Being able to read fast is perhaps the greatest challenge students have to overcome when preparing for the PTE Academic examination. According to the PTE reading section, students have a period of 30 minutes during which they must complete multiple exercises. As such, you must be in a position to read faster for PTE while still being able to understand what you’re reading. Most students end up having a hard time because they do not know how to balance the two.
Fortunately, learning how to improve reading speed for PTE exam is absolutely possible with the right approach. In this article, we will provide useful tips that have been tried and tested to be effective. No matter whether you have some knowledge or you’ve never read before, you’ll learn how to become better at reading to reach your desired PTE band score.
At Tiju’s Academy, we have helped thousands of students master the PTE reading module using our unique methods. Our students are known for improving their reading speed from 150 to 220+ words per minute within 4-6 weeks. Now let us take a look at some of the PTE reading speed techniques.
Understanding the PTE Reading Section
Before discussing the techniques involved in speed-reading, let us try to comprehend the situation first within the PTE exam format. The reading section runs for a total of 30 minutes, in which there are five distinct types of questions that are asked.
The challenge that one faces in this part is that the time duration allowed to answer these questions is very short, an average of two minutes per question. This is why how to improve PTE reading score is not just about reading speed. This is a discussion about how to read efficiently and use the right strategy for different types of questions.
PTE Academic exam is conducted by Pearson, and its reading module is specifically prepared to evaluate your comprehension skills. In order to achieve 79 and more points in the PTE reading module, you will have to correctly answer at least 30 out of 40 questions, so there is no place for skipping and wasting your time on the exam.
One of the most common questions posed by students is, “How do I improve my reading speed in PTE?” The answer is quite simple: to become an effective reader, you have to be proficient in three areas: speed, comprehension, and strategy. That is why all three aspects are covered in Tiju’s Academy.
The Foundation: Words Per Minute and Reading Fluency
We should now discuss numbers. WPM stands for words per minute, and it is the indicator used to estimate the speed of reading. The range that successful PTE candidates usually set themselves is 220 to 240 WPM. Some people can be fast readers naturally, but reading fast does not matter if one fails to understand what they are reading.
If we mention fast reading, we mean the training of our brains to digest information faster than usual. Our eyes learn to perceive text on a page quicker, and our minds learn to comprehend without actually having to read every single word.
What is interesting here is that people usually tend to read word by word. In such a case, reading becomes very difficult. Good readers make use of chunking, wherein they read chunks of words at one go. They do not read “the,” “cat,” “sat,” “on,” “the,” “mat,” but “the cat sat on the mat.”
The goal is to reach reading fluency where you read smoothly without stopping. This takes practice, but it’s absolutely achievable. At Tiju’s Academy, we have the RAP technique, which is our grammar-based reading accuracy program created by our Head of Department. This technique specifically helps students improve their reading while maintaining perfect accuracy.
Active Reading: Engage With the Text
One of the most important PTE Reading tips includes practicing active reading. Most people prefer passive reading, where their brain is not engaged as they just see words and do not comprehend them. It is simply wasting your time and energy.
Active reading strategies in PTE means you must engage with the text. You should ask yourself questions as you read. What is the main point? What are the supporting details? What does the author want me to understand?
Here are practical ways to implement how to read actively for PTE:
First, you can use a highlighting technique for reading. While you read, lightly highlight key words and important sentences. However, be careful not to highlight too much. You should highlight maybe 10 to 15 percent of the passage at most.
Secondly, learn to take notes during your reading process. It is not necessary to write complete sentences. Instead, just jot down brief points about the idea conveyed in each paragraph, which will help keep your mind sharp.
Thirdly, concentrate on main idea extraction. After you finish reading each paragraph, ask yourself, “What was the main idea of this paragraph?” This will help improve your skill in comprehending the PTE reading comprehension tips that the test creators use to formulate their questions.
