PTE Retell Lecture Guide

About:

Task: Retell what you heard in the lecture.

Audio Length: Typical 60-90 seconds.

Preparation time: 10 seconds

Answer time: 40 seconds

Exam questions: 1 – 2

Exam Hints

Answering a retell lecture question involves three steps.

Step 1: Listen carefully and take notes.

Write down as many important words or phrases as you can. Make sure your notes are easy to understand.

Step 2: Use the 10 seconds of preparation time to choose which notes to mention.

Unrecognizable notes (poor handwriting / unrecognizable short forms) should be skipped.

Skip any notes you can’t read well or are hard to say.

Step 3: In your answer:

Try to include at least 8 key words or phrases. Grammar isn’t important.

The difference in grades often isn’t about what you say, but how smoothly and clearly you say it. So, speak clearly and fluently.

Answer Time

Even though you have a maximum of 40 seconds to speak, you do not have to use all of them. It is sufficient to use 25 to 30 seconds. Of course, if you have more than 8 keywords or phrases to retell, you can speak a little longer. But please keep it under 35 seconds. If you speak for too long and have not finished speaking when the 40-second timer expires, you will be penalized in fluency. It’s not worth it.