If you're planning to take the PTE Academic on or after August 7, 2025, it's essential to understand the significant changes coming to the exam format. Pearson is moving away from a focus on memorization and toward assessing practical, real-world English skills. These updates will impact the speaking section, user interface, and evaluation methods, so it’s important to get familiar with the new format before your test date.
Why Are These Changes Happening?
The changes are being made to better reflect how English is used in real-life situations. Pearson has listened to feedback from thousands of students who want the exam to more accurately assess practical communication skills. This shift is all about focusing on how well you can use English in everyday conversations, rather than simply memorizing answers or repeating set phrases.
What’s New in the PTE Academic?
Two New Speaking Tasks
Respond to a Situation: In this task, you’ll be asked to respond to common, real-world scenarios—like refusing an offer politely or helping someone with a problem. The goal here is to show that you can speak naturally and appropriately in everyday situations.
Summarize a Group Discussion: You will listen to a brief group discussion and then summarize the main points in 20–30 seconds. This task assesses your ability to listen carefully and convey information clearly and concisely.
"Repeat Sentence" Beep
A new beep will now signal when you should start speaking in the "Repeat Sentence" task. This makes the task more intuitive, so you no longer need to guess when to begin your response.
User Interface Updates
Double mic check: You’ll now do a double check to ensure your microphone is set up properly before you begin.
No keyboard check: There will be no more keyboard checks, streamlining the process and allowing you to get started faster.
Circular progress bar: A circular progress bar will show your progress throughout the exam, giving you a better sense of how much time remains.
Font size adjustment: The option to adjust the font size will make the text easier to read, especially during long reading tasks.
Audio waveform display: An audio waveform will appear for listening tasks, helping you visualize the audio and understand when to respond.
Exam Structure and Time
Total questions: The exam will now include 22 questions in total.
Duration: The test will take approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete, which is about 15 minutes longer than the current format.
Faster onboarding: Pearson has reduced the number of system checks at the beginning of the test, which means less waiting and more focus on your exam.
Human Evaluation for 7 Tasks
Seven tasks will now be scored by humans to ensure more accurate evaluations and to prevent over-reliance on memorized responses:
Describe Image
Retell Lecture
Respond to a Situation
Summarize Group Discussion
Summarize Written Text
Write Essay
Summarize Spoken Text
How to Prepare Smartly
Practice Real-Life Speaking Scenarios: To do well on tasks like "Respond to a Situation," you should practice responding to everyday situations naturally. This could include things like politely declining an invitation, making small talk, or offering help in a tricky situation. Aim to speak as naturally as possible, without relying on rehearsed answers.
Summarize Key Information: For tasks like "Summarize a Group Discussion" and "Summarize Spoken Text," try listening to podcasts, discussions, or videos, and then practice summarizing the key points. This will help you improve your listening and speaking skills and prepare you for the time limits in these tasks.
Avoid Overusing Templates: While templates aren't banned, overusing them can negatively impact your score, especially in tasks that are reviewed by humans. Try to give personalized, natural responses rather than sticking to memorized phrases. Human evaluators are looking for real communication, not robotic answers.
Get Familiar with the New Format: Make sure you’re practicing with the updated exam format. The new interface and task changes may feel unfamiliar at first, so practicing with sample tests that reflect the 2025 updates will help you feel more confident on test day.
Quick Recap
Two new speaking tasks: "Respond to a Situation" and "Summarize a Group Discussion"
Human evaluation for 7 tasks: Tasks like Describe Image, Retell Lecture, and more will now be evaluated by humans for more accuracy.
User Interface improvements: Includes a circular progress bar, font size options, and an audio waveform.
Test Duration: Approximately 2 hours 15 minutes.
Focus on fluency: The exam now emphasizes how naturally you can communicate, not just how accurately.
Final Thoughts
The PTE Academic 2025 update is focused on assessing your practical language skills. The test will no longer favor memorized responses or set answers. Instead, the goal is to measure how well you can use English in real-life situations. To succeed, practice speaking naturally, avoid overused templates, and familiarize yourself with the updated format. This will help you feel more prepared and confident on test day.
FAQs
1. Has the PTE scoring system changed?
No, the scoring system remains the same. It will still use the 10–90 scale, with AI scoring in place.
2. Will these updates affect PTE Core?
No, these changes only apply to PTE Academic and UKVI Academic exams.
3. Is the test longer now?
Yes, the exam is about 15 minutes longer, totaling around 2 hours and 15 minutes.
4. Are old prep materials still useful?
Some older materials may not align with the new format. It’s a good idea to use updated preparation materials that reflect the changes.
5. Are templates banned?
Templates are not banned, but overusing them could negatively impact your score, especially for tasks that are evaluated by humans.
Source: PTE August 2025 Update
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