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P.T.E. General Level B2
SPEAKING
GUIDE
A step-by-step exam Preparation Guide
for the 4 Activities of the Speaking Paper
in the Revised PTE General - Level B2
SECTIONS: 10, 11, 12, 13
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SPOKEN TEST
SECTION 10
Section 10 - Sustained Monologue (25 marks, approx. 1 minute)
You will be asked a general question by the examiner and your objective is to speak continuously on your own for up to 1
minute without the examiner having to give you further prompts. If you do, for any reason, get stuck however, the examiner will help
you by asking another question.
This is a part of the test that you can quite easily practise alone. Think of the exercise as a one-minute speech. Challenge yourself by
trying to talk about general topics for as long as you can. The more you practise, the easier it will become to sustain your monologue,
and the less strained your speech will sound.
There are no “right answers” (it is your opinion that counts) and, as such, the questions are open-ended, which means that you can take
your answer in any logical direction you think it can go.
The key, therefore, is to practise linking ideas together so that you can speak for as long as required.
Model Question:
The examiner asks you the following question:
Can you please tell me about
your reading habits?
How do you talk about your reading habits for
at least a minute? In fact, it is very easy. The
trick is to learn to be able to link together a
series of simple ideas. You will only begin to
get good at this through practice.
The “Thought Cloud” Method
Thought Clouds represent our individual
thoughts and how we go about linking
them together. The “Thought Cloud”
method is a great way to begin practising
sustained monologues. Start by brainstorming and writing your ideas down.
Then, find connections and link them together until you have a consistent order
of thoughts. Rewrite your thoughts in
that order a bit like a flow chart. Next,
write a model answer connecting your
thoughts in full sentences. Last of all, try
to answer the question orally.
Don’t try to memorise your written answer, just make an effort to speak for as
long as you can now that you have awakened your background knowledge. What
you have done, in effect, is called brainstorming. Use this method to practise
and it will train your mind to brainstorm
effectively and link thoughts together in a
logical way. After a while, you won’t
need to write your thoughts down anymore and you will be able to improvise
as you speak.
Can you please tell me about your reading habits?
Like reading?
Yes. Very Keen. Read
all sorts; biographies,
factual, novels.
Novels = favourite
Example: sci-fi, thriller,
crime, fantasy, adventure
etc. Especially horror.
Favourite author?
Stephen King. Wrote
favourite book ‘Thinner’.
About man cursed by
gypsy who keeps losing
weight. Also like classics,
especially Dickens - Great
Expectations.
Read often?
A lot in spare time.
Hour every day. In bed
before fall asleep,
mostly. Sometimes
read newspaper in
morning at breakfast.
Not magazines though.
Why?
Enjoyable and very
relaxing. Way to unwind at night. Plus it’s
important to read.
Learn words and
communicate better.
Good for education.
Mostly though, I just
love it.
Example Monologue:
Well, I’m very keen on reading and I read all sorts of books: I read biographies, factual books and so on, but my favourite would
have to be novels. I enjoy science-fiction, thrillers, crime, fantasy, adventure etc, but my preferred genre is horror. I absolutely
love Stephen King books; he’s my favourite author. The best book I’ve read to date is one he wrote called “Thinner”. It’s about
a man who is put under a gypsy curse and who keeps getting thinner no matter how much he eats. It’s frightening! I also enjoy
the classics, though. Dickens is an author I’m a big fan of. His book “Great Expectations” is a terrific read. I am a bit of a bookworm. I read a lot in my spare time; probably every day for at least an hour. I love to read in bed before going to sleep. That’s
where I do most of my reading. In the morning, I’ll sometimes read through the newspaper quickly at breakfast, too. I’m not
really into magazines though to be honest; only books. The main reason I enjoy reading so much is because it is very relaxing.
It helps me to unwind at night so I can sleep well. There are other reasons it’s important to read, too. Being well-read gives you
a better command of words and you can communicate what you want to say more easily. And, of course, it’s good for your education. But for me, reading’s a labour of love*.
*A labour of love is something you do because you love to and want to do it, not because you have to do it.
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SPOKEN TEST
SECTION 10
Answer questions 1 and 2 by filling in the thought clouds (about 50 words). Write your model answer (about 150 words) and then
practise trying to speak for at least one minute on each question.
1 What is your ideal job?
2
What is your favourite school subject?
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SPOKEN TEST
SECTION 10
Section 10 - Sustained Monologue
EXERCISE 1
In the previous unit, we introduced the “Thought Cloud” method. Now we are going to do a related brainstorm activity. Look at the example below:
Example
Weekend
Friends
Chat
Cafe
Coffee
At the weekend, I have much more free time than during the week. One of the things I love to do is
meet up with my friends. We usually meet on a Sunday morning. We like to chat together and
catch up on all the latest news. We can sit and chat for hours! Mostly, we meet up at the local cafe
called Maria’s. It has comfy seats and nice tables. I usually order a coffee, and whatever my
friends are having. Then, we sit down and relax!
Now, try to link these ideas as in the example to make a story. Then write an explanation for each one and try to explain it orally.
1
Holidays
Stuck on
Island
2
Broken Leg
Winning
Goal
3
School
Monkey
Dog
Medal of
Honour
4
5
Broke
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Millionaire