Silent lurker here. Would like to share my experience sa PTE.
Halos 1 week lang preparation ko, sobrang swerte ko nabasa ko tong thread na to week/days before the exam kaya would like to give back by sharing my experience and giving pointers.
Equipment Check - before the start of the exam, make sure gumagana at kumportable ka sa equipment. Adjust yung headset, di ako sanay sa headset na mabigat pero no choice haha. Yung mic, tinest ko several times, nahihinaan ako sa playback sound pero yun lang ginamit ko, kaya naman marecognize ni A.I.
Read Aloud - may about 40 seconds ka yata to study the passage before actual recording, check pano magiging flow ng sentences, look out for hard to pronounce words. During these 40 seconds time rin, sinusulat ko na paunti-unti rin yung template ni JimmySem for Describe Image and Retell Lecture sa erasable notepad para tuloy-tuloy mamaya.
Repeat Sentence - The most important part of the exam according to many sources. Pinakaimportante dito wag ka ma-uutal, wag ka magsstop. Kapag may di ka naintindihan, palitan mo lang ng "something" para tuloy-tuloy pa rin pag repeat mo ng sentence. Remember, 3pts max lang ang content at 5pts max anf fluency. Mas mahalaga ang fluency.
Describe Image - JimmySem template. "The given image is about blah blah blah". Gumagana siya. I think pinakachallenge dito yung maco-conscious ka kasi maririnig ng mga katabi mo na inuulit m lang yung template. Halos lima or anim na beses ko yata inulit yung template for both Describe Image and Retell Lecture.
Retell Lecture - as above.
Answer Short Question - More on vocabulary ang matetest dito. Mag-guess ka kahit hindi mo alam yung sagot.
Summarize Written Text - Ginamit ko yung "albeit but therefore" template pero nung sa exam isang buong paragraph lang yung lumitaw na question sakin.
Essay - Ginamit ko yung template ni Jay instead of memorizing isang buong essay kasi wala na akong time to memorize. Sanay naman ako magsulat from responding to office emails. Make sure to use the remaining time to doublecheck your sentence structures, grammar and spelling.
Reading & Writing Fill in the Blanks - Don't overthink. Yung mukhang tamang sagot, yun na yun. Be familiar with collocations and yung mga madalas magamit na phrases.
Multiple Choice Multiple Answer - Makikita naman sa given text yung mga sagot. I answered multiple choices kasi confident ako sa sagot ko.
Re-order Paragraphs - Maganda yung tips ni Jay dito. Independent sentence then hanap ka ng kasunod na sentence na somehow nirereference yung first sentence and so on and so forth. Dalawang questions nakuha ko dito, mahirap yung pangalawa hinulaan ko na lang haha. After re-ordering, read the whole paragraph kung tunog tama.
Fill in the blanks - Same tip as Reading & Writing Fill in the Blanks.
Multiple Choice Single Answer - Again, makikita sa paragraph yung sagot. Mas madali to kasi isa lang sasagot mo.
Summarize Spoken Text - I used one page sa notepad per question. Just scribble away habang nagsasalita yung speaker. I used the common template "The speaker was discussing about.... He then mentioned... He pointed out that .... Finally, he concluded that..." or any variation niyan.
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers - Take notes uli habang nagsasalita yung speaker. That way may mababalikan ka. Still, kailangan mo maintindihan yung overall na sinasabi nung spekaer not just the keywords kasi more on yun yung itatanong dito.
Fill in the Blanks - Used "TAB" key to hop between blanks para concentrated ka sa pakikinig. Type as soon as marinig mo yung correct word. Anticipate words based on the context of the sentences.
Highlight correct summary - You can use process of deduction to eliminate some choices. Notes pa rin and understanding the overall concept of the paragraph ang key dito.
Multiple Choice, Single Answer - dito ako nahirapan kasi magkakaparehas halos yung mga choices. Same advice lang sa MCMA.
Select Missing Word - Pure focus sa pakikinig dapat from start to end para may idea ka sa sinasabi ng speaker. Check rin yung timer kung malapit na magend yung nagsasalita. 2 questions yata nakuha ko dito. Dapat naiintindihan mo yung pinapakinggan mo para maconnect mo with the missing word. (Hinulaan ko lang yung isang sagot ko dito)
Highlight Incorrect Words - Eto yata pinakamadali na section sa PTE. Click mo lang yung incorrect word habang naririnig mo.
Write from Dictation - Type as you listen. Remember to capitalise first word and end with a period. Pag hindi sure sa pluralization, type both words. Hindi rin masama magdagdag ng "the" "on" "in" before words kung hindi ka sure na narinig mo o hindi.
Ayun lang hehe.
I hope nakatulong to. 😃
