The Duolingo English Test is designed to comprehensively assess language proficiency in various modules, ensuring a thorough evaluation of an individual’s ability to understand, communicate, and use English effectively. Here’s a breakdown of the four modules in the Duolingo English Test:

1. Reading Comprehension:
   • Description: This module evaluates your ability to understand written English. You will encounter passages of varying lengths and complexity, followed by questions that assess your comprehension skills.
   • Skills Tested: Reading comprehension, vocabulary, and interpretation of written information.
2. Listening Comprehension:
   • Description: In this module, you’ll listen to spoken English, such as conversations, lectures, or narratives. Subsequently, you’ll answer questions to demonstrate your understanding of the spoken content.
   • Skills Tested: Listening comprehension, understanding spoken English, and responding appropriately.
3. Speaking:
   • Description: The speaking module assesses your ability to articulate responses in English. You may encounter tasks such as describing images, expressing opinions, or participating in simulated conversations.
   • Skills Tested: Pronunciation, fluency, ability to express ideas verbally, and overall spoken communication.
4. Writing:
   • Description: This module evaluates your written communication skills. You’ll be presented with prompts that may require you to write essays, responses to questions, or other written tasks.
   • Skills Tested: Writing proficiency, grammar, vocabulary usage, and coherence in expressing ideas in written form.

Read and Complete

TIME LIMIT

3 minutes

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Comprehension

Read and Complete asks you to “Type the missing letters to complete the text below.” For this question type, you will fill in the blanks of unfinished words in a passage. The directions for this question will appear when the timer begins.

Tips

Read the passage before focusing on each individual word.

Use context clues to help you complete the words.

Use the backspace or delete button to go back one space and delete a letter.

Read and Select

TIME LIMIT

1 minute

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Comprehension

Read and Select asks you to “Select the real English words in this list.” You will need to read each word in a list and decide if it is an actual word in English. The directions for this question will appear when the timer begins.

Tips

Select only the words you know are real! Trust yourself.

There could be any number of real words in the list, so don’t worry if one question has more than another.

Read carefully. Some words look real, but have small differences from real English words.

Click a word to select it as a real English word. It will turn orange once you’ve selected it.

Click the word again to deselect it if you change your mind.

Listen and Type

TIME LIMIT

1 minute

SKILLS MEASURED

Comprehension, Conversation

Listen and Type asks you to “Type the statement that you hear.” In this task, you will listen to a person speaking a statement and then transcribe what you hear. The directions for this question will appear when the timer begins.

Tips

Type out what you hear first. Then check your response by replaying the statement and comparing it to what you wrote.

You can replay the statement up to two times (three plays total) by clicking on the orange speaker icon.

Read Aloud

TIME LIMIT

20 seconds

SKILLS MEASURED

Comprehension, Conversation

Read Aloud asks you to “Record yourself saying the statement below.” In this question type, you will read a written statement, and then speak it out loud into the microphone. The directions for this question will appear when the timer begins.

Tips

If you have time, practice speaking the statement once out loud before recording.

Look at the punctuation in the statement to help you pace yourself — briefly pausing at each comma, for instance.

Speak loudly, at a natural pace, and make sure to enunciate clearly.

You only have 20 seconds, and you only have one chance to record the statement, so use your time wisely.

When you are ready to record, click RECORD NOW and start speaking. When you are finished recording, click NEXT. If you do not click NEXT, the test will advance automatically when the timer runs out.

Make sure you capture your full response in the recording.

Write About the Photo

TIME LIMIT

1 minute

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Production

Write About the Photo asks you to “Write a description of the image below for 1 minute.” For this question type, you will see an image on the screen and you will write a description of the image. The directions for this question will appear when the timer begins.

Tips

Try to go beyond simple labeling and describe the image in detail.

The directions ask for one complete sentence, but try to write more than one, as a longer response can help demonstrate more of your skills.

You will be able to see the image as you write your response.

Use your mouse or trackpad to scroll back through your response if you need to check it for spelling and grammar.

