When you sit down to do your PTE listening test, you will soon encounter a section called highlight the correct summary. As the name implies, the candidate’s task here is to highlight the correct summary from a range of options. Today, we are going to look into how you should do this in the most effective way.
1. Learn all about the test
First of all, you need to be totally familiar with the nature of the PTE listening test. This might sound obvious, but many people neglect to really investigate what is needed. For example, they understand that they are required to listen to something and highlight a summary, but they do not understand the exact nature of the task.
When they sit down at the computer, they will listen to an audio recording that will be played just once and that will last for between thirty and ninety seconds. They are then able to choose an option from the screen. There will be several options that give summaries, but of course only one of these summaries is correct.
2. Understand the purpose of the test
Every part of every English exam has some reason for its inclusion. In this case, you are being tested on your listening skills, but it is a slightly different set of skills to the other parts of the test.
Here, you are required to listen and read together. This is actually a quite difficult skill even in your native tongue. You should thus aim to understand the main idea of the passage and then identify parts of the summaries that might apply. From there, you should be able to read carefully to narrow down your options and pick the best possible answer.
You are not exactly reading and listening together but you do have to juggle these skills so that you are not overwhelmed by information. One of the biggest problems with language tests is that people can feel they have to understand everything, and when they don’t they start to panic.
3. Improve your vocabulary
One thing to consider when it comes to the PTE listening highlight the correct summary test is that you need to be able to identify the closest possible summary. This means you will need to tell which one refers exactly to the listening passage and which have been put there to distract you.
Doing this requires various skills but primarily you need to be good with vocabulary. Let’s say that you hear the word “car” in the audio recording. If the word “bus” appears in the summary, then it is not the same thing, even though they are undeniably related. This is the sort of similarity that might throw you off.
Instead, you should listen out for those words that can overlap in terms of meaning. You would seek a summary that says “vehicle” or “automobile” instead because these are synonyms of “car.”
4. Go with your instincts… but double check your answers
When it comes to this sort of English test, one of the best pieces of advice is for people to go with their first instinct. This is because our brains work well on a sub-conscious level and draw connections that our conscious minds cannot really understand. This is why you often feel you know something even without proof.
In this sort of test, your brain might pick up on a subtle clue that you can’t quite follow. If you feel strongly about it, you should trust your instincts. However, instincts also need to be confirmed by real investigation! You should spend some time then checking to see that your first choice was correct. Obviously, if it was wrong then you should change it.
5. Practice writing summaries
Finally, a great piece of advice for the PTE listening highlight the correct answer test is to actually go and write some summaries yourself. This sort of approach will really help you because you will be able to see how it is done. For example, try listening to a short TED talk and then write a summary about it. See if you can avoid using the same language as the speaker. It’s not easy, right? This is because they have used different words or grammatical structures to avoid repetition. You should recognize this when you do your own PTE listening test.
I hope that you have found these PTE listening highlight correct summary tips useful. Don’t forget to check out Edubenchmark’s amazing PTE listening resources for the best chance to boost your scores. You will find that their PTE highlight correct summary practice with answers are particularly useful.
