A health care professional aspiring to work abroad cannot do away with the OET exams, commonly called the Occupational English Test (OET). OET requires you to be equipped with the language skills and competence necessary to excel in a country where English is the primary language. Before you prepare, you should be well aware of the outline of this examination and scoring pattern.
In this blog, we will discuss the very basics to help you get started with OET preparation.
Test Pattern
This test is divided into four branches/sub-tests to make a comprehensive assessment of your communication skills. Unless you clear all the four tests you are not considered eligible to get an OET certificate. It includes four different aspects of the English language as follows:
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing
- Speaking
The first two sections are graded based on the number of right and wrong answers while the writing and speaking skills are tested by a trained expert in the field. Let’s figure out how you are supposed to give these four tests
Listening
The listening section can run up to a good long 40 minutes. It consists of three parts named A, B and C. An audio will be played for each part and paused in between for the candidates to note down their answers for 42 questions. The candidates are given no additional time to answer and are made to hear the audio-only once.
Each section consists of different audio clips commonly used in healthcare environments. You will be assessed based on your ability to grasp details, key information or the speaker’s purpose. Your responses will be marked with a set of marking guides. If conflicts arise in your responses your paper will be marked twice to ensure justice.
Reading
This is the longest of all sections in the OET with a duration of an hour. Like the listening test, here again, the time is divided among 3 parts with 42 questions.
Part A tests how well you are at skimming a text to locate specific information. Part B consists of 6 short texts and you will be assessed on your ability to identify the main idea. You will be given extracts from documents like hospital guidelines.
Whether you are good at finding an implied/ detailed meaning of a text is checked in the C part. A series of multiple-choice questions are given to record your answers.
Writing
This test is timed for 45 minutes. The task given is specific to the profession in the healthcare industry of the candidate. In most cases, you will be asked to write a letter suitable for different situations. It can be a letter of transfer, a letter of discharge or even a letter to communicate with a patient. Not only proficiency in English will earn you marks, but an assessment of the written text will also rely on the content, purpose and clarity of the material.
Speaking
The shortest section of 20 minutes is the speaking test. Here is where you are asked to role-play your profession. You are given a workplace situation and the interlocutor tries to have conversations that occur in those situations. Before they begin, you will be given some time to prepare your role-play.
Here assessors pay attention to your flair with the English language. You are marked based on the fluency, intelligibility and grammar. Above all, you score in your skill to convey information effectively.
Why OET?
OET is recognised as a valuable proof of English efficiency in the health sectors of countries like Dubai, UK, Singapore, Ireland, Spain Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine, and Namibia. The latest addition to the list is OET approval in the USA. These countries demand their foreign employees be well - versed in their communication in the use of their primary language, English.
To sum up, you need to work on brushing up all the aspects of communication in English to fly high and across continents to your dream job.
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