# PTE Speaking unusual low score- Clarification on Click Next Button behaviour



## Rahul_AUS (Jul 27, 2017)

Hi All,

I would like to seek an advice from people who took PTE and achieved desired scores. I took the PTE exam recently (after 2 month of intensive preparation) and received very poor score (37) in speaking. (Pronunciation -21, Oral Fluency - 29)

I was surprised to see my speaking score. I'm not a native English speaker but I consider myself as a fluent speaker as I've been using English as a primary language since last 10 years.

Prior to the real exam I took two official mock test from PTE and I scored 60+ in speaking (even though my mic was poor quality). Considering the score from mock test, I expected that I would score 70+ in speaking.

When I compare the mock exam and real attempt, in mock exam I didn’t click next button as soon as I completed the speaking. I waited until the status change as ‘completed’ after 3 sec.

But, in the real exam, I didn’t wait for that 3 sec to complete. I clicked next button immediately after I completed my speaking. I did the same for all section in speaking.
I doubt that above could be the reason for low speaking score. My recording looks like not uploaded to PTE software due to the immediate ‘Next’ button click.

Can anyone clarify on above? I couldn’t find anything from PTE official guides saying that we need to click next as soon as we complete the speaking.

PTE Experts !! Appreciate your help on above. This will help for future PTE candidates to act correctly during the speaking section. Thanks.


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## Rob1980 (Jun 11, 2017)

I clicked next on everything after I was finished speaking.

It might be worth uploading a sample of you reading something for others to listen to..


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## KK~ (Jul 27, 2017)

Hi Rahul, 

Have you checked the voice record before the testing? ( the "testing testing one two three" section) . 

If your mock test presents 60 + , your real test should be 60 -/+ 5 points . 

And do not place the mic too near to your mouse. You could search on youtube they have tutorial about the position of mic. Good luck


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## KK~ (Jul 27, 2017)

too close to your mouth i mean ... sorry for the confusion lol.


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## Rahul_AUS (Jul 27, 2017)

KK~ said:


> Hi Rahul,
> 
> Have you checked the voice record before the testing? ( the "testing testing one two three" section) .
> 
> ...


Hi KK,

Thanks for the reply. I have tested my mic before the exam start. I can hear my own recording without any issue. For the Mic position, I kept the mic below my mouth near to my chin. I should have tried to keep the mic above the nose  . Do you think this could be the issue? I'm trying to re-take the exam as I need 65+. let's see.


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## Rahul_AUS (Jul 27, 2017)

Rob1980 said:


> I clicked next on everything after I was finished speaking.
> 
> It might be worth uploading a sample of you reading something for others to listen to..


Hi Rob, Did you click next even for the sections such as 'Describe Image' and 'Re-Tell lecture'? lot of people suggest to click next as soon as finish speaking for 'Read aloud' and 'Repeat sentence' But not for 'Describe Image' and 'Re-Tell lecture'. It seems that my describe image and re-tell lecture scores are marked as zero.


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## Rob1980 (Jun 11, 2017)

Rahul_AUS said:


> Hi Rob, Did you click next even for the sections such as 'Describe Image' and 'Re-Tell lecture'? lot of people suggest to click next as soon as finish speaking for 'Read aloud' and 'Repeat sentence' But not for 'Describe Image' and 'Re-Tell lecture'. It seems that my describe image and re-tell lecture scores are marked as zero.


Hi Rahul, 

I clicked next on everything as soon as I was ready to avoid leaving the mic hanging for 3 seconds where I might cough or clear my throat etc.


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## sanjay7000 (Aug 14, 2016)

Rob1980 said:


> Hi Rahul,
> 
> I clicked next on everything as soon as I was ready to avoid leaving the mic hanging for 3 seconds where I might cough or clear my throat etc.


That's the right way to do. Whether you click Next once you're done, or don't click till the timing bar completes, it shouldn't matter. I hope you spoke till at least 36-38 secs in Describe image and never paused for more than 3 secs anywhere.


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## Rob1980 (Jun 11, 2017)

sanjay7000 said:


> That's the right way to do. Whether you click Next once you're done, or don't click till the timing bar completes, it shouldn't matter. I hope you spoke till at least 36-38 secs in Describe image and never paused for more than 3 secs anywhere.


I was simply pointing it out for Rahul. (perhaps you are too?) You are probably correct, it shouldn't matter, the point I am making is that I don't think clicking the next button is the reason Rahul got an unusually low score, I did that very same thing on all speaking parts and scored 90.

As for microphone position, I put the mic at the lowest it would go, it wasn't below my chin, but I listened back to myself to make sure there wasn't unwanted breathing noises, and the volume was ok, I also made a point of speaking loudly, not shouting, but being sure I wasn't whispering too as on my mock tests I scored lower when I didn't speak loud enough.