At Tiju’s Academy, we teach the Screen-Li Technique, which is our activity-based learning method designed to reduce screen time while keeping you engaged. We also use the Yo-Co technique, which combines yoga with a concentration method called structural learning. These unique approaches help students stay focused and absorb information better.
Skimming and Scanning: Two Essential Techniques
Now let’s talk about the most important PTE reading speed techniques: skimming and scanning. These are not the same thing, and both are essential for fast reading.
PTE skimming and scanning techniques are different tools for different purposes. Skimming is the process where one reads very fast with the purpose of comprehending the gist only. Scanning, on the other hand, refers to the process whereby one searches for certain specific pieces of information such as dates and numbers. While skimming, one looks at the title, the first sentence of each paragraph, and bold words.
In this way, one gets an overview of the content of the passage. The activity skimming practice for PTE needs to be done within a time limit. One tries to skim through a whole page within 30 seconds.
How to skim and scan for PTE takes proper training. Scanning involves having prior knowledge about what is to be searched for. For example, if a question asks, “In which year was the technology invented?” then scanning is used to locate a numerical figure in the text. You ignore all other words.
One typical problem with students is that they try to read carefully instead of skimming. There is no way you can read every sentence carefully in the PTE reading section. First skim the passage to grasp the meaning, and then scan to locate information.
Scanning techniques for PTE reading work best when combined with speed reading with skimming. This combination is powerful because it allows you to understand the context while finding specific information quickly.
Time Management is Everything
Without proper PTE reading time management, speed doesn’t matter. You have a reading speed of 300 words per minute; yet, even with that fast reading speed, you cannot manage to complete your test due to inadequate time management skills.
There are roughly 10-15 questions in the 30 minute section, which means that you have about 2 minutes for each one. However, some questions take longer than others.
Here’s a practical timing strategy for PTE: First, quickly scan all questions to understand what you need to find. This takes about 30 seconds. Then, tackle easier questions first. Save the hardest questions for last only if you have time.
In case of PTE reading multiple-choice questions, allow yourself 1.5 minutes for each question. As regards fill in the blanks in PTE reading, one minute should suffice since such questions normally evaluate vocabulary rather than involve the processing of lengthy texts.
How to manage time in PTE reading is really about knowing your own pace. During practice with mock test reading, pay attention to how long each question type takes you. Adjust your PTE reading pacing strategy based on this information.
The time per question PTE should be tracked carefully. If you notice you’re spending 4 minutes on a multiple-choice question, that’s too long. Move on and come back later if you have time.
At Tiju’s Academy, we teach the Endura Technique, which is our Mock Marathon program with expert assessment and actionable feedback. This helps students understand exactly where they’re losing time and how to improve their pace.
Master Different Question Types
Different PTE reading question types require different strategies. Let’s explore the different categories and find out how to tackle each category quickly.
Multiple-choice questions for PTE reading test your comprehension skills regarding main ideas or specific information. First, read the question, and then look for the answer in the passage. Do not read the whole passage word by word.
For PTE reading fill in the blanks, grammatical structures and vocabulary knowledge are important. Just comprehend the sentence that contains the blank. Then scan the passage for a word that fits that description. This is a pure scanning technique for PTE reading.
Reordering paragraphs in PTE is different. You need to understand how ideas connect. Take time to read the sentences fast and find out what each sentence means, then you can arrange them accordingly. This kind of test requires good comprehension skills rather than quickness in answering.
Multiple choice strategy in PTE involves eliminating wrong answers. However, there is no need to always find the correct solution. In some cases, it would be quicker to discard three wrong solutions and the one that remains will be the correct solution. This technique is called the elimination technique of PTE.
At Tiju’s Academy, our section-wise PTE strategy lessons teach you exactly how to approach each question type. Our students learn that different questions need different reading speeds and techniques.
Building Your Vocabulary
You can’t improve your PTE reading comprehension tips without working on vocabulary building for exam. Students waste their time because they come across words they do not know and stop.
