PTE Exam

All you need to know about the Pearson Tests of English 2022

PTE exam or the Pearson Tests of English examination is a computer-based test conducted to evaluate the English language abilities of an individual planning to pursue his education in an abroad university. The exam is taken up by scholars belonging to a non-native English speaking country and is accepted by most of the educational institutions all around the globe.

Students who wish to pursue their education or the aspirants who desire to immigrate to a foreign English speaking location are necessarily required to take up the PTE academic assessment to prove their proficiency and competency in the English language.

The duration of the language test is set at three hours which includes questions focusing on everyday English instead of the high-level English language questions. It evaluates the ability of an individual to effectively understand the English language as spoken in the everyday life of the country.

The exam is based on a multi-level grading system that guarantees a better outlook into a student's competency with the English language.

PTE belongs to the same category as the IELTS and TOEFL, however, there are various aspects that distinguish the exam from its competitors. The foremost differentiating characteristics of the three exams is the scoring system and the results.

As the process of PTE examination is completely computerised, the grades and results are also declared pretty quickly, usually in 5-6 business days making it an appropriate choice for the aspirants who are in a bit of a hurry. This article will help aspiring students to be aware of all the essential topics related to the Pearson Tests of English test.

Read along to know about the eligibility, test dates, examination location, exam pattern, fee, syllabus, exam pattern, preparation tips, scholarships, results and scores, and the registration process for the PTE examination.

Purpose of taking a PTE academic examination

PTE examination is meant for non-native English speaking individuals who plan to pursue their higher education in a foreign university. It is an English language test conducted on a computer system. PTE Academic exam evaluates the reading, writing, listening, and speaking abilities of an aspiring student or immigrant.

The exam is formatted in such a way that the evaluation of two skills is conducted simultaneously i.e. reading along with speaking and listening along with writing.

Where is the PTE score accepted?

The academic test Pearson Tests of English is accepted by numerous educational institutions across the globe. It is also considered a valid document for a visa application by the government of Australia and New Zealand.

If a student plans to pursue his education in English speaking countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, or the United States of America take up the PTE test to prove their language adeptness.

Different formats of PTE exams you can take up

The Pearson Tests of English language is a test managed by the Pearson PLC group. The test is conducted in two different formats namely PTE Academic and PTE General. Let's shed some light on the difference between the two.

• PTE Academic Examination: This exam is conducted around the year and is taken by the students seeking to get admission to a university or college. The scores gained in the exam are valid for a period of 2 years. PTE academic exam entails four sections i.e. reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
• PTE General Examination: This test is used to test the English communication skills of an aspirant and is conducted thrice a year in the months of May, June, And December. The scores gained in this examination come up with lifetime validity. The exam generally entails two papers i.e. a written exam and a spoken test.

Summarization of main highlights of PTE Academic examination 2022

Eligibility criteria for the PTE Academic exam

Researching the PTE exam has led us to the conclusion that there are no hard-set criteria determined by the academic board of the Pearson Tests of English. However, according to the information found, the minimum age of a student appearing for the PTE examination should be at least sixteen years. Also, aspirants below the age of 18 years will have to submit parental consent to be eligible for appearing for the PTE examination. The consent form is available at the official website of the PTE Academic examination. There are no fixed requirements about the educational qualifications of the candidate appearing for the test.

Examination fee of the PTE Academic test:

The fixed fee for the PTE examination is set at AUD $340 per student. However, if you register for your PTE examination in a hurry i.e. approximately around 48 hours before the PTE test, then you might pay late booking charges as well making the total PTE academic fee settle at AUD $457.50.

How can you reschedule or cancel the PTE Examination:

If you change your mind about taking up the PTE Academic test, you can apply for a refund claim two weeks prior to the scheduled test date. You can cancel or reschedule your PTE Exam by visiting the official website of the PTE examination or you can call on the helpline number to get your test cancelled or rescheduled.

For the year 2022, the examination scheduled can be altered by a student via the mode of call or internet. The details of the cancellation and rescheduling charges are mentioned below.

If you plan not to take up the PTE test after making the registration online you might have to give up some amount from your paid fees as a penalty. If you cancel your booking before 14 days or more then you will be subjected to claim a complete refund for the amount paid.

If you withdraw the booking with less than fourteen days left for the exam but with at least one week to the set date you will be able to claim a partial refund of 50 per cent of the fee paid. If the date of your PTE exam is less than one week away when you decide to cancel the booking, unfortunately, you will not be granted any refund in this scenario.

Make sure that you're well aware of the fact that your date of examination is not counted in the specified days for refund and cancellation of the PTE test.

