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PTE Academic · Speaking · S2

PTE Academic Speaking: Repeat Sentence

Repeat Sentence plays a short sentence of about 3 to 9 seconds once, with no text on screen. You then repeat it word for word within 15 seconds. It appears 10 to 12 times in PTE Academic Part 1 and contributes to your Listening and Speaking scores.

Items per test
10–12
Prompt length
About 3–9 seconds of audio
Response time
15 seconds
Audio plays
Once; no transcript shown
Scores
Listening and Speaking

How it works

  1. 1The audio starts automatically after a short countdown.
  2. 2You listen once. No text is shown at any point.
  3. 3The microphone opens when the audio ends and you repeat the sentence.
  4. 4Recording stops after 15 seconds or about 3 seconds of silence.

Sample task

Original sample · not from an official test

You hear: "The library will close early on Friday because the heating system is being replaced." Repeat the sentence exactly as you heard it.

Show a strong response

Outline: The library will close early on Friday because the heating system is being replaced.

The sentence has 15 words in three meaning chunks: 'The library will close early on Friday' / 'because the heating system' / 'is being replaced'. Holding the chunks, rather than single words, makes the full sentence easier to recall.

Tips that work

  • Listen for meaning chunks, not individual words. Most sentences split into two or three phrases you can picture.
  • Start speaking straight away. Your memory of the exact wording fades quickly, and a long pause risks the silence cut-off.
  • If you lose a word in the middle, keep the rhythm and say the rest. A fluent partial answer usually beats a halting full one.
  • Copy the speaker's stress and intonation; it helps both recall and the fluency and pronunciation judgement.

Common mistakes

  • Trying to write notes, which takes attention away from listening.
  • Stopping completely after forgetting one word.
  • Replacing words with synonyms. The task rewards the exact words.

Questions candidates ask

Can I replay the sentence?

No. The audio plays once and there is no transcript, so the task tests listening and short-term memory together.

Is Repeat Sentence important for my score?

It appears 10 to 12 times and feeds both Listening and Speaking, so steady performance across many items adds up.

What if I only remember half the sentence?

Say what you remember clearly and fluently. Partial content still earns credit, and silence earns nothing.

Where can I practise this task?

EnglishHub includes exam-style Repeat Sentence practice with one-play audio, within its 200 practice sets for PTE Academic.

Other PTE Academic Speaking tasks

PTE Academic overviewPTE Academic Speaking: all partsPTE Academic full mock testsPTE Academic articles on the blog