New PTE Unfiltered – Vocabulary for your Overall Score
📚 Main topics
- Why vocabulary mattersVocabulary is assessed across PTE speaking, writing, reading, and listening. A wider, more accurate vocabulary can strengthen your overall score, while weak vocabulary may hold it back. 0:00
- Synonym swapsPam recommends replacing repeated basic words such as good, bad, increase, and decrease with more specific alternatives to show vocabulary range. 2:14
- CollocationsCollocations are words that naturally go together, such as take an exam, carry out research, pose a threat, play a role, and raise awareness. 11:28
- Useful adverbsAdverbs can make spoken and written English more precise, but they need to fit naturally with the words they describe. Examples include highly effective, widely accepted, and increasingly common. 23:28
- Vocabulary in practicePam demonstrates upgrading simple sentences about technology, pollution, and computers with precise vocabulary, collocations, and supporting details. 27:56
✨ Key takeaways
- Choose specific alternativesInstead of vague words like nice or good, use words such as effective, beneficial, or advantageous when they accurately express your meaning. For negative ideas, consider harmful, problematic, or detrimental. 3:21
- Build a synonym bankLearn alternatives for common words you expect to use, especially increase and decrease. Examples include rise, surge, skyrocket, fall, drop, plummet, and dwindle. 6:36
- Learn collocations as setsMemorizing common word combinations can help you use natural English and answer PTE fill-in-the-blanks questions. Flashcards are one suggested way to practise them. 13:06
- Use vocabulary accuratelyFancy vocabulary is useful only when it is correct and natural. For example, pollution poses a significant threat is a more reliable collocation than increasing threats. 36:14
- Focus on the main idea in Retell LecturePam advises listening to the opening sentences before taking notes, since the main idea is often introduced early. State that idea first, then add details you remember. 17:29
- Treat app scores cautiouslyPTE practice apps can be helpful, but their scores may not match Pearson’s. Pam recommends official Pearson mock tests for the most accurate practice scoring and says ChatGPT may be another option when prompted carefully. 21:47
🧠 Lessons learned
- Upgrade without losing meaningImprove a sentence by choosing a more precise word while keeping the sentence correct and meaningful. For example, technology is good for people can become technology is advantageous for people. 29:40
- Add a reason or detailA developed sentence can demonstrate both vocabulary and content, such as describing technology as highly effective in saving time and improving communication. 31:51
- Practise natural word pairingsAdverb choices depend on common English usage, so learn combinations such as highly effective, widely accepted, and increasingly common rather than relying on very. 24:00
🏁 Conclusion/next steps
- Practise and reviewUse flashcards to learn synonyms and collocations, and apply them carefully in PTE speaking, writing, reading, and listening tasks. 14:14
- Find more preparation resourcesPam points viewers to her channel’s PTE lessons, weekly videos and YouTube livestreams, as well as general English livestreams on Instagram. She also mentions an upcoming PTE book and private coaching. 37:20
Transcript excerpt
0:00 Hello everybody. We are here to discuss the PTE test, the Pearson test of English. And we're talking about vocabulary because vocabulary affects every part of the PTE, speaking, writing, reading, listening, the whole bunch. And if you have great strategies, great grammar, but weak vocabulary, it can actually lower your overall PTE score by 10 to 30 points. Okay, so tonight let's look at some quick, easy ways to boost your
0:34 overall score. It might also help if you're not doing the Pearson test of English. It might also help your general academic English things you want to know. So, my name's Pam and I teach English online. I help people prepare for the PTE test and I'm a study abroad agent. So, if you need help with planning how to study English abroad, you can watch my channel. But tonight, it's all about PTE and it's all about
1:05 PTE vocabulary. Okay. So, why does vocabulary matter? Well, basically, first of all, vocabulary is scored across the board, right? You need it for your essay and for summarized written text. If you've got word variety, that boosts your score a lot. You need it in the speaking tasks. If you've got collocation use, do you know collocations? That means that you know how to put which words together. We'll look a bit more at collocations later in tonight's lesson. But PTE loves good collocation
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