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PTE Trainer

Speaking

Re-tell Lecture

Listen to a short academic lecture, then re-tell the main points.

Score
10s to prepare40s to respondAudio plays once
Scored on
ContentOral fluencyPronunciation
Contributes to
SpeakingListening

Sample item

Listen to the lecture extract, then re-tell the main points.

Urban heat islands form when built surfaces absorb and re-radiate solar energy. Cities can run several degrees warmer than surrounding countryside, and the difference peaks at night. Tree canopy and reflective roofing both reduce the effect, but canopy also lowers energy demand.

Notes should read roughly: heat island — built surfaces absorb/re-radiate — cities warmer, peaks at night — canopy + reflective roofs — canopy also cuts energy. Five fragments, forty seconds of speech.

How to approach Re-tell Lecture

  1. Set up your page first

    Before playback begins, put your pen on the paper and decide your layout: a wide left column for the main claim, a narrow right one for examples and figures. Deciding this during the audio costs you the opening sentences.

  2. Capture content words only

    The lecture plays once. Write nouns, verbs, numbers and names, never full sentences, and leave a line break each time the speaker changes point. Abbreviate aggressively, since notes you cannot read back are the same as no notes.

  3. Plan the shape in ten seconds

    You have 10 seconds before recording. Do not use it to reread everything. Use it to number your notes in the order you will speak them and to choose your first sentence, which is where hesitation usually shows most.

  4. Deliver topic then points

    State what the lecture was about, then walk through your numbered points with linking phrases between them, and close with the speaker's conclusion. Keep talking for the full 40 seconds; unused response time reads as a gap in fluency.

The method

Note only content words while listening — nouns, verbs, numbers — never full sentences. Structure the response as topic, two or three supporting points, then conclusion, and use linking phrases to keep the delivery smooth.

The mistake that costs most

Trying to transcribe the lecture. Notes that are too dense leave nothing to say fluently.

Other Speaking tasks

Frequently asked questions

Content words only — nouns, verbs and numbers — arranged as topic, supporting points, conclusion. Notes dense enough to read back verbatim leave you reading rather than speaking, which shows up immediately in oral fluency.

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