The two speaking tasks added to PTE Academic in August 2025 are part of the current test in 2026: Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation. If your materials omit them, add dedicated practice before taking a full mock. This guide explains the update; our audio and situation practice guide gives you examples to try.
Which tests changed?
Pearson introduced the additions for PTE Academic and PTE Academic UKVI from 7 August 2025. This is not a newly announced September 2026 change. The official update page says the original 20 question types remain alongside the two additions. PTE Core and PTE Home were not part of this update. References checked on 20 September 2026.
Core already has a task called Respond to a Situation. That shared name does not make every instruction interchangeable: the Core format allows 20 seconds to prepare and 40 seconds to respond; the Academic version allows 10 seconds to prepare and 40 seconds to respond. Check the exam shown in your booking and your practice settings.
What you need to do differently
Summarize Group Discussion: track three people
You hear three people and give a spoken summary. This asks for more than remembering the general subject: distinguish each person’s contribution, then explain connections such as a disagreement, a suggested solution or a qualification. Do not invent consensus when the conversation ends without it.
Pearson’s task guidance describes 10 seconds of preparation after the audio and up to two minutes to speak. It also explains that using every second is not the goal in itself: the response needs sufficient relevant detail and clear organisation. This is not the written Summarize Spoken Text task.
Respond to a Situation: carry out the conversation
Read and hear the scenario, then say what you would say to the person concerned. If the task asks you to request a different meeting time, make that request; do not spend your response describing how somebody else should handle it. Identify the listener, the problem and the requested outcome before speaking.
Pearson’s Academic situation-task explanation covers relevance, suitable expressions, pronunciation and fluency. A natural response to a friend can differ from a request to a professor. Keep important prompt details, such as a deadline or the reason for a call, accurate.
What the human-review change means
For these two Academic tasks, Pearson lists content, pronunciation and oral fluency as AI-scored traits and also specifies human review of content. It does not describe a live interview with an examiner. The review supplements automated assessment; it does not mean human reviewers replace every automated score.
Use study frameworks to organise relevant ideas, then practise with changing prompts. A memorised answer that ignores the actual discussion or situation cannot demonstrate the required meaning. Practise adapting your meaning and language to each prompt rather than trying to imitate a particular voice.
Check your study materials in five minutes
- Task list: Does your Academic mock include both additions?
- Response mode: Is group discussion answered by speaking rather than writing?
- Preparation time: Does the situation exercise use your exam’s setting?
- Listening input: Can you practise following three voices, not only a single narrator?
- Feedback: Does it help you check meaning and relevant details as well as delivery?
Try a quick task-choice check
You hear three students discussing which research method to use. Should your answer ask their professor to choose a method, or summarise the students’ views?
Summarise the views. That is the group-discussion task. A request to the professor would change the response into a different conversation. By contrast, if a situation prompt tells you to ask a professor for advice, your answer should address the professor directly.
Use a practice cycle you can repeat
Start with the two short three-speaker audio drills. Attempt a summary before revealing the transcript. Identify one missing or misrepresented point, then repeat the exercise with different wording. Next, try one situation prompt with the correct preparation and response limits.
Once the task is familiar, practise it alongside the other question types. Keep the rest of your preparation active: adding the new tasks does not remove the need to develop reading, writing, listening and the other speaking skills.
Continue into PTE Academic Speaking practice
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