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## aussie_dreamz_0209 (Nov 26, 2015)

Hi, Clicking next will not affect your score. I think the mic was not placed correctly.


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## Rahul_AUS (Jul 27, 2017)

aussie_dreamz_0209 said:


> Hi, Clicking next will not affect your score. I think the mic was not placed correctly.


Your guess is 100% correct. I managed to get 77 in the next attempt by keeping the mic above my nose level. ( my first attempt speaking score was 37)

Thanks all for the valuable suggestions and advise. 

For those who are reading this thread, to avoid the confusion caused by my question, I can confirm that "clicking Next button" will not affect your score as I clicked next for all section and still scored 77.

Having said that, Clicking next button too early for "Describe Image" and "Re-tell lecture" is not advisable. It may reduce your 'content' score. Please try to speak at least for 30-35 sec.

For Read aloud, Repeat sentence and Answer short question, you can click next as soon as you finish the task.

There are already a lot of suggestions on how to score high in speaking. Just to add my two cents, PTE speaking is all about fluency and pronunciation.

For all those people who are struggling to improve pronunciation, I would say fluency is the key for your success. 

No one can change their pronunciation pattern overnight. so, focus to improve your fluency. you will be able to get high score.

PM me if anyone need help or advise How I improved my speaking score from 37 to 77. I would be happy to help you. I believe in good karma


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## Imon (May 27, 2017)

Rahul_AUS said:


> Your guess is 100% correct. I managed to get 77 in the next attempt by keeping the mic above my nose level. ( my first attempt speaking score was 37)
> 
> Thanks all for the valuable suggestions and advise.
> 
> ...



Hi Rahul, I am unable to send you private message. It might be due to the less number of posts u made so far. Can u please make couple of posts more to see whether u can PM me? I am not sure whether I am allowed to share my personal email in the forum.

Regards


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## abhi-civil (Apr 8, 2017)

Hi Rahul,


I too had similar experience recently when i took PTE Exam last week. I scored only 37 in speaking with 10 points for oral and fluency. I was surprised to see the score sheet as I score a decent mark of 70's during mock test.

During exam, I have placed mic below my chin level and I do check the sample recording before start of exam and adjusted the mic so that there is no sound during breathing. I'm definitely sure that something has went wrong through speaking session.

I have sent an email to PTE seeking clarification; not sure whether they will respond to this. I'm bit confused whether need to re-take one more time.

Regards,
Abhi


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## ravi.nidadavolu (Jul 1, 2017)

The way I look into the issues with the MIC level and related cases is mainly that most of us are not used to wearing a headset. People who have worked in the call center/customer service environment will have this experience of placing the microphone correctly and since majority of the folks do not have that background it is difficult.

The best way to place the microphone is on the side and the boom has to be adjusted to be min 2 fingers away and max three fingers.

The other point of breathing sounds etc can be avoided, if you keep yourself cool. Its obvious you are tensed for the exam but we need to keep our cool and the rest will be history.


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## ars776 (Nov 16, 2017)

Rahul_AUS said:


> Your guess is 100% correct. I managed to get 77 in the next attempt by keeping the mic above my nose level. ( my first attempt speaking score was 37)
> 
> Thanks all for the valuable suggestions and advise.
> 
> ...


Hi Rahul,

My scores are 

W-80
R-62
L-64
S-33 (too low , oral fluency - 10)
My practice scores were way too higher for speaking (70 something)
This could be a microphone issue ,Please advise for correct microphone setting or any other issue


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## aussie_dreamz_0209 (Nov 26, 2015)

ars776 said:


> Hi Rahul,
> 
> My scores are
> 
> ...



Can you do a read aloud and describe image, upload in google drive and share the link here. Will take a look and advise.
if your oral fluency is 10, I think there should be something wrong with your mic. Can you tell us how tested your mic, before the exam started?

I read the contents of that page, as if I am doing a read aloud and replayed the recording and checked the volume and other parameters.


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## ars776 (Nov 16, 2017)

Hi Another shocker for me, scored 10 for oral fluency.Mic, below the chin level.I assessment exams from E2 learning too and they rated me at 70, with extensive practice.Guys, what is this issue with this mic.I score 60 for speaking(49 oral fluency) in my first attempt and i am guessing the mic was above my nose level (not sure though),Kindly advise,urgently!!!


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## hanoop (Dec 24, 2017)

I just scored a 90 in speaking after being in the 70s. Clicked next on everything. Just made sure that the mic was not too close.
Also one thing i did differently was to speak a little bit louder than i did previous times. Previously i was speaking like i was speaking on a cell phone and other candidates were a bit louder. Tried speaking with a bit more volume and it helped both with capturing the voice as well as being more open in my speech.