If an unplanned event has occurred and you need to reschedule the date of your PTE examination, the charges and refund work in a similar way as that of the cancellation charges. If you reschedule your PTE exam with less than 2 weeks to the set date but at least having one week to spare, you will have to give up the 50 per cent of your examination fee paid and no refunds are granted if the test is less than one week away from the rescheduling date. Again, the policy does not include your test date in the mentioned days.

A stepwise guide to registering for PTE Academic exam 2022

When you're all set to take up a Pearson Test of English language the foremost thing you need to do is book a slot for your test online for which you'll need a valid passport and authorized identity proof. An aspiring student will need to carry the ID proof submitted online along with him in original at the examination centre as well, failing to do so will lead to the cancellation of your entry to the examination hall.

Here's a step-wise guide that helps you to go through the registration process smoothly:-

• Visit the authorized website of the PTE Academic examination.
• Create a new account by providing all the required information in the signing up process.
• After signing up at the website successfully, you will receive a confirmation email from the Pearson group within 48 hours of your registration.
• Further, look up the nearest PTE exam centre close to your location.
• Select a suitable date and time on which you can conveniently take up your PTE Academic exam.
• Once you provide all the essential details, you'll be asked to move ahead with the procedure by proceeding to the checkout page.
• Make the payment for your PTE exam via online banking or by using your debit or credit card and book your final spot for the test.

If you do not feel secure in booking your slot online, you can also register for your examination slot via the phone. You can contact the PTE examination body by ringing them up on the number, 0008004402022. The operating hours for the executives working here are set at 9:00-6:00 p.m. on the weekdays while the body is closed on weekends and other holidays.

Details about registering your slot for the PTE examination:

While looking forward to your PTE examination, you will be required to successfully sign up for an account at the official website in order to register for booking your slot at the academic examination. Once you've signed up successfully you will receive your login credentials via an email from the PTE group within 48 hours of your sign up.

It is recommended for you read the instruction handbook carefully before booking your slot for the PTE exam. The handbook is available on the official website of the PTE Academic exam.

Exam schedule for PTE Academic test 2022:

As mentioned earlier, the test is conducted around the year at some designated examination centres spread out at various locations in different countries. The available dates for your PTE examination might vary from centre to centre of the examination.

Make sure you check the availability of the seats beforehand at the official website of the PTE Academic Examination. All you need to do is select the test centre of your preference and click 'next' The website will direct you to a calendar with all the available dates for the PTE examination.

The examination centres for the Pearson Test of English:

An aspirant should always opt for a centre that is close to his location to conveniently take up his PTE Academic exam. This will help you to give your best efforts during the exam. Here's a list of some of the PTE Academic exam centres in Australia to help the aspirants appearing for their PTE exam in 2022.

• Pearson Professional Centre Melbourne at Trobe Street.
• Pearson Professional Centre Sydney at Bridge Street.
• Victoria University at Flinders Street.
• The Swinburne University of Technology at John Street.
• Pearson Professional Centre Box Hill Victoria at Whitehorse Road.
• Gordon Institute of TAFE at Fenwick Street.
• RMIT Training Pty Ltd at Bourke Street.
• Melbourne Polytechnic at Georges Road.
• Pearson Professional Centre Perth, Western Australia.

Special or reasonable PTE arrangements or PTE accommodations for students with disabilities

The Pearson group pays special attention to providing easy access to the examination for students with any kind of disability. Test adjustments known as special arrangements are done to make the PTE exam accessible by all the aspirants irrespective of any hurdles. The special arrangements can include facilities like a separate room for taking the examination, extended time for the PTE exam, a reader or recorder for giving the answers.

Aspirants who are in need of special adjustments will be required to submit documents as evidence for their disability becoming a hurdle in their performance in the PTE test. HE might need to explain thoroughly how the problem is stopping him from performing his best under the set conditions of the PTE exam. The candidate will have to provide relevant medical proof and should also apply in advance for the arrangements to be made by the PTE exam conducting body. Make sure you make the request for reasonable adjustments even before you book a slot for your exam. 

Examination Pattern for the PTE test

The exam pattern of a PTE Academic test is usually divided into 3 segments

• Speaking and writing
• Reading
• Listening

A candidate is evaluated on the basis of his skills presented in the three sections. The evaluated marks are combined together to form the total score of the PTE Academic examination. It is highly recommended to have in-depth awareness about the PTE Academic exam pattern by a candidate to perform his best in the test.

