G'day mate, how you going? Today, I am going to talk about what the PTE is. If you are in Australia, you might know the PTE. PTE academic has started since 2009. It's become increasingly popular in Australia and across the world. There are heaps of benefits if you start improving your English via the PTE. Let's discuss them!
You will sit in the exam using computer only. No handwriting is required, and even speaking exam will be done by computer. It's like TOEFL exam, right? If your handwriting is illegible, then PTE is your right choice! Typing is so much easier and less stressful when it comes to writing and editing as well. In case of PTE's writing section, you can cut, copy and paste any word, phrase and sentence within your answer, not the question prompt. I mean, you can't obviously copy and paste the question prompt itself, but you can modify your essay quite flexibly. IELTS computer-based writing test does not have this function at all. So if you want to use the same phrase or sentence, cut-copy-paste function is very handy in the PTE exam! For instance, please have a look at the below image, which is IELTS writing:
It looks obviously no function of editing like cut-copy-paste. By contrast, here is the image of PTE writing:
Noticeably, you might reckon it looks user and test-taker-friendly, right? I am not quite sure about TOEFL, but I think PTE writing is the best I've ever seen.
Second, the test score report will be issued within a few days. Usually, it might take one day or less, depending upon busy or quiet season.
A typical case is like, if you take the test in the morning from 9ish, then you will possibly receive the result at night, or the latest should be the following early morning like before 7. So, if you need the score report urgently for your uni or immigration, PTE is absolutely the best choice! No exam can be like that. For instance, I needed the report for immigration, and I took the exam only three days before my student visa expired, and it was successful to apply for 485 visa, which is a graduate work visa who has completed a 2 years uni degree. If I had taken another exam such as IELTS or TOEFL, I couldn't have renewed my visa before the expiry date. So, I really appreciated the existence of PTE at that time.
Third, PTE can be flexibly used as a means of a uni entrance requirement verification document, as well as gaining migration points for Australian Permanent Residency visa
Not many people know whether PTE can be used for both purposes, and yes definitely you can! In Australia, every uni accepts PTE scores to prove your English proficiency. And also, if you are planning to migrate into Australia, then you can definitely use PTE scores to boost your migration points. For instance, if you pass 65+, then you can gain 10 points for English language proficiency. And, if you pass 79+, then you can gain 20 points, which is the maximum point you can get. They are like 7.0 or 8.0 in IELTS.
Fourth, PTE executes an integrating scoring system, so you've got to make sure you fully understand the mechanism of the system
This is probably the most important aspects that you've got to understand in the first place. Some people tend to say like, oh PTE is much easier than IELTS if you want to get over 7.0, and just sit in the exam and if you're lucky you can get it. This sort of opinion is just too preposterous! PTE is not necessarily easier than IELTS in terms of the level of difficulty. PTE tests your four English skills pretty accurately and strictly like IELTS and TOEFL. So they are exactly the same level. But, what I want to underscore the distinction is that PTE requires you to have excellent techniques including proper knowledge of its scoring system and training to trick the computer algorithms to pass higher marks. If you lack these aspects, then it's going to be quite difficult to score high. Just a FYI: here is IELTS comparison score equivalence.
To be continued.
That's all for today! Thanks for reading.
Have a good weekend!