2025 PTE Speaking Update: Everything You Need to Know About the New Format

Exciting news for anyone preparing for the PTE exam! Starting from August 7, 2025, the Speaking section will introduce two new tasks aimed at better reflecting real-world communication. This change, called the PTE Academic New Questions Format 2025, is designed to make the test more aligned with actual academic and workplace conversations. If you’re planning to take the PTE after this date, this blog will help you understand the updates and provide useful tips to help you succeed.

🔄 Why Is Pearson Updating the Speaking Section?

The reason behind these changes is simple: Pearson wants the PTE to test your actual ability to communicate, not just your ability to repeat or read words. The updated format focuses on testing how well you can:

• Understand and follow discussions with multiple speakers
  
  
• Summarize conversations accurately and concisely
  
  
• Respond to real-life situations in a quick and thoughtful way
  
  
• Demonstrate fluency, pronunciation, and awareness of context in real-time
  
  

With the PTE Academic New Questions Format 2025, Pearson is moving away from a traditional test format, and instead, they’re putting more emphasis on the kind of communication skills that you’ll use in everyday academic and professional settings.

🆕 What’s New in the Speaking Section (August 2025 Onward)

Two major tasks are being added to the Speaking section:

1. Summarize Group Discussion
   
   
2. Respond to a Situation
   
   

These tasks replace older, more mechanical exercises and will give you the chance to showcase how well you can engage in meaningful conversations, summarize key points, and handle real-world scenarios.

🗣️ Task 1: Summarize Group Discussion

What You’ll Experience

In this task, you’ll listen to a 2-3 minute conversation involving multiple speakers discussing a particular topic. After having 10 seconds to prepare, you’ll need to speak for around 2 minutes to summarize the main points and arguments made by the speakers.

What Skills This Tests

• Listening carefully and identifying the most important points
  
  
• Understanding different viewpoints
  
  
• Summarizing ideas in a clear and logical structure
  
  
• Speaking fluently and coherently
  
  

Tips to Nail It

• Take brief notes while listening, using initials or symbols to quickly identify key points.
  
  
• Begin with a phrase like “The group discussed…” or “The main points discussed were…”
  
  
• Focus on 2-3 key ideas and mention each speaker’s contribution without personal opinions.
  
  
• End your summary with a concise conclusion: “In summary, the main ideas discussed were…”
  
  

🧏 Task 2: Respond to a Situation

What You’ll Experience

For this task, you’ll hear a real-life situation—a problem or request. You’ll also see a written prompt. After 10 seconds to prepare, you’ll have 40 seconds to respond appropriately to the situation.

What Skills This Tests

• Responding spontaneously to real-life situations
  
  
• Demonstrating emotional intelligence and empathy
  
  
• Choosing words and tone that fit the context of the situation
  
  
• Speaking fluently and clearly under time pressure
  
  

Tips to Nail It

• Start by acknowledging the situation: “I understand your concern…” or “I see what you mean…”
  
  
• Provide a helpful, solution-oriented response.
  
  
• Keep your tone polite and professional—avoid sounding rehearsed or rushed.
  
  
• Close with a positive and friendly remark, such as “I hope that helps” or “Please feel free to reach out again if needed.”
  
  

🎯 Why These New Tasks Are Important

The introduction of these tasks is a game-changer because they reflect how English is used in real-world academic and work settings. Here's why they matter:

• Summarize Group Discussion simulates situations like classroom discussions, seminars, or team meetings, where you need to condense different viewpoints into a clear summary.
  
  
• Respond to a Situation mimics real-world situations such as customer service, job interviews, or even everyday conversations at work, where you need to respond thoughtfully and appropriately.
  
  

Both tasks focus on your ability to communicate and interact, rather than just recalling information. The PTE Academic New Questions Format 2025 aims to test your performance in everyday scenarios, making it a more realistic reflection of your language skills.

📝 Format and Timing Breakdown

• Summarize Group Discussion
  
  
  • Audio Duration: 2–3 minutes
    
    
  • Prep Time: 10 seconds
    
    
  • Speaking Time: ~2 minutes
    
    
  • Style: Formal, objective tone (focus on summarizing, not personal opinions)
    
    
• Respond to a Situation
  
  
  • Audio Prompt: 20–30 seconds
    
    
  • Prep Time: 10 seconds
    
    
  • Speaking Time: 40 seconds
    
    
  • Style: Polite, natural, context-specific tone
    
    

🧠 Key Scoring Criteria

Your responses will be evaluated based on the following:

• Content: Did you address all important points and stay on topic?
  
  
• Fluency: Did you speak smoothly, without unnatural pauses or hesitations?
  
  
• Pronunciation: Was your speech clear and easy to understand?
  
  
• Appropriacy: Did your tone, style, and word choice suit the context of the task?
  
  

AI and human raters will assess your performance to ensure fairness and accuracy.

📚 How to Prepare for the PTE Academic New Questions Format 2025

1. Practice Listening to Group Discussions
   
   
   • Listen to academic podcasts, interviews, or debates with multiple speakers.
     
     
   • Try to summarize the key points from each speaker.
     
     
   • Use transition phrases like “On the other hand” or “However” to connect ideas.
     
     
2. Simulate Real-Life Scenarios
   
   
   • Record yourself responding to customer service situations, office requests, or casual conversations.
     
     
   • Time yourself: 10 seconds to prepare, 40 seconds to respond.
     
     
   • Make sure your response is polite, clear, and concise.
     
     
3. Create a Speaking Framework
   
   
   • For summaries: Introduction → Speaker 1 → Speaker 2 → Conclusion
     
     
   • For responses: Acknowledge → Respond → Close politely
     
     
4. Boost Your Fluency and Timing
   
   
   • Practice speaking for 2 minutes without pausing, just like in a real conversation.
     
     
   • Use apps or timers to help you stay within the time limits.
     
     
   • Focus on speaking naturally, without sounding rehearsed.
     
     

📖 Useful Vocabulary and Phrases

• For Summarizing Discussions:
  
  
  • “The group discussed the following points…”
    
    
  • “One participant mentioned…”
    
    
  • “Another speaker argued that…”
    
    
  • “In conclusion, the main takeaway was…”
    
    
• For Responding to Real-Life Situations:
  
  
  • “I understand your concern.”
    
    
  • “Let me assist you with that.”
    
    
  • “Could you clarify that a bit more?”
    
    
  • “Thanks for bringing that to my attention.”
    
    

🚫 Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Don’t rush—speak clearly and at a comfortable pace.
  
  
• Avoid filler words like “um,” “ah,” and “like.”
  
  
• Stay on topic—don’t include irrelevant details.
  
  
• Speak naturally—don’t sound like you’re reading from a script.
  
  

✅ Final Thoughts

The PTE Academic New Questions Format 2025 is a significant change that focuses on assessing real-world communication skills. Whether you’re summarizing a group discussion or responding to a situation, these new tasks evaluate how well you can navigate academic and professional environments.To prepare, practice actively. Work on fluency, clarity, and tone. The more you get used to the new format, the more confident and ready you’ll be when test day comes.Source: Angel EduNext