Read Aloud

• 6-7 items
• Text is no more than 60 words
• About 30-40 seconds to prepare (depending on text length)
• Recording starts automatically after the tone; 40 seconds to answer

• Content: errors are counted per substituted / omitted / added word; the score depends on the length of the item
• Pronunciation: 0-5, from Non-English to Native-like
• Fluency: 0-5, from Disfluent to Native-like

Scoring dimensions are condensed and paraphrased from Pearson's official PTE Core scoring guide for readability; refer to the official documentation for the exact wording.

1. 1Use the prep time to read the whole text through once and mark tricky words, numbers and proper nouns
2. 2For an unfamiliar word, commit to the most common pronunciation rule and say it — pausing costs more than mispronouncing
3. 3Keep a natural, even pace; don't rush to sound fluent and don't pause repeatedly out of nerves
4. 4Chunk by punctuation and meaning groups; a short logical pause mid-sentence is fine, but don't break inside a phrase
5. 5Once recording starts, keep going even after a mistake — restarting costs you fluency marks

• Going silent for a long time after stumbling, then starting over
• Flat, mechanical delivery with no natural stress
• Skipping a word entirely when you see an unfamiliar one

From Pearson's official PTE Core YouTube channel.