Welcome to the second video of the Super PTE Learning system.
In this second video, we will talk about the second pillar of the learning system
The second pillar of your PTE score is the second parameter:
Intonation,
Emphasis,
and Fluency
This parameter will have a huge impact on how well you score in your speaking section.
These three things: Intonation, Emphasis and Fluency, make the bulk of your speaking score, along with pronunciation.
We will talk about Pronunciation in a separate video.
Intonation, Emphasis and Fluency, give a specific shape to your speech.
Good speech has its own shape, and bad speech has its own shape.
PTE Software looks for specific patterns and a specific shape in your speech to identify how good you are.
If your responses have these patterns, you will get good score.
Let’s start with the first one:
Intonation
It is what separates a human voice from that of the robot.
If you notice, our voice tone changes as we speak.
We raise our voice, we lower our voice at different places.
We don’t speak in one constant way.
This is to sound natural.
It makes the listener focus on what is important or not.
And, this happens to be one of the areas which is very important for the PTE software.
I will give you some simple rules for this.
A lot of people overdo.
they raise their tone,
lower their tone, so often that it seems like they are singing rather than speaking.
I will give you straightforward rules.
Just follow these and your tone will become natural.
Here are the rules:
First rule:
When you are beginning a sentence, raise your tone.
For example:
This is the most popular café in town.
Speak after me:
This is the most popular café in town.
Second rule:
When you are ending a statement, lower your tone.
For example:
The café has received great ratings from everyone.
The café has received great ratings from everyone.
Third rule:
Raise your tone at question words
For example:
She’s coming?
Where is she going?
Where is she going?
Fourth rule:
Lower your tone when you want to focus on new information.
For example:
He learned coding from the lead programmer.
He learned coding from the lead programmer.
Fifth rule:
Raise your tone when you need to organize information, such as when reading out a list.
For example:
The book is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook.
Once more:
The book is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook.
That is intonation for you.
Remember these five rules and practice them every time you attempt a speaking question.
You will do great!
The second thing we need to look at is:
Emphasis.
How and which words you put stress on.
As a rule of thumb, put emphasis on maybe 5~6 words in any speaking section response.
Don’t start putting stress on every second word.
That will only sound unnatural.
Remember, our goal is to give the computer the pattern it wants!
Let me give you a list of the kind of words you should put stress on:
Adjectives:
The ones which tell a quality of a noun, a thing
For e.g. polluted city. Put stress on polluted.
This is one of the most polluted cities in the world!
This is one of the most polluted cities in the world!
Adverbs:
The ones which tell how an action is done.
For e.g. slowly, quickly
He walked slowly but still arrived in time.
He walked slowly but still arrived in time.
Other words where you can put emphasis are – conjunctions which connect parts of your sentence.
For example:
He failed to get the grant, because, his proposal was very weak!
Dates and places of significance are also other potential candidates.
So, now you know which words to put stress on!
Two things taken care of!
The final part of this puzzle is:
Fluency!
How you come across – confident or hesitant.
This is also linked to the pace at which you speak.
Should you speak faster or slower?
In general, in PTE faster is better than slower.
That is our general rule – speak faster!
When you speak fast it also hides some of the other shortcomings in your speech.
For example – the pronunciation sounds better because you spend lesser time on each syllable.
We will talk about pronunciation in a separate video.
I want you to do a simple exercise.
Take any long sentence and break it into smaller parts.
For example:
The main objective of this experiment is to prove the impact of global warming on glaciers.
First break it into two words at a time.
Speak the sentence two words at a time and record yourself.
The main
objective of
this experiment
is to
prove the
impact of
global warming
on glaciers.
Then break it into larger parts, say five words at a time.
Speak the sentence five words at a time and record yourself.
The main objective of this
experiment is to prove the
the impact of global warming
on glaciers.
Compare the two responses.
I will give you a minute to do this.
The second sounds much better, isn’t it?
So, your goal is to speak larger chunks.
But one important point here:
If you speak 5 word at a time always, you will sound like a robot.
So, try to have some smaller chunks, some bigger chunks, that way you will sound much more natural.
One aspect of fluency is the pace at which you speak, which we just saw.
The other aspect of fluency is the pauses you take when you speak.
These are also important.
If you don’t pause and just rush through the speech, computer will think this person does not understand when one idea in a sentence ends and other begins.
That is why, you need to pause at appropriate places.
As a rule of thumb, you can break your speech at:
Full stops
Commas
Conjunctions such as and, because, etc.
If it is a long sentence without any commas or conjunctions, then you can break it where you feel it is fine.
Just keep in mind – larger chunks, but not all of the same length.
To improve your speaking quickly, you need to record yourself a lot.
Recording yourself is very important to improve your fluency.
Use your mobile phone, record yourself again and again.
Speak a sentence in different ways, at different speeds and compare.
It is important you find your perfect speed.
Like I said earlier, as a rule of thumb, faster is better than slower.
But that does not mean that you just rush through a sentence like a train!
That is why you need to record and understand how fast is good enough for you.
So, that is it for the Intonation Emphasis and Fluency Scoring parameter.
If you can take care of these, follow the rules I have just discussed, then 80% of your speaking score is taken care of.
Let me recap the rules for you once more.
You have to learn these and follow these in each question.
Rule 1
When you are beginning a sentence, raise your tone.
Rule 2
When you are ending a sentence, lower your tone.
Rule 3
Raise your tone at question words
Rule 4
Lower your tone when you want to focus on new information.
Rule 5
Raise your tone when you need to organize information, such as when reading out a list.
Rule 6
Put emphasis on Adjectives
Rule 7
Put emphasis on Adverbs
Rule 8
Put emphasis on conjunctions
Rule 9
Put emphasis on 5~6 words in a spoken response
Rule 10
Speaking faster is better than speaking slower
Rule 11
Speak larger chunks of words in one go
Rule 12
Do not speak chunks of same word length – mix them – some large and some short chunks
Rule 13
Pause at commas and full stops
Rule 14
Pause at conjunctions in a sentence
Rule 15
If there aren’t any commas or conjunctions in a sentence, pause midway at an appropriate place
Rule 16
Record yourself again and again decide on your optimal pace
So, that’s all in this video.
We have understood what the second parameter is and what we need to do score well on that.
Remember the rules, follow the system and keep practicing.
All the best and I will see you in the next video of the Super PTE Learning System.
- Your spoken response depends on intonation, emphasis and fluency.
- Follow the rules discussed for intonation. No need to do anything extra.
- Follow the rules for emphasis. Don’t emphasize every second word. That is not needed.
- Follow the rules for breaking and chunking your sentences.
- Practice keeping all the rules in mind.
- Record your responses and compare them with sample responses. Try to note if you come across as confident and fluent or shaky and hesitant?
