PTE Academic · Listening
PTE Listening Highlight Incorrect Words
You read a transcript while the recording plays once, and click every word that doesn't match what you hear.
A transcript of a short recording appears on screen. You get ten seconds to read it before the audio starts, then it plays once while you follow along — click any word that doesn't match what the speaker actually says, and click again if you change your mind. Every word you correctly catch is a point; every word you mark that the speaker did say costs one. The task counts towards both your Listening and your Reading score.
How the task works
Read, listen once, click as you go
The recording starts by itself after the ten seconds are up. Click the words that don't match while it plays — a second click undoes it.
Read the transcript first
Skim the whole text before the audio starts so you know its shape — the topic, how the sentences flow — rather than trying to memorise it word for word.
Click as you hear a mismatch
Follow the transcript with your eyes as the recording plays, and click a word the moment it doesn't match what you hear. Click the wrong word by mistake and you can undo it with a second click — there's no separate undo button.
Only mark what you're sure of
A word you're unsure about costs nothing if you leave it alone, but costs a point if you click it and the speaker really did say it. When in doubt, don't click.
How Pearson scores it
A point for every word you catch, a point off for every word you shouldn't have clicked
Each changed word is worth a point on its own, and clicking a word the speaker did say takes a point away. Your score can never drop below zero.
Correct clicks and wrong clicks
You earn a point for every changed word you click, and lose a point for every word you click that the speaker actually said. A changed word you leave unclicked earns nothing, but it costs you nothing either — only a wrong click does that.
Highlight Incorrect Words counts towards both your Listening and your Reading score. Two or three of these appear in a test, and guessing costs you more than it can win you.
What usually goes wrong
Where students lose points
Clicking on a hunch
Every word you're not sure about tempts you to click it anyway. But a wrong click costs exactly as much as a changed word is worth, so a string of guesses can leave you worse off than doing nothing at all.
Losing your place partway through
Look away from the transcript for a couple of seconds and you can miss two or three changed words in a row. Keep your eyes moving under the text at the pace of the recording, not ahead of it.
Second-guessing a click that was right
Clicking a word again undoes it — useful when you genuinely change your mind, costly when you talk yourself out of a click you already got right.
Treating every unfamiliar word as suspicious
A technical or less common word is not automatically a changed one. Judge each word against what you actually heard, not against how unusual it sounds.
Worked example
One transcript, five changed words, and where each point went
Here is a transcript of the kind you see in this task, with the five words that differ from the recording numbered: “Scientists have discovered that a (1) increase in ocean temperature is shifting the migration patterns of several fish species. The research team tracked movement across (2) decades and found that warmer waters pushed populations further (3) each year. This shift (4) the fishing industry in coastal towns, which has relied on the same local catches for generations. The findings suggest the effects may soon become (5).” Below is what one student clicked.
The five changed words and what they scored
- Points kept Words 1, 3 and 5 Word (1) — “small” on screen, “sudden” in the recording — word (3) — “north” on screen, “south” in the recording — and word (5) — “permanent” on screen, “irreversible” in the recording — were all clicked, so each one earned its point.
- Points missed Words (2) and (4), left unclicked “three” was actually “two”, and “threatens” was actually “endangers”. Neither click came, so both points were simply left on the table — nothing was deducted for either.
- Point lost A wrong click on “coastal” The speaker really did say “coastal”. Clicking it anyway, thinking it had changed, cost a point on top of the ones left unclaimed above.
- What it adds up to Where the points went Changed words caught, changed words left unclicked with nothing deducted, and one wrong click that cost a point.
The transcript with every word the speaker actually said
Scientists have discovered that a sudden increase in ocean temperature is shifting the migration patterns of several fish species. The research team tracked movement across two decades and found that warmer waters pushed populations further south each year. This shift endangers the fishing industry in coastal towns, which has relied on the same local catches for generations. The findings suggest the effects may soon become irreversible.
Strategy tip: Only click when you're certain the word you heard is different from the word on the page. You have nothing to gain from clicking on a hunch, and a point to lose if you're wrong.
The lost point here wasn't a change that slipped past unheard — it was a correct word that shouldn't have been clicked. That is the more common pattern in this task, more than a genuine miss.
Practising here
See exactly which clicks scored, and which cost you
The timing matches the exam screen, and the review after you check marks every word so you can see where each point went.
Ten seconds, then one play
The countdown runs, the recording plays once, and you click while it plays. After you check your answer you can replay it as often as you like.
Scored the way Pearson does
We score the way Pearson does — +1 for each word you catch, −1 for each word you mark that the speaker did say, never below 0 — and show the word the speaker actually said.
Every word marked in place
The transcript stays on screen after you check: a changed word you caught turns green, a changed word you missed shows the word the speaker actually said, and a word you clicked by mistake is marked as a wrong click.
Heard correctly but clicked anyway, told apart
A wrong click is labelled as exactly that rather than lumped in with a missed word, so you can see whether to trust your ear more or click less.
One tip, and every attempt kept
You get a single piece of advice about the clicks you actually got wrong, plus your score and your earlier attempts on the same recording, so you can tell whether you're still guessing or genuinely missing words.
Common questions
Highlight Incorrect Words, answered
How long do I get before the recording starts?
Ten seconds. The transcript is already on screen, so use them to get a sense of the whole text rather than trying to memorise it.
How many times does the recording play?
Once. It runs for 15 to 50 seconds and there is no replay in the exam, so our practice plays it once too — after you check your answer you can listen again as often as you like.
What happens if I click a word by mistake?
Click it again to deselect it. Only the words still selected when you check your answer are scored.
Do I lose points for a changed word I don't click?
No. A changed word you leave unclicked simply earns nothing — it's a wrong click, not a miss, that costs you a point.
Can my score go below zero?
No. Wrong clicks can only bring you down to zero, never below it.
Which scores does this task count towards?
Both Listening and Reading — one of the few tasks that count twice.
How many of these are in the test?
Two or three, depending on the test you get.
Try it with one play
Read a transcript for ten seconds, hear it once, and see which clicks scored — and which one you shouldn't have made.