What task types are in the PTE Listening section?

PTE Academic Listening covers Summarize Spoken Text, Multiple Choice (Multiple and Single Answer), Fill in the Blanks, Highlight Correct Summary, Select Missing Word, Highlight Incorrect Words and Write from Dictation. Each audio plays only once.

How long should a Summarize Spoken Text answer be?

Your Summarize Spoken Text response must be between 50 and 70 words and written as a single paragraph. Falling outside that range is penalised on form even if the content is accurate.

Why is Write from Dictation important in PTE?

Write from Dictation contributes to both your Listening and your Writing scores and uses partial credit, awarding a mark for every word spelled and placed correctly, which makes it one of the highest-value listening tasks.

Listening

PTE Listening: sample tasks and answers

In the PTE Academic Listening section every clip plays just once, so good note-taking and a clear plan for each task type matter enormously. Below, each listening task is worked through with a written transcript that stands in for the audio, the question, the correct answer and the strategy. For section timing and item counts, see the PTE test format guide, and to understand how the speaking and writing-style tasks are graded, read how we evaluate your answers.

1. Summarize Spoken Text

You hear a lecture of around 60 to 90 seconds and write a 50 to 70 word summary in 10 minutes. It is scored on content, form, grammar, vocabulary and spelling, and it counts towards both Listening and Writing.

Audio transcript (about 70 seconds)

Today I want to talk about urban heat islands. In dense cities, materials like asphalt and concrete absorb sunlight during the day and release that heat slowly at night, so built-up areas stay noticeably warmer than the surrounding countryside, sometimes by several degrees. This effect raises energy use for cooling, worsens air pollution and can be dangerous during heatwaves, particularly for the elderly. Researchers have found that simple measures make a real difference. Planting more trees provides shade and cools the air through evaporation, while painting roofs in light, reflective colours bounces sunlight away. Some cities are now redesigning streets and parks specifically to bring these temperatures down.

Question

Write a 50 to 70 word summary of the lecture in one paragraph.

Model summary (60 words): Urban heat islands occur because city materials such as asphalt and concrete absorb and slowly release heat, keeping built-up areas several degrees warmer than the countryside. This raises cooling costs, worsens pollution and endangers vulnerable people during heatwaves. Researchers find that planting trees for shade and using light, reflective roofs lowers temperatures, so some cities are now redesigning streets and parks accordingly.

Strategy

While listening, note the topic, the cause, the problems and the solutions. Those four points become your sentence skeleton. Open with the main idea (what an urban heat island is and why it forms), then compress the consequences and the fixes into one or two more sentences. Stay inside 50 to 70 words and write a single paragraph; going over or under the range loses form marks even when the content is strong. Proofread for spelling and subject-verb agreement at the end.

2. Multiple Choice (Multiple and Single Answer)

You listen to a recording and answer a question. The multiple-answer version asks you to select every correct option, with partial credit and a penalty for wrong picks; the single-answer version asks for the one best option.

Audio transcript (about 40 seconds)

Beekeeping has surged in popularity in cities over the last decade. Rooftop hives now appear on offices, schools and even hospitals. Supporters argue that urban bees help pollinate parks and gardens and raise public awareness of pollinator decline. But some scientists urge caution. They point out that a city can only support so many hives, and that flooding the area with honeybees may actually crowd out wild bees and other native pollinators, which are often more effective. The lesson, they say, is that good intentions need to be matched with careful planning.

Question (single answer)

What is the speaker's main point about urban beekeeping?
(A) Cities should ban all rooftop hives.
(B) Urban beekeeping is harmless and should be encouraged everywhere.
(C) Urban beekeeping has benefits but needs careful planning to avoid harming wild pollinators.
(D) Wild bees are unimportant compared with honeybees.

Answer: (C).

Strategy

Listen for the speaker's overall stance, which often appears in the final sentences. Here the closing line ("good intentions need to be matched with careful planning") sums up a balanced view, so (C) fits. (A) and (B) are both too extreme, and (D) reverses what the speaker actually says about wild bees being effective. For the multiple-answer version, treat each option as a separate claim and tick only those you heard confirmed, since wrong selections subtract marks.

3. Fill in the Blanks (type in)

You see a transcript with several words missing while the audio plays. You type the exact word you hear into each blank. Each correct word earns a mark, so spelling counts.

Audio transcript (about 30 seconds)

The invention of the printing press was a turning point in human [ 1 ]. Before it, books were copied by hand, which made them rare and [ 2 ]. Once printing spread, the cost of books fell sharply and literacy began to [ 3 ] across Europe.

Question

Type the missing word in each blank as you hear it.

Answers: [1] history · [2] expensive · [3] spread.

Strategy

Read the visible text quickly before the audio starts so you can predict the kind of word each blank needs (a noun, an adjective, a verb). Keep your eyes on the upcoming blank and type the moment you hear it, then catch up. Spell carefully, because only an exactly correct word scores; a misspelled word earns nothing even if you heard it right. If you miss one, leave it and move on rather than losing the next blank too.

