PTE Academic · Speaking
PTE Academic Speaking: All 7 Task Types
PTE Academic has seven speaking task types, all in Part 1 (Speaking & Writing): Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Re-tell Lecture, Answer Short Question, Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation. Responses are recorded on a microphone, and about 3 seconds of silence ends a recording.
- Where it sits
- Part 1: Speaking & Writing (about 76–84 minutes incl. writing)
- Task types
- 7
- Largest tasks
- Repeat Sentence 10–12, Read Aloud 6–7
- Newest tasks
- Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation (from 7 Aug 2025)
- Silence rule
- Recording stops after about 3 seconds of silence
- Score scale
- 10–90 for Speaking and overall
How PTE Academic Speaking works
Speaking is not a separate section in PTE Academic. The seven speaking tasks come first in Part 1, followed by the two writing tasks. Before them there is an unscored personal introduction. Item counts per test are: Read Aloud 6–7, Repeat Sentence 10–12, Describe Image 5–6, Re-tell Lecture 2–3, Answer Short Question 5–6, Summarize Group Discussion 2–3 and Respond to a Situation 2–3.
Each task has its own preparation and response timer. For example, Describe Image gives 25 seconds to prepare and 40 seconds to speak, while Summarize Group Discussion allows up to 2 minutes of speaking. Recordings play once and cannot be replayed. Many speaking tasks are integrated: Read Aloud also contributes to Reading, and Repeat Sentence and Re-tell Lecture also feed Listening.
Your Speaking score is reported on the 10–90 scale alongside Listening, Reading and Writing. The overall score is not a simple average of the four skills. On EnglishHub, speaking practice gives AI feedback on your recordings; it is an independent practice estimate, not a Pearson score.
PTE Academic Speaking tasks
Tips that work
- Start speaking within a second or two of the microphone opening, and keep going after small mistakes.
- Practise Repeat Sentence often; with 10–12 items it is the largest single speaking task.
- Record yourself and listen back for dropped word endings, which affect both pronunciation and content.
- Learn the timing of the two newest tasks so a 2-minute answer does not surprise you.
Questions candidates ask
Is speaking a separate section in PTE Academic?
No. Speaking and writing share Part 1, which lasts about 76 to 84 minutes in total.
Is there a human examiner?
No. You speak into a microphone, and there is no live interviewer.
What happens if I pause too long?
After about 3 seconds of silence the recording stops and cannot be restarted, so keep talking.
PTE Academic overviewPTE Academic Speaking: all partsPTE Academic full mock testsPTE Academic articles on the blog