PTE Academic exam is conducted at a test center where there are several other test-taker who will speak at the same time. This makes PTE test centers a noisy place. This is one of the biggest problems faced by many aspirants. The surrounding noise can certainly be distracting.
Some people have a habit of reading things loudly which can make you lose your concentration. The PTE speaking section turns out to be the worst part to handle with other test-takers speaking their responses loudly. Not every test-taker takes the same section at the same time.
So there can be few aspirants who are ahead of you. They might have reached the speaking section when you are still trying to focus on the listening section. So, you will struggle to get a good score on the PTE exam without doing your PTE preparation in a noisy environment.
Does the surrounding noise affect your PTE academic score?
Yes, the noise affects your performance. It will get distracting and your brain will feel confused with so much noise around you. If you lose your focus then you will start losing the time on your hands to tackle the questions. Tasks like describe the image, repeat sentence, read aloud and re-tell lecture requires a lot of focus which you will fail to give because of the surrounding noise.
This is why it is important to do your PTE preparation sitting in a noisy environment. You should go to a public place where there are a lot of people around you. Park can be a perfect place for your PTE preparation. Take PTE mock tests and practice tests sitting in such an environment and evaluate your performance. This will prepare you for the PTE academic test environment.
After a point, you will stop bothering about the people around you or how you would sound while speaking loudly. Once you start gaining confidence over yourself, you start taking control over your level of focus. You should take a deep breath to relax yourself to bring your focus back on the exam.
How to improve your concentration ?
We have put together some tips that you can follow to improve your concentration while taking the PTE exam.
- You should take online PTE coaching in a noisy environment. This will help you to increase your concentration and keep you focused.
- You should train your mind to listen to your own voice. This will help you to improve your concentration. If you panic or get anxious then you will get distracted. Practice meditating every day to increase your focus and keep yourself calm. This will also help you to avoid anxiety.
- Practice speaking your responses with the radio on in the background. You should increase the volume of the radio to get the feel of the actual test environment. It might be distracting in the starting but with time you will overcome it.
- There are many brain exercises available on the internet. You should include them in your PTE preparation. This will help you to improve your brain activity and focus.
- You should take proper sleep before the test day. Proper rest is important as that helps your brain to function properly and you will be able to stay focused during the PTE exam.
- Do not overdo. Proper PTE preparations required but that does not mean that you study at a long stretch. If you do that then your brain will lose its ability to process things and that will slow you down. Remember that the PTE exam works on a timer and you need to be active at every moment. So, you should take small breaks in the middle of your PTE preparation to allow your brain to function properly.
- When you do your practice sitting on your bed, you will feel lazy and that will make you lose your focus. So sit on a desk.
Techniques to improve concentration
- Five-more rule: This is a simple rule. When you start to lose your focus then ask yourself to do five-more tasks.
- Keyword technique: You need to find the right keyword to bring your focus back. So, when you get distracted, say the keyword to bring your focus back.
Tips to avoid the noisy environment
You cannot control the test environment but the below tips can help you avoid choosing the noisy test centers.
- Even though you have done a thorough PTE preparation, you can get a low score because of getting distracted. So, you should choose a less crowded test center. Instead of choosing a test center that is near you, you should opt for the one where there are fewer test-takers.
- Choose a date and time slot that is not preferred by many test-takers. Early morning is a good time as many test-takers do not prefer to take that time slot because they do not want to wake up early.
- You should reach before the exam time. If you reach early then the representative at the test center might allow you to start your exam before the scheduled time. This gives you a chance to start the exam for other test-takers. You will get an opportunity to clear the PTE speaking section before other aspirants.
Leave for the PTE academic exam before time. If you reach the test center in a hurry then your mind is disturbed. It will become very hard to calm it down before the exam. So you need to reach the test center with a calm mind.
