Summarise spoken text in PTE Listening is very similar to Retell lecture in the speaking module of PTE. The only difference is that you need to write down the summary of the audio you hear in the listening module, in anywhere from 50-70 words, instead of retelling it, as is the case in speaking module.
Q4. What does Summarise spoken text in PTE listening aim to test?
A4. The primary purpose of Summarise spoken text in PTE listening is to check if you can 1) comprehend 2) categorise and 3) classify information you heard, along with taking notes at the same time.
Q5. Does the task of Summarise spoken text in PTE contribute to any other module?
A5. Summarize spoken text in PTE Listening contributes to writing section as well as the listening one.
Q6. What are the Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers in PTE listening like?
A6. Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers in PTE listening, require you to select more than one response after listening to the recording.
Q7. What does Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers in PTE listening aim to test?
A7. Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers in PTE listening seek to test the ability of a test taker to identify the topic, themes or specific details and facts.
Q8. Is there any negative marking in Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers in PTE?
A8. Yes, there is negative marking in MCQ’s multiple choice.
Q9. What are Listening fill in the blanks like in PTE like?
A9. Listening fill in the blanks are quite easy. They involve typing the missing words in the blanks given in the transcription of the recording that appears on the screen.
Q10. What does Highlight correct summary in PTE listening like?
A10. PTE listening involves selecting a paragraph from four given options that best summarises the 60-90 seconds of audio that you get to hear. It aims to test your ability to comprehend the most important points while listening.
Q11. Does Highlight correct summary in PTE contribute towards any other module?
A11. Highlight correct summary in listening also helps towards PTE reading.
Q12. What is multiple-choice, choose single answer in PTE listening like?
A12. Multiple-choice, choose single answer in PTE listening is quite similar to multiple choice, choose multiple answers, except that in the case of multiple-choice choose single answer, the test taker is required to select only one of the four given options.
Q13. What is the aim of Multiple choice, choose single answer?
A13. The objective of multiple choice, choose single answer is to test if the test taker can identify the speaker’s purpose, style, tone or attitude along with identifying overall organisation of information and connection between pieces of information.
Q14. What is Select missing word in PTE listening like?
A14. Select missing world in PTE listening involves listening to a recording and then selecting the missing word that best matches the recording.
Q15. What does Select missing word in PTE listening aim to test?
A15. Select missing word in PTE primarily seeks to test if you can follow an oral sequence of information along with predicting how a speaker may continue to form a conclusion from what a speaker says.
Q16. What is highlight incorrect words in PTE listening like?
A16. Highlight incorrect words in PTE listening is quite easy. It involves reading the transcription while listening to its recording and identifying the words in the transcription that differ from what is said.
Q17. What do HIW in PTE Listening aim for?
A17. Highlight incorrect words in PTE listening only aim to test if you can identify errors in a transcript and follow an oral sequence of information.
Q18. What is Write from dictation like?
A18. Write from dictation involves writing the sentence as one hears it, with correct spelling and punctuation.
Q19. Does Write from dictation contribute towards any other module?
A19. Yes, Write from dictation provides points to writing module as well.
Know More Listening Facts
