Do you find listening to academic lectures in English to be a difficult task? Are you able to identify the different phonemes of the English language as well as stress patterns? Moreover, are you able to use your time management skills to perform well in a fast-paced activity?? The PTE Listening task, Highlight Incorrect Words can be a difficult task. Even for advanced level students but there are proven methods to this task that will make it seem less intimidating. This article will describe exactly what the task is. It will then outline strategies for you to tackle. And will give you some general and specific-to-the-task listening tips. Also, this will let you take an attempt at some practice prompts with the information and knowledge you have acquired. Hopefully, you will have developed more skills and confidence in your PTE exam preparation which will allow you to acquire PTE success.
What is Highlight Incorrect Words?
What is the task?
This task assimilates listening and reading skills and requires examination participants to listen for and highlight the differences between a recording and a transcription by identifying the incorrect words.
How long do you have to complete this task?
•Approximately 2 minutes per task.
How many of these prompts will I have to complete?
•2-3.
How long is the transcript?
•15-50 seconds.
Learn these off by heart before your PTE exam booking so you are fully aware of what you will have to do on the day.
This articles main task prompt: –
You will hear a recording. Below is a transcription of the recording. Some words in the transcription differ from what the speaker(s) said. Please click on the words that are different.
One of Australia’s most remarkable natural gifts, the Great Barrier Reef is blessed with the breathtaking beauty of the world’s largest coral reef. The reef contains an abundance of marine life and comprises of over 3000 individual reef systems and coral cays and literally hundreds of picturesque tropical islands with some of the world’s most beautiful sun-soaked, golden beaches. Because of its natural beauty, the Great Barrier Reef has become one of the world’s most sought after tourist destinations. A visitor to the Great Barrier Reef can enjoy many experiences including snorkeling, scuba diving, aircraft or helicopter tours, bare boats (self-sail), glass-bottomed boat viewing, semi-submersibles and educational trips, cruise ship tours, whale watching and swimming with dolphins.
Strategical process for this task
Step 1
In your ten seconds before the recording begins, skim through the passage and take a quick mental note of the key content words as well as any words you may find hard to recognize the pronunciation of.
Step 2
During the recording, pay attention to all the key content words you hear, i.e., nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Also keep an ear out for words that would typically be stressed and those that aren’t. It can also help to silently read alongside the listening.
Step 3
Post-listening, evaluate upon the reading and listening comparison, recall your mental notes and make your choices.
Prompt Answer
Please listen to the recording in the corresponding video lesson.
You will hear a recording. Below is a transcription of the recording. Some words in the transcription differ from what the speaker(s) said. Please click on the words that are different.
One of Australia’s most remarkable natural gifts, the Great Barrier Reef is blessed with the breathtaking beauty of the world’s largest/principal coral reef. The reef contains a abundance/copiousness of marine life and comprises of over 3000 individual/discrete reef systems and coral cays and literally hundreds of picturesque tropical islands with some of the world’s most beautiful sun-soaked, golden beaches. Because of its natural/exceptional beauty, the Great Barrier Reef has become one of the world’s most sought after tourist/holidaymaker destinations. A visitor to the Great Barrier Reef can enjoy/appreciate many experiences including snorkeling, scuba diving, aircraft or helicopter tours, bare boats (self-sail), glass-bottomed boat viewing, semi-submersibles and educational trips, cruise ship tours/trips, whale watching and swimming with dolphins.
Tips for the Task
•Remember, there is NEGATIVE MARKING for this task. Only answer if you are entirely sure. An incorrect answer will gain a -1 score.
•You may be able to pick out an obvious answer from the pre-listening reading.
•Use the mouse cursor as a reading tool to help you keep pace with the recording.
•Some of the answers will sound very similar to the incorrect word so attention to detail is a must for this task.
•Do as much listening in your own time. Keep the material as academic as possible to mimic the PTE recordings. Highlight key words and learn new vocabulary. Assess the main theme and supporting details.
Further Practice
You will hear a recording. Below is a transcription of the recording. Some words in the transcription differ from what the speaker(s) said. Please click on the words that are different.
This month is the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of one of the most influential thinkers in science history. Charles Darwin developed the theory of how living things develop from simpler organisms over long periods of time. That theory is known as evolution through natural selection. How do new kinds of life come into existence? For much of recorded history, people have believed that organisms were created. Few people believed that living things changed. What process could make such change possible? These were some of the questions Charles Darwin asked himself over years of research in botany, zoology and geology. He was not the first person to ask them. His own grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, believed that species evolved. And others, like the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamark, had proposed ways this could happen. But it was Darwin who identified and explained the process, natural selection, that causes life to evolve.
Here is another PTE sample test prompt for you to practice writing with before any PTE test booking: –
Audio is included in the corresponding video lesson.
Wrapping up
Were 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 Highlight Incorrect Words task and for exam success on your chosen PTE exam dates.
