Answer Short Question
- No preparation. Answer within about 10 seconds of the question ending.
- Machine-scored
- Original practice material
What do you call the frozen form of water?
Press record, answer out loud, then press again.
One free take on this device · no account · no card
Expected answer: ice.
Seconds long, and lost more often on clarity than on knowledge. Say the answer in one or two words and check that the sound came out clearly enough to be recognised.
What the machine listens for
- Content: right answer or wrong answer. This is the one speaking task scored all or nothing.
- Pronunciation and fluency: the word has to be clear enough to be recognised, said in one go.
Described in our own words from the published format. Pearson's scoring guides are copyrighted and are not reproduced here.
- Preparation
- None
- Recording
- About 10 seconds
What this page practises
These are seconds long, so what sayit adds is the pronunciation check on the one word that matters. Record your answer and the analysis shows whether that word came out clearly enough to be recognised — which is exactly how this task is lost when the answer was actually known. An estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.How to do Short Question well
Answer in one or two words
A sentence is not required and gives the recogniser more chances to mishear you. The single word is the answer.
Say it immediately
The recording window is short. A pause to consider the phrasing can cost you the whole item.
Guess rather than stay silent
Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer, so a plausible guess is strictly better than silence.
Say it clearly, once
Repeating the word twice does not help and can produce an unclear recording. One confident word is the target.
Common Short Question mistakes
Answering in a full sentence
It costs time and adds words that can be misrecognised.
Hesitating
The window closes. Even an uncertain answer should be said out loud.
Mumbling the key word
This task is all or nothing, so a word the recogniser cannot place scores the same as a wrong answer.
Overthinking simple questions
These are everyday general knowledge, not trick questions. The obvious answer is usually the intended one.
Straight answers
How hard are the questions?
Deliberately easy — everyday vocabulary and general knowledge, at the level of naming a season, a body part or a common object. The difficulty is speed and clarity, not knowledge.
Is a wrong answer penalised?
No marks are deducted, so always say something. Silence and a wrong answer score the same, and a guess might be right.
Should I answer with a full sentence?
No. One or two words is what the task asks for, and it gives the automated scoring the cleanest possible signal.
Hear the sounds an automated scorer hears
Record one item and read the per-sound breakdown — the endings and clusters a recogniser marks as a mismatch. Free, nothing blurred.