Complete Guide to PTE Speaking 2026: Tasks, Scoring and New Updates

A clear beginner-friendly guide to every PTE Speaking task, what changed after the August 2025 update, and how to practise the tasks that matter most for your score.

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Complete guide to PTE Speaking 2026 cover image

PTE Speaking is now broader and more realistic. After the August 2025 update, PTE Academic includes two new Speaking & Writing tasks: Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation.

PTE Speaking is one of the most important parts of the test because it checks whether you can speak clearly, fluently and appropriately in academic or real-life situations. The 2025 update added two new speaking-focused tasks, so students now need more than memorised templates.

Pearson confirms that PTE Academic still has the same main structure and original 20 question types, with two new question types added from 7 August 2025: Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation. The test is still approximately two hours long.

What Changed in PTE Speaking?

Same main structure PTE Academic still tests Speaking & Writing, Reading and Listening in one computer-based test.

Two new tasks Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation are now part of Speaking & Writing.

Still automated scoring Pearson uses automated scoring, with human review added for selected complex responses.

Score report unchanged Pearson still reports an overall score out of 90 plus four skill scores.

All PTE Speaking Tasks: Full Breakdown

The Speaking & Writing section has nine scored question types. Personal Introduction appears before the scored questions, but Pearson says it is for familiarisation and does not contribute to your score.

Task	What You Do	Skills / Score Notes	Practice Priority
Personal Introduction	Introduce yourself in 30 seconds after preparation time.	Not scored; used to get familiar with the technology.	Warm-up
Read Aloud	Read a short text aloud after 30-40 seconds preparation.	Pearson lists Speaking as the skill assessed; scoring notes also mention reading-related contribution, so prepare it seriously.	High
Repeat Sentence	Listen to a sentence and repeat it exactly.	Listening and Speaking; content, pronunciation and oral fluency matter.	Very high
Describe Image	Describe a graph, chart, map, process or picture.	Speaking; answer structure, fluency and pronunciation are important.	Very high
Retell Lecture	Listen to a lecture and retell the main points.	Listening and Speaking; note-taking and summary structure matter.	High
Answer Short Question	Answer a short general knowledge question.	Listening and Speaking; short accurate answer required.	Low
Summarize Group Discussion	Listen to a discussion between three people and summarize it in your own words.	Listening and Speaking; prompt up to 3 minutes, response time 2 minutes.	Very high
Respond to a Situation	Listen to and read a situation, then respond with an extended answer.	Speaking; prompt text up to 60 words, response time 40 seconds.	High
Summarize Written Text	Write one sentence summary from a passage.	Writing and Reading; included in Speaking & Writing section but not a speaking response.	High for Writing
Write Essay	Write an essay response.	Writing; structure, grammar, vocabulary and relevance matter.	High for Writing

AI Scoring and Human Review

PTE Academic is still mainly scored by Pearson's automated scoring system. Pearson also states that responses to some questions may be part-scored by humans as well as AI, but humans do not check pronunciation or fluency.

Pronunciation Speak clearly enough to be understood by regular English speakers. Regional accents are accepted when understandable.

Oral fluency Keep a natural rhythm. Avoid long pauses, repeated restarts and broken delivery.

Content Give the required information. For tasks like Repeat Sentence and Retell Lecture, missing key words or ideas can reduce marks.

Human review Human review can support selected complex tasks, but your speaking fluency and pronunciation remain machine-scored.

New Task 1: Summarize Group Discussion

In Summarize Group Discussion, you listen to a discussion between three people and then summarize the discussion in your own words. Pearson lists the prompt length as up to 3 minutes and the answer time as 2 minutes.

How to answer: Focus on the topic, each speaker's main view, important agreement or contrast, and the overall conclusion. Do not add your personal opinion unless the task asks for it.

New Task 2: Respond to a Situation

In Respond to a Situation, you listen to and read a short situation, then answer a question with an extended spoken response. Pearson lists this as a Speaking task with text up to 60 words and 40 seconds to answer.

How to answer: Identify who you are speaking to, what the problem is, what action is needed and what tone fits the situation. Keep the response clear, polite and direct.

Score Table: What Each Task Contributes

This table is a preparation map, not a manual score calculator. It shows which skills each speaking-related task can influence, based on Pearson task descriptions and scoring notes.

Task	Speaking	Listening	Reading	Writing	Key Focus
Read Aloud	Yes	-	Pearson notes reading-related scoring effect	-	Content, pronunciation, oral fluency
Repeat Sentence	Yes	Yes	-	-	Memory, word sequence, fluency
Describe Image	Yes	-	-	-	Structure, clarity, pronunciation
Retell Lecture	Yes	Yes	-	-	Listening notes, summary delivery
Answer Short Question	Yes	Yes	-	-	Short accurate answer
Summarize Group Discussion	Yes	Yes	-	-	Discussion summary, speaker viewpoints
Respond to a Situation	Yes	-	-	-	Clear spoken response to real-life situation

Best Strategy for PTE Speaking

Practise Read Aloud daily for fluency and microphone confidence.
Make Repeat Sentence a high-priority task because it affects both speaking and listening.
Use a simple, flexible structure for Describe Image and Retell Lecture.
Practise Summarize Group Discussion with three-speaker conversations.
For Respond to a Situation, practise tone: polite, direct, helpful and complete.
Record yourself and review pronunciation, pace and hesitation.

Simple 7-Day Speaking Routine

Day	Focus	Practice Plan
Day 1	Read Aloud	Practise 20 questions and review pronunciation.
Day 2	Repeat Sentence	Practise short to long sentences and improve memory chunks.
Day 3	Describe Image	Use one flexible structure for charts, maps, pictures and processes.
Day 4	Retell Lecture	Practise note-taking and 40-second summaries.
Day 5	SGD + RTS	Practise the two new task types with timing.
Day 6	Mixed Speaking	Complete a full speaking set without pausing.
Day 7	Mock Test	Take a timed mock and review weak areas.

Start practising with PTE Ultra: Use AI-scored speaking practice, templates, section practice and mock tests to build confidence for the updated PTE Academic format. Start free practice at PTEUltra.com.