Speak About the Photo

TIME LIMIT

1 minute, 30 seconds

SKILLS MEASURED

Conversation, Production

Speak About the Photo asks you to “Speak about the image below for 90 seconds.” In this task, you will talk about an image that appears on the screen. The directions and image will appear for 20 seconds before automatically advancing to the record screen. You can also click NEXT to manually advance.

Tips

Try to describe the image as if explaining it to someone who can’t see it.

Speak at a natural pace and enunciate clearly.

Don’t panic if you stumble on a word or phrase, just recover and keep going.

You will have 20 seconds to look at the photo before the recording begins automatically. Take this time to observe and mentally plan your response before recording your answer.

You will also be able to look at the image as you speak.

You have only one opportunity to record your answer.

Read, Then Write

TIME LIMIT

5 minutes

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Production

Read, Then Write asks you to “Write about the topic below for 5 minutes.” For this question type, you will read a written prompt. Then, you will respond in writing for 5 minutes. The directions for this question will appear when the timer begins.

Tips

Use all of the time you have to make sure your response is the best it can be.

Write as much as you can, as long as you are using English effectively and it is relevant to the topic.

Use writing best practices to help you develop your response (see “General Tips” at the beginning of this section).

You will be able to see the question as you write, if you need inspiration to write more.

Your word count will appear below the text box, and you will not be able to click NEXT until you have written at least 50 words.

Proofread carefully! Do not click NEXT until you have checked your response and are ready to submit.

Read, Then Speak

TIME LIMIT

1 minute, 30 seconds

SKILLS MEASURED

Conversation, Production

Read, Then Speak asks you to “Speak about the topic below for 90 seconds.” For this question type, you will see a written prompt. You will speak your response to this prompt for 90 seconds. The directions will appear for 20 seconds before the timer begins.

Tips

Speak naturally and clearly, and use varied words and structures.

Make sure you’ve answered all of the components to the question.

Take your time to read the question carefully and start thinking about your response before the test advances to the recording screen. You will still be able to see the question as you speak your response.

Listen, Then Speak

TIME LIMIT

1 minute, 30 seconds

SKILLS MEASURED

Conversation, Production

Listen, Then Speak asks you to “Speak about the topic for 90 seconds.” For this question type, you will listen to a prompt, then speak your response. Note that the directions will appear for 20 seconds before recording begins. During this time, you can hear and replay the prompt.

Tips

Speak naturally and clearly, and use varied words and sentence structures.

Make sure you have a clear understanding of the prompt before you start to record. You can replay it up to two times (three plays total).

You will need to speak for a minimum of 30 seconds. Once 30 seconds have gone by, you will see the NEXT button turn orange, and you will then be able to come to a natural conclusion and click the button to submit your response.

Complete the Sentences

TIME LIMIT

7 or 8 minutes for the entire section

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Comprehension

Complete the Sentences asks you to “Select the best option for each missing word.” In this task, you will see a passage with several blank spaces, and select a word to complete the sentence.

Tips

Read the entire sentence and use context clues to help you determine the best word choice.

Time permitting, read the passage after you’ve completed all of the sentences, as a way to double check your responses.

You can complete the sentences in any order.

You won’t be able to click NEXT until you’ve selected a response for each blank.

To navigate between the sentences, you can use your mouse/touchpad or the tab button.

Complete the Passage

TIME LIMIT

7 or 8 minutes for the entire section

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Comprehension

Complete the Passage asks you to “Select the best sentence to fill in the blank.” In this task, you will see two sections of a passage with a missing sentence in the middle.

Tips

Some parts of the passage will be familiar to you from the Complete the Sentences question. Make sure to read each section thoroughly, especially new material.

Pay special attention to the sentences before and after the blank, especially if you are undecided.

If you hover over each option, you will be able to see it in context in the passage.

Highlight the Answer

TIME LIMIT

7 or 8 minutes for the entire section

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Comprehension

Highlight the Answer asks you to “Click and drag the text to highlight the answer to the question below.” You will see a question on screen, then you will find and highlight the answer within the passage.