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## Tervinder89 (Sep 11, 2015)

Rahul_AUS said:


> Your guess is 100% correct. I managed to get 77 in the next attempt by keeping the mic above my nose level. ( my first attempt speaking score was 37)
> 
> Thanks all for the valuable suggestions and advise.
> 
> ...


Hii buddy
i have given the pte exam twice. in my forst exam i scored 64 in speaking, 82 in oral fluency and 20 in pronunciation. in second exam i scored 61, 85 in oral fluency and 11 in pronunciation. please help me on this. how can i improve my pronunciation.

Regards
Tervinder


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## ragurajesh (Apr 28, 2018)

Hi Rahul,

Oral Fluency 17 and pronunciation 33 only. kindly suggest whether i need place micro phone above nose. please suggest me.


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## gurungkai (Aug 18, 2017)

I was in the same situation for 2 pte test. All the other 3 modules were above 80 each where as speaking i received 54 and i am a fluent english speaker who took the mock test getting between 72-77.

The main issue i realized is i waited 3 secs for the mic to automatically close. The second time i was not swift enough to click next.

The strategy i adopted was as soon as i reach the second last word, i hit next, followed by saying the final word and clicking ok ASAP.

You two prompts to move to the next question.
Click 'next question'
Then 'ok'

After using this method, i received 90 in speaking


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## ragurajesh (Apr 28, 2018)

Thanks you so much on your reply. Is there any suggestion for microphone position?, Do i need to position above to my nose.?


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## Rahul_AUS (Jul 27, 2017)

ragurajesh said:


> Hi Rahul,
> 
> Oral Fluency 17 and pronunciation 33 only. kindly suggest whether I need place microphone above the nose. please suggest me.


My recommendation is to keep the mic above your nose level. you can refer below videos to know more on the correct position to keep the mic. There are many people who got 90 in speaking and they suggest the same. This is to avoid your breathing that intercepts your voice.

Addition to the mic position, to get 90 in speaking, you should maintain the fluency in all section.

Even if you're stuck on any section and don't understand the content or graph, I suggest not to keep silent and continue to speak anything (but within the context) without pause.

Good luck with your next attempt !!


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## Rahul_AUS (Jul 27, 2017)

Rahul_AUS said:


> My recommendation is to keep the mic above your nose level. you can refer below videos to know more on the correct position to keep the mic. There are many people who got 90 in speaking and they suggest the same. This is to avoid your breathing that intercepts your voice.
> 
> Addition to the mic position, to get 90 in speaking, you should maintain the fluency in all section.
> 
> ...


Forgot to attach the links.


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## ragurajesh (Apr 28, 2018)

Rahul_AUS said:


> Rahul_AUS said:
> 
> 
> > My recommendation is to keep the mic above your nose level. you can refer below videos to know more on the correct position to keep the mic. There are many people who got 90 in speaking and they suggest the same. This is to avoid your breathing that intercepts your voice.
> ...




Thanks rahul. Thanks much for this video and you suggestion.


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## I LOV AUS (Jun 16, 2018)

Hi Rahul,

I am also not a native speaker. But I got a perfect 90 in speaking on my 2nd and 3rd attempts. I flunked terribly in my first. I was advised to speak slowly with mouth wide open ( which was very difficult ) making it to atleast 20 sec for paragraph reading (Read Aloud) and speak until the mic closes for Describing image and Re-tell lecture. I practiced a lot using my hand phone. It worked. You can move on to the next section once you finish talking (Read Aloud). They do not deduct marks. Infact you will gain few seconds if you move on and these few seconds can be used while answering difficult questions. For describing image you need to speak 1. Overview, 2. Point 1,2 or 3 (if you can really make it) 3. Conclusion about the image. These 3 are the important aspects. Same is applicable for Retell Lecture.

There are many youtube videos for Repeat Sentence practice. 

I used Pearson Practice Test Plus with key- PTE Academic book. It had 4 model tests, which was enough to score. Apart from the model tests, attempt mock tests which are available online. On my third attempt I got 2 or 3 questions that were discussed online  

All the best. Do not give up hope.


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## shekar.ym (Apr 27, 2018)

I LOV AUS said:


> Hi Rahul,
> 
> I am also not a native speaker. But I got a perfect 90 in speaking on my 2nd and 3rd attempts. I flunked terribly in my first. I was advised to speak slowly with mouth wide open ( which was very difficult ) making it to atleast 20 sec for paragraph reading (Read Aloud) and speak until the mic closes for Describing image and Re-tell lecture. I practiced a lot using my hand phone. It worked. You can move on to the next section once you finish talking (Read Aloud). They do not deduct marks. Infact you will gain few seconds if you move on and these few seconds can be used while answering difficult questions. For describing image you need to speak 1. Overview, 2. Point 1,2 or 3 (if you can really make it) 3. Conclusion about the image. These 3 are the important aspects. Same is applicable for Retell Lecture.
> 
> ...



speaking section is timed which means the time you save is not carried forward to next question/section.

as per my experience, it is better to click next as soon as speaking part of a question is completed. There is very high chance of mic picking back background noise and breathing as some kind of sound.


