How to answer the Retell Question in the PTE exam

The Pearson English Test [PTE] consists of four sections which are reading, speaking, writing and listening. There are various tasks in each section that one has to solve. One of the most important types of questions in the speaking segment is the retell questions. Often students face difficulty in this task as they have to quickly answer the given question presented to the student in an audio. This question tests the listening as well as speaking skills of the students.

Let’s understand the different aspects and rules of this task and understand how to answer it correctly in your examination. 

What to expect in this question?

In this question, you will hear a lecture which ranges from 60 to 90 seconds. After hearing the audio, you have to retell the main points in the lecture. The microphone opens 10 seconds after the lecture stops. You have to re-tell the required information in 40 seconds. When the microphone stops, you have to click on the next option, and continue the same process for the next narration. There will be 3-4 such narrations under this question type in the PTE exam. 

Let’s look into the best strategies which can be used to attempt the retell question in PTE.

How to answer the retell question in your PTE exam?

Step 1: Understand the context of the lecture 

You must be completely focused and listen carefully to the lecture being played. Try not to zone out and be attentive throughout the lecture. As soon as the audio starts, pay attention to the key points in the beginning as it is part of the introduction of the lecture. After this, pay attention to important keywords, points and references made by the speaker. Remember that the lecture is going to be much longer than 40 seconds, so it’s natural that one cannot include all of the information presented in the lecture. Hence, try to grasp the main idea and key points of the lecture and include them in your answer. 

These key points can be :

• The main theme or topic that the speaker is talking about.
• Any particular issue or solution mentioned in the talk.
• Name of any particular person, place, idea or activity.
• The conclusion that the speaker draws in the end.

Step 2: Make notes 

It is difficult to memorise all this information in a matter of 60-90 seconds, which is why we should note down the key features which are mentioned by the speaker. You don't have to jot down all the words which are being said by the speaker. Instead of that, note down the relevant keywords or main topic which is being discussed in the audio. You can even use abbreviations, symbols or arrows to increase your note-taking speed. You can note down the mention of any specific person or any statistical figure as well. Jotting these points down will not only help you in retaining the key information but also help you to structure and format your answer as well as you will be able to see all of your main points in front of you and you can easily form sentences based on these important points. 

Step 3: Prepare your answer

You will be given ten seconds after the recording stops. Although it is relatively a small amount of time, you can organise your key points and prepare yourself before the microphone opens. In this duration, you can think about your introduction i.e. how you are going to start your answer which will help you to be confident when the microphone opens. 

Step 4: Speak your answer in a structured way

After making an introduction of the topic, describe the main issue/topic which was discussed in the audio. After this, add any supporting details or figures [which you have written in your notes]. You can also discuss the opinion of the speaker if it was mentioned in the lecture. Lastly, give a conclusion to your answer by summing up the context of the lecture.  

Some tips for attempting the re-tell lecture question in PTE :

1. Speak in a clear and natural pace so that your voice is appropriately recorded in the microphone. Try to modulate your voice when mentioning any important keyword or figure that you heard in the lecture. It also makes your answer much more presentable.
2. Make sure that you are using the correct pronunciation throughout your answer. If there is a difficult word and you are not sure about its pronunciation, try to remember the pronunciation from the audio. If you still cannot manage to say a word correctly, you can skip that word and mention any other point from the lecture.
3. Always remain on the topic and do not deviate from the main theme and talk about relevant information which you heard in the audio. Do not add any information from your side as it can affect your score. 
4. Make sure that your answer is grammatically correct i.e. ensure that you are using the correct tense and not changing the tense unnecessarily. In addition, take care of subject-verb agreement [ singular subjects go with singular verbs, plural subjects go with plural verbs] in your answer. Also, practice forming sentences using an appropriate sentence construction method [ subject - verb - object ]
5. Try to speak for 35-40 seconds without any long pauses or breaks. If you are having a lot of pauses in your speech then you can use connectors in between to link your sentences. Some examples of common connectors are: Also, moreover, along with it, apart from this, not only...but also, furthermore etc.
6. While taking notes, make sure that you are writing only important keywords and points. Use symbols or short forms to increase the speed of taking notes. 
7. Practice regularly by listening to some short audios or recordings and try to grasp the main idea of the audio and then try to summarise it in 35-40 seconds. This will enhance both listening and speaking skills which are required in this particular question.

The best way to improve your score in the PTE exam is by taking personalised coaching for PTE Academic Live Classes. The classes are offered by top instructors. You can also find PTE study material which is available for free to be used as per your own convenience.