If you're planning to take the test on or after August 7, 2025, you need to be prepared for two new question types in the Speaking section that will fundamentally change how the exam assesses your English proficiency.
After extensive trial periods that began in December 2023 and continued through multiple testing phases, Pearson has officially introduced "Summarize Group Discussion" and "Respond to a Situation" as permanent additions to the exam format.
The introduction of these question types wasn't arbitrary. Pearson conducted comprehensive research during the trial periods, analyzing thousands of student responses to ensure these tasks accurately measure English proficiency while providing a more authentic testing experience. With the introduction of these new question types, the PTE exam not only tests your language skills but also evaluates your ability to communicate naturally and effectively in real academic scenarios.
What's changed in PTE Academic 2025?
The August 2025 update represents the most significant change to PTE Academic in recent years, reflecting Pearson's commitment to creating a more comprehensive and realistic assessment of English language proficiency.
The Speaking section, previously consisting of 7 questions, has been expanded to include 9 questions, with the total test duration increasing by 15 minutes to accommodate the additional assessment components. This extension allows for a more thorough evaluation of your speaking abilities across different contexts and communication scenarios.
Perhaps most significantly, Pearson has introduced increased human oversight for authenticity checking across seven question types. This change addresses the growing concern about over-reliance on memorized templates and ensures that responses demonstrate genuine language proficiency rather than rote memorization. The human reviewers specifically look for originality and relevance in responses, meaning that template-based answers may now receive zero scores.
Key Updates at a Glance:
- Implementation Date: August 7, 2025
- New Question Count: Speaking section expanded from 7 to 9 questions
- Total Questions: Increased from 20 to 22 overall
- Test Duration: Extended by 15 minutes (now 2 hours 15 minutes)
- Scoring Enhancement: Increased human oversight for authenticity checking
Understanding the two new speaking question types
1. Respond to a Situation
The "Respond to a Situation" question type presents real-life academic scenarios where you must provide a natural, spoken response as if you were actually in that situation. The scenarios are carefully crafted to reflect genuine situations you might encounter during your academic journey, from group project coordination to seeking help from professors or communicating with classmates about academic matters.
What makes this question type particularly challenging and valuable is its emphasis on authentic communication. You're not just demonstrating your ability to speak English—you're showing that you can use English effectively to accomplish real communicative goals. This requires not only language proficiency but also cultural awareness, appropriate tone selection, and the ability to be persuasive or assertive when necessary.
Format & Timing:
- Preparation Time: No separate preparation time (you can take notes while listening)
- Response Time: 40 seconds to answer
- Input: Both audio and text description of the situation
- Output: Spoken response addressing the scenario
Official Example Scenario: "You are doing a group project for a class. The other members of your group have asked you to prepare the slides for the presentation. You are willing to do the slides but need them to give you all the information that you have to include before the weekend. What would you say to them?"
The assessment focuses on your ability to speak naturally in first person, use appropriate greetings and tone for the context, cover all essential points from the prompt without summarizing the situation, and demonstrate the right level of assertiveness or politeness based on the relationship and request involved.
2. Summarize Group Discussion
The "Summarize Group Discussion" task addresses a critical real-world skill that students use constantly in academic environments: the ability to listen to complex discussions, process multiple viewpoints, and then clearly communicate the essential information to others. This mirrors situations you'll encounter regularly in university settings, from study group discussions to academic seminars and team meetings.
You'll listen to a conversation between three people discussing an academic topic, then provide a comprehensive spoken summary of the discussion. Unlike other PTE tasks where you might have written support, this question relies entirely on your listening skills and ability to take effective notes under pressure. The discussions are specifically designed around academic themes, ensuring relevance to your future educational environment.
The challenge lies not just in understanding what each person says, but in organizing that information coherently, maintaining speaker attribution, and presenting a logical summary that captures both the main themes and the nuanced differences in viewpoints. This requires active listening, quick note-taking, and the ability to synthesize information from multiple sources simultaneously.
Format & Timing:
- Listening Phase: Group discussion between 3 people on academic topics
- Preparation Time: 10 seconds to organize thoughts
- Response Time: Up to 2 minutes for summary
- Input: Audio only (no transcript provided) - you should take notes while listening
- Output: Spoken summary covering main points with speaker attribution
The evaluation criteria emphasize your ability to demonstrate active listening comprehension while taking effective notes, synthesize information from multiple speakers and organize it logically, identify which speaker contributed which ideas or viewpoints, create coherent summaries with appropriate linking language, and effectively manage the two-minute time limit to cover all essential information.
Why these changes matter for test takers
Pearson's research during the extensive trial periods revealed that these question types provide a more accurate picture of how students will actually use English in academic and professional environments. Rather than simply testing whether you can read a passage aloud or describe a static image, these tasks evaluate your ability to navigate complex communicative situations that require cultural sensitivity, strategic thinking, and adaptive language use.
The emphasis on authentic communication also addresses a growing concern in language testing: the over-reliance on memorized templates and formulaic responses. By requiring genuine, context-specific communication, these new question types ensure that high scores reflect actual English proficiency rather than test-taking strategies.
