PTE Retell Lecture Tips and Tricks | Top 14 Tips | Updated for 2024
Can you get full marks in PTE Retell Lecture questions even if you have never studied in an English speaking environment?
What can you do to ensure good marks in these questions?
That is what we discuss in these proven PTE Retell Lecture Tips and Tricks. PTE Mock Tests is used by hundreds of students each week to achieve their target PTE Score. These suggestions are based on our years of experience in preparing students for PTE exam.
Let’s dive into these Top 14 tested and proven PTE Retell Lecture Tips and Tricks!
Look at the image given alongside to guess what the lecture might be about
With each PTE Lecture question you will see an accompanying image. This image is related to the audio that you are going to hear about. Therefore before the audio begins look at this image and try to form a sentence in your mind – what is this image about? How can it be related to the lecture you are about to hear?
[cp_info_bar display=”inline” id=”cp_id_5242f”][/cp_info_bar]Change the volume if needed
A lot of test takers do not pay attention to this, but you can adjust the volume of the audio if needed. Sometimes you might want to hear at a louder volume to understand properly. So, if something is not clear or you are confused about what you are hearing, then please adjust the volume.
Takes notes as you listen to the lecture
A very important point in our PTE Retell Lecture Tips and Tricks – Take notes!
This is very important in this question type. You will not be able to remember each and everything in the lecture. Therefore you should write down the key points. Later on you can base your response on the notes you have written. Practice with good questions and learn how to identify the key points. Once you have done enough practice it will become very easy for you.
(Note: Our expert tutors have put together a full series of PTE Tutorials and PTE Tips and Tricks articles. Make sure to read all! Also, check out the PTE Mock Test packages for mock tests with score cards, section tests, mini tests – all with authentic questions and real PTE like software!)
Listen to understand not just to memorize
When you are listening to a lecture your goal should be to understand the theme and the main points in it. Do not try to memorize sentences because if you try to memorize one sentence you will miss out on understanding others. Therefore listen to understand and write down the key points in your note.
Draw an image in mind as you listen
This is called active listening. This is almost a part of the previous point. Try to form an image in your mind corresponding to whatever you are hearing. It is difficult to remember words but the image and the situation in visual form is easy to remember.
Organize the notes in 10 seconds once the audio lecture ends
You will have 10 seconds before which the microphone opens up. Hopefully while you were listening to the audio you were able to understand the main points and have also taken good notes. Now in these 10 seconds you should just think which point you will speak first and so on.
Be ready with some templates just in case you are not able to understand the lecture much
Have one standard templated response that you can say anywhere. It might not fetch you much points but at least you will not score zero in the question. You can also have a template using which you can give your response simply based on the image you have seen.
Introduce the theme in the opening sentence of your response
The first sentence of your retell lecture response in PTE should be the overall theme of the lecture. This is to tell the listener (and the computer) what the lecture was about. In the subsequent sentences you will elaborate on the key points under this theme.
Make a good conclusion in the end
Keep an eye on the timer and by the time it comes to an end you should have spoken your concluding sentence. In this you can talk about the implications of what the lecturer discussed, or you can reiterate what the lecture was about in different words.
Learn to identify the key points in an audio by daily practice and by listening for guiding words or so called signpost words
Make it a habit of listening to some good quality academic audio every day. After listening try to explain in a sentence or two what they were about. Identify the points after which key information was mentioned. These are the signpost words which indicate that the following information is important and should go in your notes.
Expose yourself to different accents and topics and not just one
When you are practicing make sure you have resources that span across a variety of accents and topics. For e.g. do not just listen to lectures with only British or only American accents. Similarly do not listen to lectures just on environment or just on physics. In our PTE Mock Tests packages we provide a wide variety of authentic academic materials for your PTE preparation.
Don’t hesitate too much while speaking
Your goal should be to come across as fluent and natural. If you have made a mistake or stumbled on a word, that is fine, you can correct that and move ahead. But if you get stuck there or take too much time it will bring down your score.
Understand the pace at which you should speak and follow that in your exam
Speaking too fast or speaking too slow can both be bad for your score. Some people can speak very clearly when they speak fast, but others are difficult to understand if they speak too fast. So your goal should be to know what pace is right for you. Once you do, always speak at that pace.
Move to the next question immediately if you finish your response before time
Once it’s done, it’s done! Do not give the PTE computer algorithm any excuse to deduct your marks. So if you have completed your response in 30 seconds and still have 10 seconds left, don’t worry, just move ahead to the next question. Don’t try to fill the remaining 10 seconds with random sentences. That can destroy the structure of your response.