Does speaking in English fill you full of dread? What about combining it with reading a technical academic piece in which you may come across new vocabulary that you may be unaware how to pronounce correctly PTE’s Read Aloud may seem overly complicated and technical in its nature but there are numerous approaches to this task that will make it seem less daunting. 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 Read Aloud?
What is the task?
- This is a long-answer item form that assimilates speaking and reading skills and requires test participants to recite a short text aloud, using precise pronunciation and intonation.
How long does the task last?
- Approximately 80 seconds.
How long do you have to speak to complete this task?
- 40 seconds per text.
Do I have time to prepare before speaking?
- Yes, 40 seconds to analyse the text.
How many images do I have to describe?
- 6-7.
This articles main task prompt:
Strategical process for this speaking task
Strategy 1
- Remember, you will have up to 40 seconds to prepare and familiarize yourself with the text before the microphone opens. Inn this time, you should use the time to try to interpret and comprehend any unacquainted words, as well as the content of the text as well as any contextual nuances.
Context clues
- Usually are found with surrounding words that will give you hints about any new wording or vocabulary that is new to you.
Word structure clues
- They are interpreted by groups of letters that happen regularly in words. These are prefixes (un-, re-, in-), suffixes (-ful, -ness, -est), and inflectional endings (-ed, -ing, -es). Correlating connotation and sounds to these groupings will lead to quicker and more effective meaning association.
It is, therefore, useful to study up on how to use prefixes and suffixes in your own time, as well as your own knowledge of the phonemic alphabet. Have a look at the following information to get you started.
Strategy 2
- Remember, you should read all words in the text. To become accomplished readers, you should endure to be able to recognize and/or forecast words quickly and precisely. This will allow you to become effective in interpreting the on-paper word in spoken language.
- In addition to using word organization clues conferred above, decoding also involves recognizing sight words, i.e., common words that should be recognized on sight such as should, ought, and associating spelling with sounds. Approximately 84% of English words are phonetically regular which means that being educated on the most common sound-spelling relationships in English is tremendously valuable for readers.
Strategy 3
- It is significant to comprehend how the grouping of stressed and unstressed syllables helps to create the sentence rhythm in English. You should practice also how to group syllables together into greater elements such as phrases or thought groups. Thought groups include short sentences, expressions, clauses, and transition words and phrases that mark the organization of the text clearly (e.g., on the other hand, for example, in fact).
- In addition, an advanced English-speaking skill is to connect the concluding sounds of words to the next word in the phrase. For example, if the final sound of a word is a consonant and the next word starts with a vowel, you should drill amalgamating the last consonant of the word with the next word, e.g., They lived in Hong Kong sounds like They live din Hong Kong.
Tips for This Task
- Use your 30-40 seconds wisely to pre-read the text before you begin speaking. Identify any difficult words, sounds and clusters and use your prior knowledge to predict what the correct pronunciation may be.
- Remember to follow the slow of the sentence, paying attention to appropriate points to add pauses and emphasis. Punctuation marks are key points in which to do these speaking traits. However, do not name any punctuation marks in your oral recitation.
- Speak and naturally as possible in terms of intonation, trying not to over or underemphasised your tone. Strike a medium balance.
- This assignment assesses your fluency. Pronunciation and intonation as the flow of the text dictates. When assessing the text before your recital, think about the speaker of the text would recite this in order to get a good idea for these factors.
- Recognise phrasal groups in your prediction and read according to them.
- Remember to speak continuously and make use of fillers.
- Speak as soon as you hear a tone indicating you to do so.
- Do not add any content or attempt to explain anything. Only recite what you hear.
Further Practice
Wrapping up
Where you able to use these strategies? Which PTE speaking tips were 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. Don’t forget to check other PTE tips on Swoosh English. I wish you all these best with your PTE Read Aloud section.
