Test Your Microphone Before the
Official PTE Mock Test
If your microphone is not on, you are not testing your English. You are testing your headset. Here is how to check it in two minutes.
Do not use the microphone built into your laptop. Use a headset, and use a USB headset if you can. Before the official PTE mock test starts, use the equipment check on the Pearson website. Record yourself twice — once with the microphone near your mouth and once with it away — and listen back. If both recordings sound the same, your headset microphone is not being used.
A mock test only tells you something useful if your audio was working. If it was not, the score tells you nothing about your English.
Setup — 01Do Not Use Your Laptop Microphone
Do not take the official PTE mock test using the microphone built into your laptop. It will give you a low speaking score.
A built-in laptop microphone picks up the whole room. It sits far from your mouth, it catches background noise, and the scoring system struggles to hear you clearly.
Setup — 02Use a Headset. USB Is Better.
You have to use a headset.
A 3.5mm headset — the one with the small plug — will still work. But a USB headset works better. If you have the choice, use USB.
Left: a 3.5mm plug. Right: a USB plug. Both work, but USB is more reliable.
Check — 03How to Test Your Microphone
On the official Pearson website, before the mock test begins, they let you test your equipment. Use it. Do not skip it.
Record at least twice. Two recordings is the minimum.
Result — 04What It Means If You Hear No Difference
If the two recordings sound the same, your headset microphone is not on.
Moving the microphone should change how you sound. If moving it changes nothing, the computer is not using it. It is still recording through your laptop instead.
Fix that before you start. If you do not, you will get a low speaking score and it will have nothing to do with your English.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A built-in laptop microphone will give you a low speaking score. Use a headset.
Yes. A 3.5mm headset still works, but USB headsets work better. Use USB if you have the choice.
Record yourself twice in the equipment check — once with the microphone near your mouth and once with it away — then listen back. If the two recordings sound the same, your headset microphone is not being used.
Yes. Plug and play means it should connect automatically. It does not guarantee your computer is using the headset microphone rather than the laptop one.
It is the scored practice test sold by Pearson, the company that runs the real PTE exam. Many other mock tests online are not official and do not use the same scoring system, so their results are not reliable.
Yes. One of my students gained 20 points on speaking after fixing his microphone setup and his voice pitch, with no change to his technique.
Techniques Tested on the Real Exam
Every technique taught in our program is tested against the real PTE exam under the current scoring system.
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