Ace PTE Retell Lecture (RL) with High-Score Templates

Why do you need a template for RL?

Retell Lecture (RL) requires you to listen to a 60-90 second lecture and then retell it within 40 seconds. Many students struggle with the following issues:

1. Can't understand: Struggling to grasp the core points of the lecture.
2. Can't write it down: Notes are messy, making it impossible to interpret them accurately during retelling.
3. Getting stuck: Thinking while speaking disrupts your flow and spoils your fluency score.

We need to leverage the characteristics of the PTE computer scoring system: Fluency is King. Even if your content only consists of a few correct keywords, as long as you string them together fluently using a template, you will still get a high score.

Universal High-Score Templates for RL

The design intention of these templates is to minimize thinking time, allowing you to focus entirely on reading out the keywords you have written down.

Template Structure

• Intro: The lecture is mainly about [Topic].
• Body 1: The speaker mentioned [Keyword 1] and [Keyword 2].
• Body 2: The speaker also mentioned [Keyword 3] and [Keyword 4].
• Body 3: The speaker also discussed [Keyword 5] and [Keyword 6].
• Conclusion: In conclusion, the lecture is very informative.

Practical Tip: The "He Said" Method

If you find memorizing verbs like "mentioned," "discussed," etc., in the template above too troublesome, here is a simpler yet extremely effective "He said" template:

"The speaker said [Keyword 1]. He said [Keyword 2]. He also said [Keyword 3]. He said [Keyword 4]. In conclusion, he said [Keyword 5]."

Note: Although this template looks simple, it requires you to be extremely confident in your tone. By emphasizing keywords and using natural intonation, you need to convince the computer that you are making a logical statement.

How to Take Notes?

Do not try to write down whole sentences! Your brain CPU can't handle that much. Only take notes on Nouns and Verbs.

• Hearing: "The global economy is facing a significant downturn due to inflation."
• Notes: Global economy, downturn, inflation.

What to do if you don't understand?

1. Look at the image: If there is a supporting image, treat it as a Describe Image task immediately! Use the DI template to describe the image content, and you can also score points.
2. Guess blindly: If there isn't even an image, listen carefully for the most frequently occurring words in the lecture (usually the main topic) and plug them into the template: "The lecture is about [repeat word]..."

Practice Suggestions

1. Extensive Listening: Listen to a TED Talk or Science Daily every day, attempting to jot down only 5-6 keywords.
2. Template Training: Look at your notes and force yourself to react and speak sentences using the template within 2 seconds.
3. Recording: You must record yourself! Listen to see if you are making hesitation sounds like "Em...", "Ah..." due to reading from notes.

Remember, the essence of RL is acting. Even if your mind is panicked, your voice must remain steady as a rock.

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