Re-tell Lecture10s to prepare · 40s to answer · 3 per sitting

PTE Re-tell Lecture: 90 seconds in, 40 seconds out, 10 seconds to bridge them

A lecture of up to 90 seconds, retold in your own words after ten seconds of preparation. The task that punishes note-taking systems.

What the screen says

“You will hear a lecture. After listening, in 10 seconds, please speak into the microphone and retell what you have just heard in your own words.”

How the task runs

You hear a lecture of up to 90 seconds. You may take notes on the erasable booklet while it plays.
Ten seconds of preparation follow — enough to glance at your notes, not enough to organise them.
You then have 40 seconds to retell what you heard. Unlike Repeat Sentence, your own words are expected here.
Three per sitting, the fewest of any Speaking task, but the longest individual items in the section.

What the scoring rewards

Key content words from the lecture, reproduced or paraphrased. Naming the topic, the main claim and two supporting points covers most of the available content credit.
Speech that fills the 40 seconds without long gaps. Consulting notes mid-answer is where this task's fluency scores go to die.
Correct relationships between ideas, signalled with ordinary connectives — because, however, as a result. The engine is not grading argument quality, but linked speech reads as fluent speech.
Recognisable pronunciation of the lecture's own terminology. Mangling the one technical term the whole lecture was about costs content as well as pronunciation.

What costs people marks

Taking full notes.

Ten seconds is not enough to read a paragraph you wrote. Capture five or six single words — the topic and the main points — and nothing else.

Reading notes aloud during the recording.

Eyes on notes produces the pauses the fluency trait penalises. Look once during the preparation, then speak from memory.

Retelling the opening in detail and running out of time.

Cover the whole lecture thinly rather than the first third thoroughly. Content credit is spread across the lecture, not weighted to its beginning.

Starting with a memorised frame like 'the lecturer was talking about'.

It is a fixed cost of roughly three seconds out of forty and adds no content. Name the topic in your first clause instead.

Six words, not six lines

The ten-second gap is the binding constraint, and it means the note-taking systems that work for university lectures actively hurt here. Design your notes for a ten-second read.

One word for the topic, written first and largest — it is the word you will open with.
Three or four words for the main points, in the order they were said.
Any number or proper noun that was repeated. Repetition in the lecture is the clearest signal of what the content scoring is looking for.
Nothing else. If you are writing a phrase, you are writing something you will not have time to read.

The other Speaking tasks

6 per sitting

Read Aloud

Six texts of up to 60 words, read aloud from the screen. The easiest task to sound fine on and still score badly.

10 per sitting

Repeat Sentence

Ten sentences, heard once, repeated exactly. Scored on what you reproduce, not on whether you understood it.

6 per sitting

Describe Image

A chart, map, graph or process diagram, described from scratch. The task where a rehearsed structure genuinely helps.

10 per sitting

Answer Short Question

A short general-knowledge question, answered in a word or two. The only Speaking task scored on listening comprehension alone.

How PTE compares to IELTS

Common questions

How long is the lecture in PTE Re-tell Lecture?

Up to 90 seconds. You then get 10 seconds to prepare and 40 seconds to speak. Three of these appear per sitting — the fewest of any Speaking task, but the longest individual items.

Should you take notes during the lecture?

Yes, but only five or six single words. Ten seconds is not enough to read a paragraph you wrote, and eyes on notes during the recording produces exactly the pauses the fluency scoring penalises.

Do you have to use the lecturer's exact words?

No — unlike Repeat Sentence, your own words are expected here. Naming the topic, the main claim and two supporting points covers most of the available content credit.

Is it better to cover the whole lecture or explain part of it well?

The whole lecture, thinly. Content credit is spread across it rather than weighted to the opening, so candidates who detail the first third and run out of time lose marks that were available.

Practise this out loud

Our PTE mock runs Re-tell Lecture on the published timings — 10s to prepare · 40s to answer · 3 per sitting — and marks your recording word by word against the prompt. The first session is free.

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This guide is written from the PTE Academic test format published by Pearson, in our own words. For the official wording, see Pearson's Speaking & Writing format page. MockLive AI is an independent practice tool and is not affiliated with Pearson.