Overview of Updates to Speaking (Aug 7, 2025)

 

Overview of Updates to Speaking (Aug 7, 2025)

From 7 August 2025, Pearson introduced some significant changes to the PTE Academic Speaking & Writing section. Key among them:

·         Two new tasks: Respond to a Situation and Summarize Group Discussion.

·         Increase in number of tasks in Speaking & Writing, so more opportunities to show ability.

·         Changed scoring for some tasks to map to only one skill instead of multiple. Human review added for more tasks — including the new ones — to check content relevance, originality.

·         UI/UX changes: beeps, better cues, etc.

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PTE Speaking Question Types (Old + New) With Details

Below are all the speaking-related tasks now in the module, including the new ones. For each: what to expect, timing/prep, what is being tested, and how best to prepare.

Task	What it is / What happens	Timing / Format	What’s being assessed	Tips to score high	Common pitfalls
Read Aloud (RA)	You read a short text displayed on screen. You speak it out loud.	Same as before; number of RA tasks increased (from ~3-4 to ~5-6) under the new update.	Pronunciation, fluency, intonation, clarity in speaking; also reading ability.	Practice reading varied texts; focus on phrasing (not word by word), pausing naturally, stressing the right syllables. Warm up your voice.	Over-speeding, mispronouncing difficult words, monotone delivery, sounding like reading rather than speaking.
Repeat Sentence	You hear a sentence, then repeat it exactly after it ends. Under new update there’s a beep that signals when to reply.	Short sentences; you respond immediately after beep.	Memory, ability to hear and reproduce pronunciation and stress; fluency.	Listen carefully, catch main words (especially content words), mimic stress. Practice with audio tools.	Starting early (before beep), missing content words, losing pitch / clarity.
Describe Image	You see an image (chart, graph, map, picture, etc.), and speak about what you see.	More questions now than before.	Ability to describe, use correct vocabulary, structure, speak fluently, express trends.	Structure: Intro (what image shows), two main features/trends, comparison/conclusion. Use linking words. Vary grammar.	Listing too many numbers, being robotic, not organizing, pauses or hesitations.
Retell Lecture	You hear a lecture (audio) and/or see slides/images, then retell what you heard.	Number of tasks increased slightly (from 1-2 to 2-3) in new format.	Listening comprehension, paraphrasing, organization, speaking fluency.	Note taking, capture keywords, structure your retell: what lecture was about, major points, examples.	Trying to recall every detail (leads to mistakes), poor note-taking, unclear order.
Answer Short Question	A short question (often factual) is asked; you respond in 1-2 words or brief phrase.	Same as before.	Listening comprehension, quick thinking, clear speech.	Practice with general knowledge, common topics; make sure stress & pronunciation are good.	Hesitation, adding unnecessary words, mishearing question.
Summarize Written Text	You get a passage, you must write a summary in one sentence (≤ 75 words).	Writing task (but in Speaking & Writing section).	Writing skills. Not strictly speaking. Summarizing, paraphrasing, content relevance, grammar, vocabulary.	Identify main idea(s), paraphrase, don’t copy sentences, use linking words.	Copying large parts, missing main point, grammatical errors.
Essay Writing	Write an essay on given prompt.	As before in writing portion.	Writing skill: structure, coherence, grammar, lexical range.	Plan quickly, structure well, use examples, vary sentences.	Off topic, weak examples, repetition, poor grammar or vocabulary.

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New Tasks: From Aug 2025

Here are the two new speaking (or speaking + listening) tasks added. These are big changes, so prepare especially for them.

1. Respond to a Situation

Aspect	Detail
What you do	You're given a scenario (often in text + sometimes audio) describing a real-life situation (background + what needs responding). You must respond as if you are part of the situation. Examples: apologizing, explaining, offering help, making suggestion, refusing politely etc.
Prep time	10 seconds to prepare your answer.
Speaking time	~ 40 seconds to respond.
Skills tested	Speaking (fluency, pronunciation, tone, appropriateness), ability to respond spontaneously, use correct vocabulary / grammar, content relevance. Also how well you interpret context.
Expected content	Clear response to situation: mention the background, address the goal (what’s asked), propose solution or express what you would do, and close politely if needed. Use natural language.
Tips	• Listen/read scenario carefully. Identify: Who is involved? What’s the issue? What’s expected? • Use structure: greeting/opening → paraphrase the issue → your response (suggestion/explanation/apology etc) → closing. • Keep tone appropriate (formal/informal depending on prompt). • Practice many scenario types. • Don’t use long memorized template; make it sound natural.
Common mistakes	Irrelevant response, going off topic, being too generic, too much filler (ums, ahs), poor grammar/vocab, incorrect tone, going overtime.

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2. Summarize Group Discussion

Aspect	Detail
What you do	Listen to a discussion among 2-4 speakers (in many summaries it's 3) about a topic. After listening, you must give an oral summary of what was discussed: main points, sometimes conflicting views or conclusions.
Audio length	~ 3 minutes discussion.
Prep time	You get 10 seconds after listening to plan your summary.
Speaking time	~ 2 minutes to respond in your summary.
Skills tested	Listening comprehension, separation of main ideas vs details, ability to organize information, speaking fluency, paraphrasing, pronunciation; coherence & logical structure.
Expected content	You should introduce what the discussion was about, then outline different speakers’ main opinions or points, possibly highlight agreements/disagreements or contrasting views, then a concluding statement (if there was one). Use linking phrases. Focus on main ideas rather than minor details.
Tips	• Take good notes while listening: speaker IDs (Speaker A / 1 etc), main points, examples; • Choose 2-3 strongest points; • Use signpost phrases like “One speaker said that …”, “Another viewpoint was …”, “In conclusion …”; • Practice summarizing content quickly; • Keep your summary balanced (don’t only focus on one speaker).
Common mistakes	Trying to include everything (overload); ignoring speaker contributions; poor coherence / no structure; speaking too fast and making pronunciation errors; monotone; forgetting to conclude; going over time.

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Timing & Structure Under New Format

·         The overall Speaking & Writing section now has more tasks (65-75 tasks) vs older (52-64).

·         Test duration increased by ~ 15 minutes, so total ~ 2 hours 15 minutes for whole test.

·         New tasks (Respond to a Situation, Summarize Group Discussion) have fixed prep & speaking times. The prep time is short, so thinking speed & structure help.

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What to Focus On with These Changes

To do well in speaking under the new format:

1.      Spontaneity & relevance
The new tasks force you to respond naturally. Don’t rely heavily on fixed templates — these may get flagged by human evaluators if too rote.

2.      Note-taking skills
Especially for Summarize Group Discussion and Retell Lecture. You have limited time to catch main vs supporting ideas.

3.      Clear structure in responses
Even short responses benefit from structure (opening → main content → closing).

4.      Fluency + Pronunciation
These still matter. Even if content is good, long pauses, mispronunciations, or too many hesitations will lower score.

5.      Vocabulary & Grammar
Use appropriate grammar forms, connectors; avoid mistakes. But more than that: choose words appropriate to context, avoid overly complex vocabulary if unsure.

6.      Tone & Appropriateness
Respond to Situation especially demands that your tone matches the scenario (formal, informal, professional, apologetic, etc.).

7.      Time management
Practice answering under the exact time constraints: 10 seconds prep; 40 seconds or 2 minutes speaking, etc.