Expert guide to PTE Speaking – Re-tell Lecture 

A guide to PTE Speaking – Re-tell Lecture 

Does speaking in English fill you full of dread? What about incorporating it with listening to a technical lecture that also requires developed listening skills?? That is exactly what PTE’s Re-tell is in a nutshell and due to the technical subject matter, as well as the combined listening and speaking component, many students have problems with this task and can lose many works through the wrong techniques. This article will describe exactly what the task is, outline strategies for you to tackle it, give you some general and specific-to-the-task speaking tips and let you take attempt some practice prompts with the information and knowledge you have acquired. 

What is Re-tell lecture? 

What is the task? (Describe Image) 

• This is a long-answer item type that integrates listening and speaking skills and requires test takers to understand and re-tell a lecture.  

How long does the task last? 

• Up to 90 seconds. 

How long do you have to speak to complete this task? 

• 40 seconds per image. 

Do I have time to prepare before speaking? 

• Yes, 10 seconds after listening to the lecture finish’s and you begin speaking? 

How many images do I have to describe? 

• 3-4. 

This articles main task prompt: – 

Strategical process for this speaking task 

Strategy 1 

• Remember, you will only hear the lecture once, necessitating effective note taking in order to get the highest score possible. 
• Try not to think too much about the speaker’s accent delivery method. 
• You should not aim to take down every word and instead focus on the following points when listening: – 

• Main points and principles. 
• Supporting details and examples. 
• Important dates and numbers. 

• Think about ways in which the main ideas and points connect, such as if they support or contradict each other as well as any other relationships they may have. 
• Think about your note layout and make sure it’s easy to follow when reciting your lecture. 
• Finally, pay attention to any graphs or maps you may see as part of your question as any associated headings may contain some essential information that should be included in re-telling.  

What notes have you taken down and how did you organise them? 

Example 

• 50 years – much change 
• Consume 90% of large fish 

• Belief – humans are unable and unwanting to change ocean 
• Yet – humans destructive > take fish out of the sea, put things back – Healthy oceans – in trouble 
• Assessment – Grade C 

Strategy 2 

• Remember – you will only have 10 seconds to gather your ideas and think about your speaking component after you have heard the lecture. 

• You should not to try and add more notes at this stage. Instead, you should review what you already have and think about your method of presenting them in a logical way using a variety of connective and transition words. 

Review your notes and think about how you can now present them using the discussed transition and connective words. 

Also consider your own delivery such as pace, intonation and inflection. 

Strategy 3 

• Remember, you are endeavouring to make your response as smooth and unforced as possible and want to convey it in the most natural way, in terms of speediness and vernacular. 

• It is consequently significant to ‘think’ in English and to try and evade translating from your native language as this may result in slower and more irregular speech. 

Tips for This Task 

• Recording time will be set by the system. You can utilize this time to preview the image in order to give yourself an overview and idea of the topic and help you predict what you are going to talk about.  This time can also be useful in thinking about the vocabulary you can use. 

• Keep your notes to short phrases of two-three words. Avoid writing down long sentences as you could miss out on key details this way. 

• Use your 10 seconds wisely to design your answer. 

• When you are speaking, focus on the overarching points of the lecture, not simply one main point.  Also remember to think about starting with a topic sentence. 

• Manage your time effectively to cover all three points in the 40 seconds. 

• Try not to hesitate or correct yourself midway. Move on if you stutter or make a mistake.  

• Remember to use fillers to avoid periods of silence as the microphone will close after 3 seconds of inactivity. 

Further Practice 

Wrapping up 

Where you able to use these strategies? Which one was the most difficult to apply? Which one do they think was the most useful? Please let us know with any comments and suggestions. Remember, practicing with these strategies with each summarization will eventually routinize to the point that you may use them in autopilot, which will result in a higher score. I wish you all these best with your PTE Describe Image section.