Speaking & Writing
Read Aloud
A text of up to 60 words appears on screen. You prepare, then read it aloud exactly, once.
- Speaking
- Items on a test
- About 6–7
- Prepare
- 30–40 seconds
- Speak
- 30–40 seconds
- Prompt
- Up to 60 words
Item counts vary slightly by test form. The ranges follow Pearson’s PTE Academic test-taker score guide.
What this task asks
Read Aloud is the first scored speaking task. A short academic text appears, the microphone stays closed while you prepare, and a tone tells you when recording starts. You can record only once.
The current test-taker score guide counts Read Aloud toward Speaking. Reading the text accurately still matters, because the content score is a count of the words you produce.
How scoring works
Content counts correct words from the text. Each replacement, omission or insertion is one error. The maximum depends on how long the prompt is. Hesitations, pauses, and extra sounds before or after the text are ignored for content. They still affect oral fluency.
Partial credit applies. Leaving words out lowers content even when the words you do say are clear.
Pronunciation and oral fluency are each scored from 0 to 5. A high pronunciation score means vowels, consonants and word stress are easy for a regular speaker of English to understand. Pearson accepts regional and national varieties of English when most listeners can understand them. A high oral fluency score means a steady pace and natural phrasing, without long pauses, repetitions or false starts.
Timings and scoring follow Pearson’s published format for Speaking & Writing.
Tips that match the task
- 1
Use the preparation time to mark pauses at punctuation, not to memorise the text. A short pause at a comma or full stop is easier to follow than a flat run-through.
- 2
Stress the words that carry the meaning, and let grammar words stay lighter. That is closer to natural sentence stress than stressing every word.
- 3
Start as soon as the tone sounds. Speech before the microphone opens is not recorded.
- 4
Read what is written. Do not paraphrase, correct the author’s grammar, or skip a word you dislike.
- 5
If you stumble, continue from the next word. Going back and repeating a phrase adds a false start, which oral fluency penalises, and it does not repair the word you already missed.
- 6
Finish before the progress bar ends. A response cut off by the timer loses the words you never said.
- 7
Practise with a 60-word paragraph and a timer. The goal is a steady pace you can hold for the whole text, not a sprint at the start.
Common mistakes
- Skipping small words such as “of”, “a” and “that”. They are content, the same as longer words.
- Adding words that are not in the text. Insertions are content errors.
- Speaking before the microphone opens, then rushing to catch up.
- Pausing for several seconds to work out a difficult word. The pause does not change the content count, but it lowers oral fluency.
- Trying to sound like a particular accent. Pearson scores whether a regular listener can understand you, including regional varieties of English.
Frequently asked questions
Does PTE Read Aloud affect the Reading score?
In the current test-taker score guide, Read Aloud contributes to Speaking, through content, pronunciation and oral fluency. It is not listed as a Reading communicative-skill item. You still have to read the text accurately, because wrong, missing or added words are content errors.
How long do I have for PTE Read Aloud?
You have 30–40 seconds to look at the text before the microphone opens, then 30–40 seconds to read it aloud. The text is up to 60 words. You record once.
What counts as a content error in Read Aloud?
Replacements, omissions and insertions. Hesitations and pauses are not content errors. They are scored under oral fluency instead.
Practise Read Aloud on a real question
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