Author: Bijay Thapa

Let’s be honest. There is no easy way to master pronunciation in a day or a week. But if you apply these powerful tips you can definitely improve your pronunciation within a month or two.

Here’s How to Improve Your Pronunciation

Analyse Yourself

The first thing you want to do is become aware that your pronunciation is not as good as it could be. Once you become aware of this fact… improving your pronunciation suddenly becomes easy.

To become aware, I want you to record yourself when you are reading a book or speaking in front of a mirror. When you do that, you will have a reference point at which to look at.

After you record yourself speaking, listen to it… and you will immediately know where your pronunciation went wrong.

The next step is to look-up for the pronunciation of your word online and get a feel of how the word is pronounced.

Then, all you need to do is record yourself speaking again and try a next time.

Do this consistently and you will see a drastic improvement in your pronunciation.

Break Word Into Syllables

After you are done recording… you will notice that you have omitted certain sounds from words. What you need to do next is, you need to break those words down into syllables. Use the website “How Many Syllables”  to find out how many syllables a word has. The website will also help you listen to and see how a word is pronounced and which words to put the stress on.

Let us take the word “syllable” as an example.

syllable –  syl/la/ble

That’s 3 syllables.

Let’s take another example-

Pronunciation— pro/nun/ci/a/tion

That’s 5 syllables.

Now, when you do that you instantly see how the word is formed and which part of the word to pronounce and with practice, you will learn to pronounce each syllable properly, improving your pronunciation.

Practice Tongue Twisters

Okay, this one is tricky. Literally.

What you need to do is, practice reading out the tongue twisters.

Try these two tongue-twisters right now.

AND

“If one doctor doctors another doctor,

Then which doctor is doctoring the doctored doctor?

Does the doctor who doctors the doctor, doctor the doctor the way the doctor he is doctoring doctors?

Or does he doctor the doctor the way the doctor who doctors doctors?”

Feels impossible?

Yeah… for me too… when I first tried it.

But keep trying… because tongue-twisters are a great way to work your speech muscles and that will improve your pronunciation.

Keep practicing your tongue twisters at least once every day and you’ll see the difference it makes in your pronunciation score in PTE.

Watch a lot of movies

Seriously!! Watch a lot of English movies or listen to English programs or songs.

When you watch an English movie, or listen to an English program, or English songs… what is happening is… subconsciously, your brain is picking up the “subtleties” in the English language. And the more your watch and listen and speak… the better your pronunciation get.

And when you consistently practice what you hear with your friends and co-workers… you are bound to improve your pronunciation and your score in PTE.

So… go out there… treat yourself with a good English movie and improve your pronunciation.

Speed of Your Speech Matters

Just like in oral fluency, the speed of your speech matters. Faster doesn’t mean better when it comes to oral fluency and pronunciation.

Rather what you need to do to improve your PTE score is speak in a natural speed. Don’t try to rush your speech… otherwise the computer will detect it as mispronunciation and you will score lower.

I don’t want you to do that… so… keep speaking like you would to your friend. And if your friend says you speak too fast… slow down!!

That’s all!! Follow the tips and practice every day… and you will definitely improve your pronunciation in coming months.

Getting a high score of more than 79 in PTE is not only your pathway to gaining 20 points for your PR in Australia, but another way to study in most English speaking countries.

So, let’s begin by understanding what it is, why it is important and then… we’ll dive into 6 tips to get a high score in PTE. 

What is PTE?

Pearson Test of English(PTE) is a computer-based test of English considered the “fastest and the most accurate” language test accepted academic institutions and governments around the world, including Australia.

Why is it important?

Unlike IELTS, PTE is entirely computer-based. And because of that, many see it as a game of beating the computer. But, we disagree. PTE is much more complex than that.

PTE tests your reading, listening, writing, speaking, comprehension, fluency and even your pronunciation. So, don’t fall into the trap of assuming that PTE exams are easy.

However, with the right strategy and the right knowledge, YOU WILL SCORE 79 or higher in PTE.

How to get a high score(79+) in PTE?

As promised, here are 6 ways to improve you score in PTE.

Know the Test Format

You must know how the test is conducted. In short, there are three sections:

1. Speaking and Writing—75 to 90 minutes
2. Reading—32 to 41 minutes
3. Listening—45-57 minutes

One key thing to remember is that if you finish one section with 10 minutes to spare, that remaining time WILL NOT carry over to the next section.

This means you must manage your time to be able to finish the test within the allotted period.

Know the question types for each section.

Familiarize yourself with the type of questions for each section. 

In short, there are 21 different question types in the PTE exam.

Out of the 21, there are 8 question types in the Speaking and Writing section (including your Personal Introduction). The reading section has 5 different question types and the listening section has 8 question types.

For Speaking & Writing section, you have the following question types:

• Personal Introduction
• Read Aloud
• Repeat Sentence
• Describe Image
• Re-tell Lecture
• Answer Short Question
• Summarize Written Text
• Essay Writing

Then, on Reading section, you will have:

• Fill in the Blanks (covers Reading and Writing sections)
• Multiple choice, choose multiple answers
• Re-order paragraphs
• Fill in the blanks
• Multiple choice, choose single answer

And finally, in the Listening section, you will have:

• Summarize Spoken Text
• Fill in the blanks
• Highlight correct summary
• Select missing word
• Highlight Incorrect words
• Write from Dictation
• Multiple choice, choose multiple answers
• Multiple choice, choose single answers

Understand how the test is marked

You must understand that each question type has a different weight when it comes to marking. Some questions are scored based on their correctness only… while others are scored based on their correctness and the quality of response.

