Summarize group discussion

Task

Listen to a discussion between 3 people, then summarize the discussion in your own words.

How to answer this question:

For this question type, you need to summarize what you heard.

The audio begins to play automatically. After the audio finishes, you have 10 seconds to prepare and two minutes to speak.

The recording status box displays a countdown until the microphone opens. You hear a short tone. After the tone, start speaking immediately. Do not start speaking before the microphone opens because your voice will not be recorded.

You should speak clearly. There is no need to rush.

Finish speaking before the progress bar reaches the end. The word “Recording” changes to “Completed’’.

You are only able to record your response once. 

Note: While the audio is playing, you can take notes on the erasable whiteboard provided.

Test tips:

Make good use of the 2 minute speaking time:

You only have 2 minutes to speak, so make sure that you include all the main points of the discussion. If you repeat ideas, correct yourself, or hesitate, you will use up valuable time and lose score points. So keep talking and ignore any mistakes that you make.

How this question is scored:

Your response is judged based on your ability to give a presentation on information from a discussion on some aspect of daily life in a higher education setting. Your score is based on three factors:

Content: Does your response accurately and thoroughly retell the information in the discussion?

Content is scored based on how you paraphrase the discussion and expand on each speaker’s contribution, how you explore relationships between speakers, how you use a variety of expressions, and how you connect your ideas together. The best responses start with a summary of the main topic and then introduce subtopics with supporting details, including which speaker said which piece of information. Just retelling the group discussion, without paraphrasing, will negatively impact your score.

Pronunciation: Does your response demonstrate your ability to produce speech sounds in a similar way to most regular speakers of the language?

Pronunciation is scored by determining if your speech is easily understandable to most regular speakers of the language. The best responses contain vowels and consonants pronounced in a native-like way, and stress words and phrases correctly. Responses should also be immediately understandable to a regular speaker of the language.

PTE Academic recognizes regional and national varieties of English pronunciation to the degree that they are understandable to most regular speakers of the language.

Oral Fluency: Does your response demonstrate a smooth, effortless and natural rate of speech?

Oral Fluency is scored by determining if your rhythm, phrasing and stress are smooth. The best responses are spoken at a constant and natural rate of speech with appropriate phrasing. Hesitations, repetitions and false starts will negatively affect your score.

Notes:

• This question type uses partial credit scoring. No credit is given for no response, an irrelevant response or an unoriginal response. You must use your own words.
• The task assesses Listening, Speaking, Pronunciation and Oral Fluency. Your Reading skills are only used to understand the instructions. Your Writing skills are not assessed.
• Content, Pronunciation and Oral Fluency are all AI-scored traits. A human expert will also review Content before your final score for the task is confirmed.

Source: https://pearsonpte.com