Furthermore, these changes align with current pedagogical approaches that emphasize communicative competence and real-world application. Students who perform well on these tasks are demonstrating skills that directly transfer to academic success, making the test a more valid predictor of future performance in English-medium education environments.
Comprehensive preparation strategies for success
Preparing for these new question types requires a different approach than traditional PTE preparation methods. Because these tasks emphasize authentic communication and real-world application, your preparation should focus on developing genuine communicative competence rather than memorizing templates or practicing rigid formulas.
The key to success lies in understanding that these questions assess your ability to think and communicate spontaneously in English, just as you would in actual academic situations. This means your preparation should emphasize flexibility, natural language use, and the development of genuine listening and speaking skills.
Mastering Respond to a Situation
Success in this question type depends heavily on your ability to adopt the appropriate communicative style for different contexts and relationships. Academic environments require varying levels of formality and assertiveness depending on whether you're speaking to peers, professors, or administrative staff. Developing this sensitivity to context and register is crucial for achieving high scores.
Your preparation should focus on building a repertoire of natural expressions and communicative strategies that you can adapt to different situations. Rather than memorizing specific phrases, work on developing the ability to express common communicative functions—requesting, explaining, apologizing, suggesting—in ways that feel natural and appropriate to the specific context.
Practice scenarios should cover the full range of academic situations you might encounter, from informal peer interactions to formal communications with faculty. Pay particular attention to situations that require you to be assertive or make requests, as these often challenge students who are more comfortable with overly polite or indirect communication styles.
Essential Strategies:
- Use first person naturally by speaking as if talking directly to the person/people, employing "I," "me," "my" consistently throughout your response.
- Start with appropriate greetings using context-appropriate openings like "Hi..." for informal situations or "Excuse me..." for more formal contexts.
- Cover all main points by addressing every key element from the prompt without missing information or changing important details.
- Match tone and formality by understanding if you need to be assertive, persuasive, or polite based on the specific context and relationship described.
- Use natural contractions by employing "I'll," "they'll," etc. for fluent spoken English that sounds conversational rather than stilted.
- Be appropriately polite by choosing language that fits the relationship and situation, avoiding both excessive formality and inappropriate casualness.
Critical Mistakes to Avoid: Understanding what not to do is equally important for success. Many students fail these tasks not because of poor English skills, but because they misunderstand the task requirements or apply inappropriate strategies from other question types.
Avoid forgetting key points, as missing main information from the prompt will significantly hurt your score and suggests poor listening comprehension. Never change details from the original prompt, as altering information creates content errors that are heavily penalized. Don't copy prompt language directly, instead use synonyms and natural paraphrasing to demonstrate language flexibility.
Resist using repetitive phrases or falling back on limited expressions like repeatedly saying "I'd like..." which suggests limited vocabulary and communicative range. Pre-memorized responses are particularly problematic because templates won't cover the specific prompt details and typically receive very low scores from human evaluators.
Remember that this is not a summary task, so don't summarize the situation—you need to respond to it as if you were actually in that context. Also avoid being inappropriately polite when making strong requests, as the language strength should match the urgency or importance of the request.
Excelling at Summarize Group Discussion
This question type requires exceptional listening skills combined with the ability to organize and synthesize information quickly under time pressure. Your success depends largely on developing effective note-taking strategies that allow you to capture not just what is said, but who says it and how different ideas relate to each other.
The academic nature of these discussions means you'll encounter complex topics with multiple perspectives and nuanced arguments. Preparing for this requires extensive practice with authentic academic content, including lectures, seminars, and group discussions on a wide range of academic topics.
Your summarization skills need to go beyond simple information recall. You must demonstrate the ability to identify main themes, understand relationships between ideas, and present information in a logical, coherent manner that reflects the structure and flow of the original discussion.
Fundamental Approaches:
- Take effective notes by writing the topic, main ideas, and what each speaker (S1, S2, S3) contributed, including their supporting details and specific viewpoints.
- Start with overview by beginning with a brief summary of the overall discussion topic before diving into specific details.
- Include speaker attribution by mentioning which speaker made which points, as this demonstrates your ability to track multiple voices and perspectives.
- Use logical organization by introducing main ideas first, then adding supporting details in a coherent sequence.
- Connect ideas smoothly using linking words to create flow between topics and show relationships between different speakers' contributions.
- Note agreements and disagreements by highlighting where speakers agree, disagree, or share similar opinions, which shows sophisticated listening comprehension.
- Cover the full discussion by using your time effectively to summarize the entire conversation adequately without focusing too heavily on any single speaker or topic.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid: Many students struggle with this question type because they approach it like a simple listening comprehension task rather than a complex synthesis exercise requiring active organization and clear communication of relationships between ideas.
Don't simply list information chronologically by saying "Speaker 1 said this, Speaker 2 said that" without showing how ideas connect or relate to the overall discussion theme. Avoid adding incorrect information or misattributing statements, as accuracy is crucial for demonstrating good listening comprehension.