But, how can a computer mark your test like a human examiner?

Well… to answer that question, we researched deep into the Pearson PTE website. What we found was that leading expert-designed and marked the test. The computer used marking pattern from the experts to train itself to mark the tests. Only after it successfully scores the test just like a human examiner, the computer is allowed to mark tests from real candidates.

Using a computer to mark the test ensures that you will be marked withouth any bias or laspe in concentration.

Speak Fluently 

To get a high score in fluency and pronunciation, it is important to speak without stopping and without hesitation. If you feel like you have missed a word, don’t correct yourself. Just keep speaking. Speak the way you speak normally. Don’t rush your speech.

Most students are afraid that they need to speak fast otherwise they will go over the time limit. This is just a myth… because from what our students have experienced, we know that you will have enough time even if you speak in their normal speed.

However, you must avoid unnatural, long pauses. This is where the computer deducts the most points which will stop you from getting a high score in PTE.

And make sure that you are speaking like a human… with varying intonations and rhythm. What you need to do is speak as you would speak with another person—by expressing emotions. 

Choose a small test center

This one is often overlooked. Choose a small test center because they have fewer test-taker. 

But why?

Because… imagine this… you chose a very popular test center. And that’s what everyone does. When you reach your test center, you see that the whole place is crowded with other test takers and the moment you enter the test room, you see yourself surrounded by other test-takers.

What happens next??

All the test takers around you will speak in a loud voice to make sure they are heard… and this means you will be disturbed. This means you won’t be able to concentrate on your own test. And you will not receive the score you want.

This is why it is necessary to choose a small test center. Other test takers won’t disturb you in a small test center, and you can get a high score in PTE.

PRACTICE! Lots of PRACTICE!!

Practicing online is a good way to improve yourself. But… do you know what’s even better?? Practicing real exam questions with other people. If you are looking for an institute to help you practice your skills… contact us we run PTE classes 7 days a week.

Feel free to check out our PTE courses to help you get a high score in PTE.

As a non-native English speaker, mastering oral fluency is difficult. But it can be done once you know how PTE oral fluency is marked. Before I get to the scoring criteria of oral fluency, let’s begin by understanding the 5 levels of oral fluency to improve your score in PTE.

Pro Tip: In your PTE exam, oral fluency applies to Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image and Re-tell Lecture question types.

5 Levels of Oral Fluency in PTE

Native-Like

5 marks.

Speech has no pauses between words. You speak fluently with a smooth rhythm, pausing at the appropriate places and with appropriate inflections and tone in your voice, just like a native speaker.

Advanced

4 marks.

Speech has acceptable rhythm with minimal inappropriate pauses. And there is only one hesitation, repetition or false-start in your speech.

Good

3 marks.

Speech is at an acceptable speed but has uneven rhythm. There could be more than one hesitation but majority of your words are continuous without pauses.

Intermediate

2 marks.

Speech may have a long pause or may be uneven and it has two or three hesitations, repetitions or false starts.

Limited

1 mark.

The rhythm or phrasing in your speech is irregular. Speech is categorised as Limited if it sounds discontinuous and uneven. Poor phrasing, long pauses, multiple hesitations, repetitions and/or false starts are evident in your speech.

Disfluent

0 marks.

Speech has multiple hesitations, pauses, false starts and is slow. Most words are isolated and more than one long pause could be present.

Remember These to Master Oral Fluency

Speed of your speech

It is the main aspect of oral fluency. You have to be able to speak without pausing to think, and it has to flow naturally.

We don’t mean to say that you need to keep speaking like a robot without a pause. What we mean is, you need to pause when necessary like when you see a comma or a full stop. You can either pause or you can change the tone of your voice in these places, depending on the circumstance. 

And when we say speak without pausing to think, we don’t mean that you need to speak fast. You must not speak so fast that it impacts your pronunciation.

Instead, you need to focus on speaking at a natural pace, just like when you are talking to your friend.

Rhythm

Rhythm is difficult to explain. Because it comes to us so naturally that we don’t even think about it. It is important in your oral fluency because it helps you express your emotions. When we speak with our friends, we speak with various intonations and we express our emotions in our speech. And that’s how we need to speak to improve oral fluency in the PTE exam.

Don’t speak like you are a monk chanting a mantra and don’t read like you are reading off the script. What you need to do is, talk like you would normally talk to your friend.

Staccato (A long pause)

Staccato occurs when each word you are speaking comes without a flow and each word sounds disjointed. The moment you take a long pause to think about the next word, you will be losing 2 marks.

Hesitation, Repetition and False Start

The PTE computer algorithm categorizes pauses in terms of hesitation, repetition and false start. And based on the number of “pauses”, the computer deducts your marks by 1 to 3 points, reducing your oral fluency.

When you hesitate in the middle of your speech, when you repeat the same segment or when you start from the middle because you began speaking too early or too late… the computer starts deducting your marks.

So, make sure that you speak at a natural speed, with proper rhythm, minimal pauses, hesitation, repetition and false starts to keep your oral fluency high and your PTE score higher.

What Next?

So far, we have covered how the computer marks our oral fluency in PTE. Now, just imagine this… you want to score 79 or higher… you choose an online platform and begin practicing online. But you have no way of knowing whether your oral fluency is good enough or not. What do you do? You’ll ask your friend… but does your friend know how the computer scores oral fluency?

If yes, then, that’s great news!! 

If no, then… we’ve got you covered…

You can call us on 0422-279-722 or visit us at our office (Level 1/83 York St, Sydney NSW 2000) to improve your oral fluency and get a high score in PTE with help of our expert trainers.