4. Highlight Correct Summary

You hear a recording, then choose, from several paragraph-length options, the summary that best captures it. Only one option is fully correct.

Audio transcript (about 45 seconds)

Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic less than five millimetres across. They form when larger items break down and are also added directly to some products, such as cosmetics. Because they are so small, they pass through water filters and end up in rivers, oceans and even drinking water. Scientists have found them in fish, in soil and in human blood. While the long-term health effects are still being studied, researchers agree that reducing plastic waste at the source is the most effective response.

Question

Which summary best matches the recording?
(A) Microplastics are tiny plastic fragments now found throughout the environment and even in people; their health effects are still under study, but cutting plastic waste at source is seen as the best response.
(B) Microplastics come only from cosmetics and are easily removed by water filters.
(C) Microplastics have been proven completely harmless to humans and need no action.
(D) The recording is mainly about how fish are caught in polluted rivers.

Answer: (A).

Strategy

The right summary matches the whole recording, not just one phrase. Take brief notes on the main points (what microplastics are, where they end up, the uncertainty about health, the recommended fix) and find the option that covers all of them. (A) does. Reject options that contradict the audio ((B) and (C)) or that fixate on a minor detail ((D)). Watch for distractors that sound right because they reuse a familiar word but distort the overall meaning.

5. Select Missing Word

You listen to a recording in which the final word or phrase has been replaced by a beep. You choose the option that best completes the meaning.

Audio transcript (about 35 seconds, ends in a beep)

When we talk about a balanced diet, we usually focus on what to eat. But timing matters too. Eating most of your calories late at night, when the body is winding down, can disrupt sleep and digestion. Many nutritionists now suggest that having a larger breakfast and a lighter evening meal is better for both energy and weight management. In other words, it is not only what you eat but also [ beep ].

Question

Select the word or phrase that completes the recording.
(A) where you buy it
(B) when you eat it
(C) how much it costs
(D) who cooks it

Answer: (B) when you eat it.

Strategy

The missing word is the logical conclusion of everything before it, so listen for the direction of the argument. This whole clip contrasts what you eat with the timing of meals, and the closing phrase "not only what you eat but also" sets up a parallel about timing, making "when you eat it" the natural fit. Pay special attention to the last two or three sentences and to signal phrases like "in other words", which signpost the conclusion you must complete.

6. Highlight Incorrect Words

You read a transcript on screen while the audio plays, and the written version differs from the spoken one in a few places. You click each word that does not match what is said. Wrong clicks lose marks, so click only confident ones.

On-screen transcript (audio differs in places)

The Amazon rainforest produces a large share of the world's oxygen and is home to millions of species. Yet every year, thousands of square kilometres are cleared for farming and cattle. This loss not only destroys habitats but also releases stored carbon, slowing climate change.

Question

The audio actually says: "...is home to millions of species. Yet every year, thousands of square kilometres are burned for farming and cattle. This loss not only destroys habitats but also releases stored carbon, accelerating climate change." Click the words in the on-screen text that differ from the audio.

Answers: "cleared" (audio says "burned") and "slowing" (audio says "accelerating").

Strategy

Follow the printed text with your eyes and your ear at the same time, reading along word for word. A mismatch jumps out as a tiny jolt where the sound does not match the spelling. The trickiest swaps reverse meaning, like "slowing" for "accelerating", so stay alert to the sense as well as the sound. Because wrong clicks are penalised, only mark a word when you are sure it differs; do not guess to fill quota.

7. Write from Dictation

You hear a short sentence and type it exactly. It carries partial credit, with a mark for each word spelled and placed correctly, and it feeds both your Listening and Writing scores, making it one of the most valuable tasks in the test.

Audio transcript (one sentence)

The university library extends its opening hours during the examination period.

Question

Type the sentence exactly as you hear it.

Answer: The university library extends its opening hours during the examination period.

Strategy

As the sentence plays, jot the first letter of each word or a quick shorthand on your notepad so the word order is fixed before you start typing. Then write the full sentence from your notes. Every correctly spelled word in the right place scores, so reproducing as many words as possible matters more than getting a perfect, complete sentence. Double-check small words like "its", "during" and the verb ending, since those are where marks quietly slip away.

Strategy tips for PTE Listening

Take structured notes. Every clip plays once. Capture the topic, the key points and the speaker's stance with a quick shorthand rather than full sentences.
Predict before the audio. For Fill in the Blanks and Highlight Incorrect Words, read the on-screen text first so you know what each blank or line should contain.
Listen to the end. Select Missing Word and Multiple Choice often hinge on the final sentences, where the speaker states a conclusion.
Mind the penalties. Highlight Incorrect Words and Multiple Choice Multiple Answers subtract for wrong clicks, so commit only to confident selections.
Master Write from Dictation. It is pure recall and spelling, it carries partial credit, and it boosts two skills at once, so it rewards focused practice more than almost any other item.

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