Never confuse speakers or mix up who said what, as this suggests poor attention to detail and inadequate note-taking skills. Don't try to include every single detail from the discussion—focus on main points and significant supporting information rather than minor details.
Avoid speaking too briefly, as you need to demonstrate that you understood and can summarize the entire discussion adequately within the time limit. Don't jump between ideas without logical connections, and avoid using mechanical introductions like "Topic 1 is, Topic 2 is, Topic 3..." which sound unnatural and suggest poor organizational skills.
Practice Recommendations
Daily Practice Activities:
1. Situation Response Training:
- Practice common scenarios: Group conflicts, deadline requests, seeking help, academic communications
- Record yourself: Practice responding to workplace/academic situations within 40 seconds
- Focus on natural tone: Develop conversational fluency with appropriate formality levels
- Note-taking while listening: Practice taking quick notes during the audio prompt
2. Group Discussion Practice:
- Use academic conversations: Find discussion videos on YouTube with multiple speakers
- Practice attribution: Focus on identifying "who said what" during conversations
- Time your summaries: Practice 2-minute summaries with 10-second preparation
- Note-taking techniques: Develop systems for Topic (T), Main Ideas (MI), and Speaker points (S1, S2, S3)
3. Integrated Skills Development:
- Academic discussion participation: Join study groups for natural conversation practice
- Podcast summarization: Listen to panel discussions and practice immediate summarization
- Role-playing exercises: Practice various academic scenarios with different formality levels
Scoring and assessment changes
Human Involvement Increase: Starting August 2025, seven question types now include human oversight to ensure:
- Authenticity: Detection of template-based responses
- Originality: Verification of genuine language use
- Relevance: Assessment of content appropriateness
Important: While pronunciation and fluency remain AI-scored, content authenticity will receive human evaluation.
Impact on overall test strategy and preparation timeline
The introduction of these new question types necessitates a fundamental reconsideration of your overall PTE preparation strategy. Traditional approaches that relied heavily on template memorization and formulaic responses are no longer sufficient—and may actually be counterproductive given the increased human oversight designed to identify and penalize such approaches.
Your preparation timeline should account for the fact that developing authentic communicative competence takes time and cannot be achieved through cramming or short-term intensive study. These skills require consistent practice and gradual development of confidence in spontaneous English communication.
The additional 15 minutes in the test duration might seem like a small change, but it requires careful recalibration of your timing strategies across all sections. You'll need to practice with the full updated test format to develop appropriate pacing and energy management for the longer examination period.
Strategic Time Management Considerations
The extended test duration and additional questions mean that maintaining concentration and energy throughout the exam becomes even more critical. Your preparation should include practice with full-length tests that simulate the updated timing to build stamina and maintain performance quality throughout the entire examination.
The Speaking section now requires more mental flexibility as you transition between different types of tasks that demand varying communicative approaches. Unlike the previous format where you could settle into a rhythm with similar task types, the new format requires constant adaptation and contextual awareness.
Consider how the increased human oversight affects your strategic approach to scored questions throughout the test. While pronunciation and fluency remain AI-scored, the emphasis on originality means that your responses across all human-evaluated questions should demonstrate genuine language use rather than memorized formulations.
Evolving role of template usage
The relationship between templates and success in PTE Academic has fundamentally changed with these updates. While structured approaches to organizing your thoughts remain valuable, rigid templates that don't adapt to specific content are now actively penalized rather than rewarded.
Successful test-takers will need to develop flexible frameworks that can be adapted to different contexts rather than memorized scripts. This requires a deeper understanding of English discourse patterns and the ability to apply organizational principles spontaneously rather than mechanically.
The human evaluators are specifically trained to identify responses that appear overly templated or copied, which means that even well-disguised template use may be detected and penalized. This shift encourages genuine language development rather than test-taking tactics.
Long-term benefits of these changes for test takers
While the introduction of new question types may initially seem daunting, these changes ultimately benefit test takers by creating a more accurate and fair assessment of English language proficiency. Students who develop genuine communicative competence will find these tasks more engaging and representative of their actual abilities than traditional test formats.
The emphasis on authentic communication means that high scores on the updated PTE Academic provide stronger evidence of readiness for academic success in English-medium environments. Universities and institutions can have greater confidence that students who perform well on these tasks possess the practical communication skills necessary for academic achievement.
Furthermore, the skills developed while preparing for these question types transfer directly to academic and professional success. The ability to summarize complex discussions, respond appropriately to various social and academic situations, and communicate naturally and effectively are valuable competencies that extend far beyond test performance.
An opportunity
The reduced effectiveness of template-based approaches levels the playing field for students who have developed genuine English proficiency compared to those who have simply mastered test-taking strategies. This creates a fairer assessment environment where success correlates more strongly with actual language ability.
This isn't a challenge—it's an opportunity. Focus on genuine English skills rather than test tricks, and you'll do better on the exam and be more prepared for real academic and work situations. By preparing well for these new questions and developing authentic communication skills, you're not just preparing for a test—you're building skills for your entire career.