Tips for teaching PTE Academic
Teaching a test preparation course can be challenging, particularly for a high stakes test, such as PTE Academic, given its significance for students. With adequate preparation and familiarisation with the test’s structure, teaching PTE Academic doesn’t need to be daunting at all. In fact, it’s one of the most rewarding education experiences you’ll have as a teacher.
So, what is the best way to prepare students for sitting PTE Academic? In order to adequately prepare students for the test, teachers need to have strong knowledge of the structure of PTE Academic.
There are resources you can leverage to familiarise yourself with the test and ensure your students achieve their desired score. There’s a video series on frequently asked questions, which helps to provide insights on the importance of preparation, the required skillset applied in the test, and even the role of algorithms in the marking process, which is unique to PTE Academic.
LISTEN: Episode 3 — Preparing for PTE Academic and why you should forget about IELTS and enjoy life
Additionally, there are extensive teacher resources, which work well to help you gain a deep understanding of how to teach PTE Academic and how to prepare your students for test day. Once you have built up your knowledge base on the structure of PTE Academic, another useful activity is to learn more about how the test is scored and how computer-based testing (CBT) works.
There are several content-rich resources that articulate the power, efficiency, and fairness of algorithms and automated scoring technology, which is what makes PTE Academic unique among its paper-based assessment counterparts.
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Now, with knowledge on how PTE Academic is structured and scored, you can proceed to design an effective preparation course to equip your students with relevant and targeted study. There is a full course outline that you can reference, which provides insight into the specific academic sub-skills students will be tested on.
Additionally, there are lesson plans available, so you can ensure that your preparation course design includes key exam strategies, such as, for example, reviewing what’s required when filling in the blanks, the written or spoken word, describing images, and essay writing.
There are 20 lessons, each of which focus on three strategies that your students can apply when responding to a particular PTE Academic item type. There is a whole heap of value in harnessing the lesson plan ideas designed by the PTE Academic team, as they follow the order of the test, and each lesson takes a five-step approach to introducing and practicing the various item type strategies.
After completing all the lessons, students will have effectively practiced all item types in PTE Academic using authentic, targeted test items. Steps 1–5 are listed below:
- Introduction to the item types and provides an example screenshot.
- Three strategies listed and outlined for the particular item type.
- A detailed explanation is provided for each strategy, as well as opportunities for students to practice in guided individual, paired or group activities.
- Your students respond to an item that simulates the PTE Academic test conditions, where they will provide their response within a time limit.
- And the final step is where students compare their responses and discuss authentic sample explanations and responses.
With the vast collection of online resources and strategic lesson plans at your disposal, you can ensure that your test preparation course design is fit for purpose, which ultimately enables you to deliver effective training setting your students up for test-day success.