Orientation & Score Targets

Where does Speaking sit in the PTE test?

PTE Academic and PTE Core both run in the same three-part order: Part 1 Speaking & Writing, then Part 2 Reading, then Part 3 Listening. Speaking is folded into that first part together with Writing rather than given a section of its own, so it is the very first thing you do in the test, before you've had a chance to warm up on anything else.

That single clock covers every Speaking and Writing task together; there is no separate stopwatch for “just the Speaking half” of Part 1. Most individual Speaking tasks do carry their own short prep and response countdown, and that mechanic is covered in full in Microphone & Recording Rules.

Because Speaking opens the test, nerves and a cold start cost more here than in any later section; there is no earlier task to settle into first. Treat your very first Read Aloud item as part of your warm-up, not a throwaway: it's still scored, but a slightly shaky start on item one matters less than carrying that same shakiness into Repeat Sentence and beyond.

How many speaking tasks does each exam set?

PTE Academic sets seven speaking tasks. PTE Core sets five. Two of Academic's tasks, Retell Lecture and Summarize Group Discussion, don't exist in Core at all, and even the tasks both exams share aren't always sized the same way.

Across both exams, Repeat Sentence sets the most items of any single task, 10–12, more than either Read Aloud or Answer Short Question, so a small, repeatable routine for that one task is worth disproportionate practice time relative to a rarer task like Retell Lecture or Summarize Group Discussion, each capped at 2–3 items.

What Speaking score do you actually need?

Both exams report scores on the same 10–90 scale for the overall result and for each of the four communicative skills, Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Your overall score is not a simple average of the four, so a strong Reading score cannot make up for a Speaking score that falls short of what you need.

Pick the product for your goal. Canada (IRCC, Express Entry, provincial nominee programs and citizenship) accepts PTE Core, not PTE Academic. Australia (Home Affairs) accepts PTE Academic, not PTE Core. UK visas need PTE Academic UKVI, a Secure English Language Test (SELT); universities may accept standard PTE Academic for degree study. Immigration New Zealand accepts PTE Academic. Universities set their own minimums.

Pearson's Score Guide also lists typical overall-score ranges by course level for PTE Academic, Foundation courses 36–50, undergraduate degrees 51–60, postgraduate degrees 57–67, but frames these as overall-score guidance only, not a Speaking-specific minimum, and notes that “each institution chooses how to set their scores” and may weight Speaking more or less heavily than the overall figure. No equivalent course-level table exists for PTE Core, which is positioned for Canadian permanent residence and citizenship (IRCC) rather than academic admission.

Does every spoken task score your Speaking skill?

Not quite. Every task listed above requires a spoken response, but Answer Short Question is the exception: in PTE Academic its score counts only toward your Listening skill, not Speaking, even though you answer it out loud. PTE Core scores the identical task toward both Listening and Speaking.

This is also why it pays to check the skills column, not just the task list, before you plan your practice time: two candidates could both complete every task confidently, yet the one who under-practises Describe Image and Respond to a Situation (Speaking-only tasks in both exams, and joined by Read Aloud in PTE Academic) is taking the bigger risk to their Speaking score specifically.