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There are many international English certificates for people to prove their proficiency in English. But, people who want to pass visa or immigration procedures tend to opt for the PTE test. What is the PTE test for Australia? Our article will give you detailed information about this English certificate.
What Is the PTE Test For Australia?
PTE stands for Pearson Test of English, and the PTE test for Australia is often provided as an academic exam. PTE test-takers will go through four tests in four common skills: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The innovative point about this test is that all the sections are computer-based, and even the examiner is AI-based.
The PTE test for Australia’s primary purpose is to assess a person’s competence in using English in academic and daily life environments. The score of the PTE test will prove whether the examinee is capable of living and studying in an English-speaking environment in Australia or not.
The Advantages of the Test
The PTE result report can be utilized for versatile purposes, even academic or general English in Australia. For instance, if you take an IELTS test, you must choose the IELTS General or IELTS Academic for a separate purpose. However, you can use the PTE Academic test result for both general and academic use.
Test-takers can use the compensation scoring mechanism to let their more advanced skills make up for weaker skills. While other English tests evaluate the examinee’s proficiency in each skill separately, the PTE test will combine them all. Therefore, you can rely on your strength to compensate for your weakness to get the desired score.
The AI will be in charge of the whole process in the PTE grading procedures. For this reason, you don’t need to worry about anxiety while speaking with a strange person, like the Speaking test in other certificates. In the PTE speaking test, you will answer the questions to a recorder. Then, AI will transmit and evaluate the data from your speaking.
The PTE test is available for daily registration, which means you can take a PTE test 365 times a year. On the contrary, you must wait at least a few days to retake a new IELTS or TOEFL test.
The PTE test assures you to publish your result in no more than 48 hours, and the official score report delivery will take about 5 working days.
The 4 Levels of the PTE Test
There are four types or levels of PTE test for Australia:
- PTE Academic: The PTE Academic will evaluate all of the four essential skills in English: Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking with computer-based sources of documents and an AI-based examiner. The official PTE Academic score report is accepted in many countries globally for study, visas, and immigration. This is the most versatile certificate provided by the PTE.
- PTE General: The PTE General is also useful for assessing your competence in English, but it will not be accepted for applications for visas and immigration. The PTE General will rank your English according to six levels. Besides, the test will be done on paper but not on a computer like the PTE Academic. The PTE General is suitable for people testing their English in terms of daily communication in Australia, where English is the first language.
- PTE Young Learners: Young learners in this PTE test must be around 6-13 years old. The test will challenge examinees to submit answers to a set of spoken and written questions. Of course, the questions in the PTE Young Learners will be much simpler than other PTE levels.
- PTE Business English: If you plan to work in any business field in Australia, the PTE Business English test can be a testament to your English ability. The testing sections will cover all the four skills like the above three levels, but the main theme will be entirely related to business areas.
The Main Purposes of PTE Tests
- Many universities and colleges in Australia accept the official PTE score report to decide whether candidates’ English competence is adequate for admission or not.
- Australia and many other governments worldwide regard people with proper PTE score reports as qualified for their visa applications.
- PTE score report can be a noteworthy advantage when you register for international organizations in Australia that require English as a compulsory language.
- Let alone in Australia, many international companies and enterprises highly value employers with a decent PTE score report for a well-paid position.
- If you seek a scholarship to study abroad in Australia, the PTE test can be an outstanding point to your application.
The Pattern Of PTE Test For Australia PR
The PTE Test For Australia PR can also be considered the PTE Academic Test. The test consists of Listening, Reading, and Speaking combined with Writing.
Among the PTE levels, only the PTE Academic Test is valid for the application for Australian visas. For this reason, it’s fundamental to comprehend the format of the test:
Listening
You must face these types of questions in the PTE Academic Listening test:
- Multiple choice with one correct answer or multiple correct answers
- Submitting a brief version of a speech.
- Filling precise words in the blank.
- Spotting the correct summary.
- Extracting words from dictation.
- Finding wrong words.
Reading
Your missions in the Reading section of PTE Test For Australia PR are:
- Filling accurate words in the blank.
- Writing a correct answer extracted from the passage.
- Multiple choice with one correct answer or multiple correct answers.
- Putting paragraphs into suitable positions.
Speaking And Writing
The speaking and writing sections will be conducted simultaneously:
- Introduce yourself.
- Reading a passage.
- Describe a picture.
- Answering short questions.
- Writing a brief of a provided passage, article, etc.
- Writing an essay.
Required Score For Australia PR
In general, the adequate score for an Australia PR (permanent residency) must be higher than for other purposes.
Besides the score needed to pass the Australia visa, applicants must be aware of when they should carry out the PTE test. The time will vary due to the level of proficiency:
- Within 12 months before applying for visas: This is the required time for opting for the PTE test at the Functional English level.
- Within three years before applying for visas: Three years is the recommended time for people achieving proper PTE score reports at Vocational, Competent, and Superior English levels.
The chart will tell you the score you must at least attain at each level:
| Superior | Speaking | 79 |
| Superior | Writing | 79 |
| Superior | Reading | 79 |
| Superior | Listening | 79 |
| Proficient | Speaking | 65 |
| Proficient | Writing | 65 |
| Proficient | Reading | 65 |
| Proficient | Listening | 65 |
| Competent | Speaking | 50 |
| Competent | Writing | 50 |
| Competent | Reading | 50 |
| Competent | Listening | 50 |
| Vocational | Speaking | 36 |
| Vocational | Writing | 36 |
| Vocational | Reading | 36 |
| Vocational | Listening | 36 |
| Functional | Overall | 30 |
PTE Score Chart Compared To Other Certificates
| PTE | TOEFL | IELTS |
| 0 to 30 | 0 to 31 | 0 to 4 |
| 30 to 34 | 32 to 34 | 4.5 |
| 35 to 41 | 35 to 45 | 5 |
| 41 to 49 | 46 to 49 | 5.5 |
| 50 to 57 | 60 to 78 | 6 |
| 58 to 63 | 79 to 93 | 6.5 |
| 64 to 72 | 94 to 101 | 7 |
| 73 to 77 | 102 to 109 | 7.5 |
| 78 to 82 | 110 to 114 | 8 |
| 83 to 86 | 115 to 117 | 8.5 |
| 85 to 90 | 118 to 120 | 9 |
Bottom Lines
Now, you know all the fundamental information related to the PTE test. It is an international English certificate not only for the application of visas and immigration into Australia but for other English-speaking countries as well. Register and take the PTE test in your country whenever you want!
