Time Management In PTE Listening Module

 Managing time is crucial in cracking the PTE Examination especially when it comes to the PTE Listening Module. It is entirely upon you to decide the amount of time you spend on each task before clicking ‘NEXT’. Hence, it is a vital skill to have for performing with both accuracy & efficiency to maximize your listening score which shall ultimately contribute towards a stellar overall PTE score.

Unlike the ‘reading’ or ‘writing’ tasks, you cannot go back & modify your answers because listening happens in real-time! Moreover, the PTE Listening section comes right at the end of the PTE Test. By the time a candidate reaches that point, he/she is already exhausted.  It is important to note that the listening section begins to play audio clips automatically which you can listen to only once. Needless to say that it demands you to be highly attentive – which is why how you utilize your time can make or break your performance!

What Are The Tasks?

Before we delve into actually managing time, it is essential to briefly understand the eight tasks under the PTE Listening Module, which are as follows:

• Summarize Spoken Text: Listen to a recording & construct a 50-70-word summary within 10 minutes.
• Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer: Select multiple correct answers, from a list of possible options, after listening to an audio recording.
• Fill in the Blanks: Fill the gaps/blanks in a transcript correctly with missing words by listening to its respective audio clip.
• Highlight Correct Summary: Listen to an audio recording & select an option which best summarizes the recording from several possible choices.
• Multiple Choice, Single Answer: Choose one correct answer for a multiple choice question after listening to the audio recording.
• Select Missing Word: Select the most appropriate response to complete the beeped-out words in an audio recording.
• Highlight Incorrect Words: Highlight the errors in a transcript after listening & comparing it with its original audio

• Write from Dictation: Type a short sentence accurately after carefully listening to its audio.

How To Go About It

Time Management in PTE Examination means different things to different people. Most people feel that time management merely means completing tasks at all costs. However, most candidates overlook the fact that it is more important to perform effectively by leveraging your strengths instead of merely aiming for the completion of tasks. So how should you go about it? Read on to find out!

1. Prioritize: Prioritize critical tasks. Critical tasks are those tasks which carry the most weightage, i.e., the ones which can actively contribute towards getting you a great score. This lets you decide how & where you should put your time management skills to use!

   For Example: Fill in the Blanks has a higher priority compared to Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer because the latter is tricky & confusing and does not contribute a lot. However, Fill In The Blanks is easier & can help you gain full marks even with average English skills. If you correctly answer even 2 out of a total of 4 or 5 blanks, it is equivalent to 10 credit points straight away!

2. Familiarize: It is only obvious to familiarize yourself with the format, flow & sequence of the tasks given in the PTE Listening Section. No matter how great your English is, if you are unable to translate it into a good score, your skills will render futile. The more familiar you are with the examination pattern, the less time you waste in figuring out the correct approach of handling each task.

   For Example: In the Highlight Incorrect Words task, there is negative marking (-1) for each incorrect answer. Now, if you are unaware of this simple fact, you could end up making a blunder mistake without knowing that it could cost you a lot more!

3. Optimize: Optimal utilization of time is only possible if you have thoroughly practised for the Listening Section to the point that you are instinctive about the correct strategy to apply for a task to score perfectly. Ultimately, you should be able to know when to manage time & when to let go.

   For Example: for the first task, Summarize Spoken Text, you need not specifically manage time because it already gives you the 10-minute bracket. However quickly you perform in this task, it would not have any effect on the remaining tasks because the saved-up time will not be carried forward.