Tips

Be precise but thorough in your selection, and make sure to highlight only the answer to the question asked. You don’t want to highlight too much or too little.

Once you highlight the text, it will appear in the box below the question so you can read it in context.

If you want to change your highlighting, you can click and drag your cursor on the screen again to highlight. Be sure the answer you want is in the box before clicking NEXT.

Identify the Idea

TIME LIMIT

7 or 8 minutes for the entire section

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Comprehension

Identify the Idea asks you to “Select the idea that is expressed in the passage.” In this task, you will select an idea from the list that best represents what you read in the passage.

Tips

Read and consider all of the options carefully. Some of the options may be somewhat relevant, but make sure to choose the one that best describes the text.

Once you select your response, the box around it and the circle next to it will turn orange.

Title the Passage

TIME LIMIT

7 or 8 minutes for the entire section

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Comprehension

Title the Passage asks you “Select the best title of the passage” You will select a title from a list of given options.

Tips

Read and consider all of the options carefully. Some of the options may be somewhat relevant, but make sure to choose the one that is the best title for the whole text.

Once you select your response, the box around it and the circle next to it will turn orange.

Listen and Respond

TIME LIMIT

4 minutes

SKILLS MEASURED

Comprehension, Conversation

Listen and Respond asks you to select the best response. For this question type, you will read about a situation. Then, you will pick the best option to start the conversation. As the conversation progresses, select the best response each time it is your turn.

Tips

Listen carefully! You can only play the audio clips once.

You can read the earlier parts of the conversation again to help you.

Pay attention to the relationship between the speakers. How would two students talk to each other? How would a teacher and a student have a conversation?

Don’t worry if you don’t choose the best response — the test will let you know so that you can still get the next ones correct. Pay attention to the correct answer in order to follow the conversation.

Try to remember the main ideas of the conversation for the summary task that follows.

Summarize the Conversation

TIME LIMIT

75 seconds

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Production

Summarize the Conversation asks you to write about the conversation you just had in 75 seconds.

Tips

Don’t worry if you didn’t choose the best answers in the previous section. Focus on summarizing the conversation.

Write a complete paragraph instead of separate bullet points.

You don’t have very much time to write, so start with the facts about the conversation. Who was speaking? What was the conversation about? What was the outcome?

Use all the time to summarize the task in as much detail as possible. If you have time, check the spelling and grammar of your response.

Writing Sample

TIME LIMIT

5 minutes

SKILLS MEASURED

Literacy, Production

The Writing Sample asks you to “Write about the topic below for 5 minutes.” For this question type, you will be given a written prompt. You will write about it at length for 5 minutes. Note that the directions appear for 30 seconds before timer begins. During this time you will read and consider the prompt, and prepare to respond.

Tips

Practice good writing habits: vary your sentence structure and word choice, and express a variety of thoughts with logical transitions.

Make sure to leave time to check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

The topic will be shared with the recipients of your results, so make sure your response is relevant to the topic.

Think of this as a short essay. The recipients of your results may use the Writing Sample as additional information about your writing skills.

Speaking Sample

TIME LIMIT

3 minutes

SKILLS MEASURED

Conversation, Production

The Speaking Sample asks you to “Speak about the topic below for 3 minutes.” For this question type, you will read a written prompt. Then, you will speak at length about the topic shown. Note that the directions appear for 30 seconds before recording begins. During this time you will read and consider the prompt, and prepare to respond.

Tips

Do not watch the timer, as it may distract you from thinking and speaking clearly.

Keep talking at least until the NEXT button turns orange, and speak even longer if you can. Then, come to a natural conclusion before clicking NEXT to finish and submit the recording.

Practice speaking about a topic in English for 1–3 minutes before taking the test so you are familiar with the length.

Remember that the Speaking Sample will be sent as a video recording, so the recipients of your scores will be able to see you during this response.

The topic will be shared with the recipients of your results, so make sure your response is relevant to the topic and do your best to show your speaking skills!

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