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## shekar.ym (Apr 27, 2018)

please read this blog post from E2 language for effective time management:

https://blog.e2language.com/pte-time-management/


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## I LOV AUS (Jun 16, 2018)

Oh yaa. Thanks for correcting me. Speaking is individually timed. I used a lot of saved time in LISTENING component for the last topic - Write from Dictation.

As far as speaking is concerned, clicking the next button doesn't affect the score. Also correcting the wrongly spelt words (not the entire sentence) also doesn't affect the score. 

I just realized that this thread was started a year ago - oops. He would have got the desired score by now


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## sandu (Oct 3, 2018)

Hi, i just read this chat.. i'm too struggling with speaking in PTE..In mock test once i scored 62 for speaking( Oral fluency 54 pronunciation 60).but when i did it yesterday i got 37 (Oral fluency 20 Pronunciation 25) for speaking.. I have my exam on next week.. should we increase the speaking speed? please advice


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## SG (Aug 16, 2017)

sandu said:


> Hi, i just read this chat.. i'm too struggling with speaking in PTE..In mock test once i scored 62 for speaking( Oral fluency 54 pronunciation 60).but when i did it yesterday i got 37 (Oral fluency 20 Pronunciation 25) for speaking.. I have my exam on next week.. should we increase the speaking speed? please advice


Take time and speak calmly. Don't rush/ hurry into the words. 

Practice with reading newspaper.


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## sandu (Oct 3, 2018)

One more question..In Read Loud should we need to complete like 18-20 seconds? or is it ok to read up to 25-30 seconds like some 2-3 line paragraph.


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## vineet82 (Oct 3, 2018)

*No need to hurry*



sandu said:


> One more question..In Read Loud should we need to complete like 18-20 seconds? or is it ok to read up to 25-30 seconds like some 2-3 line paragraph.


Hi Sandu,

You will get enough time to read the entire length of the passage conveniently. Just make sure you don't rush through it, nor should you very very slow. The allowed time accommodates a decent range of speed. So don't worry about it.

All the best!

BTW, I took PTE only last week and score perfect 90.


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## sandu (Oct 3, 2018)

Thank you very much for your quick concern. I'm struggling with speaking for more than month. yesterday i did mock C and i got below results,
L 70
R 72
S 37
W82

I don't know what to do


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## vineet82 (Oct 3, 2018)

sandu said:


> Thank you very much for your quick concern. I'm struggling with speaking for more than month. yesterday i did mock C and i got below results,
> L 70
> R 72
> S 37
> ...


You're most welcome.
Typically, mock scores are lower than the real PTE, that's what I hear, personally I didn't take any mock test, took the real test straight.

Anyway, 3 tips:
1) Search "44 English sounds" on youtube to improve pronunciation
2) Speaking fluently and correct placing of stresses are more important than content, not implying that you can talk off-topic, but surely you don't need to capture every detail of content, focus on fluency and pronunciation

Another advice - there are many videos on youtube which I found to be VERY sub-standard. They need to learn themselves. You could trust E2 language videos, don't trust much else.


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## jimmyyangddk (May 3, 2018)

Hi everyone,

I have the same problem with speaking. I have been doing few mock tests in ptepractice.com and I were able to score 89-90 of speaking with fluency of 89-90 as well. 
However, in the last two attempts, my speaking was only 67 with fluency of 71. I have no idea what is going on at the moment.
I did quite good on repeat sentence and also retell lecture. My listening was 81.

Still try to figure out what is happening?
I put my mic above my mouth, and in the position paralleled with my nose. Is it because I were not loud enough?

Please advise.


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## vineet82 (Oct 3, 2018)

jimmyyangddk said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Honestly, it’s quite hard to understand why your score was below expectation. You need to work on your grammar. Aside from that, please share the break-down of your score, as much as you can, so that other people like me can try to pin point the areas where you need to improve.

All the best!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jimmyyangddk (May 3, 2018)

vineet82 said:


> Honestly, it’s quite hard to understand why your score was below expectation. You need to work on your grammar. Aside from that, please share the break-down of your score, as much as you can, so that other people like me can try to pin point the areas where you need to improve.
> 
> All the best!
> 
> ...


Ok Thanks. My score breakdown below:
L: 81
R:90
S:67
W:90

Gr:81
OF:71
Pro:60
Spell:90
Vocab:79
WD:90

The lowest point of my enabling skill is pronunciation. However, I was able to get 77 with even lower pronunciation before.


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