Let's have a detailed look into the components of all three segments of the PTE paper

1. Speaking and Writing: The duration of this section is set at approximately 77-93 minutes of the total exam time. The section will require components like personal introduction, reading aloud, repeating sentences, describing images, re-telling a lecture, answering short questions, summarizing written text, and writing an essay.

   Section	Sub Sections
   Speaking and Writing	Personal Introduction
   	Read Aloud
   	Repeat Sentence
   	Describe Image
   	Re-tell Lecture
   	Answer Short Question
   	Summarize Written Text
   	Essay

2. Reading: The duration to attempt this segment lies between 32 minutes to 40 minutes. The format of the questions present in this segment are fill in the blanks related to reading and writing, multiple-choice questions with multiple solutions, rearrangement of a paragraph, fill in the blanks related to reading, multiple-choice questions with a single solution.

   Section	Sub Sections
   Reading	Reading and writing Fill in the Blanks
   	Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer
   	Re-Order Paragraphs
   	Fill in the Blanks
   	Multiple Choice, Single Answer

3. Listening: The approximate time taken to attempt this section of the PTE exam is somewhere around 45-47 minutes. The elements included in this section are summarizing the spoken text, multiple-choice questions with multiple solutions, Filling in the blanks, highlighting the right summary brief, multiple-choice questions with a single solution, selecting the missing word, highlighting the incorrect words, writing content from dictation.

   Section	Sub-Section
   Listening	Summarize Spoken Text
   	Multiple Choice Questions
   	Fill in the Blanks
   	Highlight the correct summary
   	Select missing word
   	Highlight incorrect words
   	Write from dictation

Results and score of the PTE examination

A student who has appeared for the PTE Academic examination can avail his results online within the five business days counting from the day you took your test. The results are declared online and can be accessed by a scholar from his PTE Academic account only.

If you're confused about the process, don't worry there's a perfect solution available to assist you. You will receive an email including the instructions on how to access your PTE exam result within the 5 working days after the test.

Once the email is received, you can easily follow the mentioned guidelines or instructions to conveniently log in to your PTE account. After getting the results, you can directly share them with foreign universities or colleges of your choice.

The PTE Academic exam is graded on a scale of 10-90, 10 being the lowest with an increment of the 1-grade point. The grades demonstrate an individual's ability to proficiently speak, read, write, and understand the English language. The scores are presented in a graphical outlook so that the candidate can easily understand which areas need most of the improvement. 

A stepwise guide to access and share your PTE grade report

• Login to your PTE Academic account.
• Click on the 'View Score Reports' option. Here you can access your results and scores.
• In order to share your results with a university or college, click on the 'send scores' option.
• Add in the name of the university or college with whom you plan to share the scores.
• Recheck your details once and click on the 'next' option after scrolling the page downwards. Click on 'Next' once again to confirm the sharing of your scores.

Rescoring your PTE grades

You've got your PTE results delivered but are not satisfied with them? Well, you can request a rescore. It is very unlikely that there is an error in the calculation of scores or a question is mismarked because PTE is a completely online computer-based test however if an aspirant is still not satisfied with his scores, he can request for a rescore before sharing his results with a university or college and also prior to scheduling another PTE Academic examination.

If the scores are changed in the process, the previous score will be replaced by the new grades and the original result report will be reissued to the candidate in order to represent the new score.

Essential preparation tips for the PTE examination

Students who are planning to appear for their PTE exam in 2022 might either be thinking of joining a study centre or signing up at portals to get free practice tests. What they forget about is the methodology required to approach the PTE Academic exam.

Here are a few general tips which will help you to enhance your performance in the PTE examination:

• Write full sentences with the proper and accurate usage of punctuation.
• Be careful while paraphrasing as you might lose upon the grades if you put in too many redundant words.
• Arrive at the examination centre on time, if possible a little before the set time, so that you get enough time to settle down your nerves and perform your best without any stress.
• Practice the sample question papers available online to enhance your focus and improve your time management skills.
• If you're still struggling, joining a face-to-face tuition class or an online class might work in your favour to prepare for your PTE test.

Along with all the above-mentioned details, it is important for a scholar to know that no amount of tips or tricks will help you to ace your PTE exam unless you practice for it. So, it is highly recommended to brush up on your skills and put in the best efforts to improve your performance on the test.

It is recommended that you should arrive at the examination centre 30 minutes prior to the PTE examination so that you can check-in and pass the security without any chaos and rush. Keep in mind the critical factors like the time allotted for the test, negative marking for every wrong answer,

scoring pattern, and average PTE grade required to get an admission into the university of your choice to plan the approach for your PTE examination adequately. Do not forget to keep an authorized identity proof with you to ensure the smooth functioning of the entry formalities.