PTE-Academic Listening Module

Your listening skills are assessed in this section. You will also answer some integrated speaking and listening questions in another part of the test.

In the main listening section, you hear audio or video clips that start playing automatically. You can adjust the volume by moving the slider to the right until it feels comfortable. Each recording is played only once, so listen carefully from the beginning.

Section overview

Item Task Description Number of Items Prompt Length Scoring Skills Assessed
Summarize Spoken Text Write a 50–70 word summary after listening to an audio clip. 1–2 60–90 seconds Partial Credit Listening & Writing
Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers Select all correct options based on the audio clip you hear. 1–2 40–90 seconds Partial Credit (Points awarded for correct responses; points deducted for incorrect choices) Listening
Fill in the Blanks Listen to the audio and fill in missing words in the on-screen transcript. 2–3 30–60 seconds Partial Credit (Each correctly spelled word scored) Listening & Writing
Highlight Correct Summary Choose the paragraph that best summarizes the audio recording. 1–2 30–90 seconds Correct / Incorrect Listening & Reading
Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer After listening, select the correct answer to a multiple-choice question. 1–2 30–60 seconds Correct / Incorrect Listening
Select Missing Word Identify the missing word or phrase removed from the audio. 1–2 30–60 seconds Correct / Incorrect Listening
Highlight Incorrect Words Select the words in the transcript that differ from what you hear in the audio. 2–3 20–70 seconds Partial Credit (Points deducted for incorrect selections) Listening
Write from Dictation Write the sentence exactly as spoken in the audio. 3–4 3–5 seconds Partial Credit (Each correctly spelled word scored) Listening & Writing