Acquire vocabulary for PTE through learning frequently used academic vocabulary. Pay special attention to PTE reading vocabulary. It is not necessary to learn all words from the English dictionary. Learn only those words that appear again and again in tests.
When you encounter unknown words while practicing, learn context clues for PTE reading. Many times, the context in the sentence provides clues about the meaning of the unknown word. For example, if the sentence contains, “The old man was frail and could not even walk,” then you get an idea that frail refers to being weak, even though you might not have known the meaning of frail earlier.
It is important to study PTE synonyms and antonyms since PTE asks questions based on such words that have different meanings but are close in nature. In case your question contains the word “happy” and the correct choice has “joyful,” then you must be able to identify that “happy” and “joyful” are synonyms.
Our course at Tiju’s Academy offers vocabulary training along with pronunciation classes. The vocabulary list for PTE is our specially selected list based on past exam questions. We also teach the Germa technique, which is our innovative way of learning gerunds.
Practice Makes Perfect
- You cannot improve your reading speed without consistent practice. This is the most important point in this entire article. Theory is nice, but only practice produces results.
- Create a daily practice routine for reading. You don’t need to practice for 3 hours. Even 45 minutes of focused practice every day will show results in 2 to 3 weeks.
- Use practice test PTE materials that follow the real exam format. Don’t use random English passages. Use actual PTE resources or materials that match the PTE Academic test pattern.
Here’s how to structure your daily practice tasks: Choose one passage from an official PTE resource or mock test. Time yourself while reading it. Try to read faster than you did yesterday. Then answer the questions and check your answers.
Track your progress. Write down your reading speed every day. You should see a slow but steady improvement. In the beginning, don’t worry about being perfect. Focus only on speed. Once you’re reading at 220 WPM, then focus on accuracy.
At Tiju’s Academy, we provide mock tests with real exam pattern to all our students. We also have the Groxis system, which is our mentor system that provides personal guidance. Every student is given a mentor who oversees their development process and provides feedback.
Tips & Tricks to Enhance Reading Speed
There are many quick PTE reading tips and tricks, which are listed below:
First, avoid subvocalization. This is when you mentally “speak” every word as you read. This slows you down significantly. Try reading while listening to instrumental music. This prevents your brain from speaking the words.
Second, avoid regression, which is re-reading words you already read. Move your eyes forward only. If you miss something, it’s okay. Keep moving.
Third, expand your visual span. Instead of focusing on individual words, try to see 2 to 3 words at once. This is the basis of chunk reading.
Fourth, use a pen or your finger as a guide while reading. This helps your eyes move faster and keeps you focused.
Fifth, take care of your eye health. Get enough sleep. Don’t read on screens for too long without a break. Healthy eyes can focus better and read faster.
At Tiju’s Academy, we have the DEW Technique, which is our special PTE keyboard practice session that helps with the technical aspects of reading and typing in the exam environment.
Ready to Master PTE Reading?
It is not beyond the capabilities of anyone to increase his reading speed for PTE preparation. Many thousands have already done so. The secret is in comprehending that speed, comprehension, and strategies are interrelated.
At Tiju’s Academy, we’re the best PTE coaching online because we combine modern techniques with proven methods. We have the best PTE course online with personalized score improvement plans for every student. Our best PTE coaching centre in Kerala serves students not just locally but globally through our online classes.
We are the best PTE online coaching in Kerala, and we provide our services to students across the globe. Our AI-powered speaking practice, guidance by experienced teachers, and score-oriented roadmap ensure success for our students.
We also have our unique Speakathon program, which is our fluency accelerator, and the ALIS Technique, which is our PTE language interpretation system. Our LIT technique for listening and the RAP technique for reading accuracy give students confidence they can’t get anywhere else.
Start your PTE preparation journey today. Join Tiju’s Academy and experience the difference that expert coaching makes. Your dream score is waiting. All you need is the right guidance and consistent effort.
Begin your transformation now. Get in touch with Tiju’s Academy for your personalized PTE preparation plan.
