About This Course

Occupational English Test (OET) is an English Language Test that evaluates the language and communication skills of healthcare professionals who seek employment in an English-speaking environment. Our course provides incumbents, mostly healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses, to clear this test if they wish to apply for work in other countries. OET provides a valid and reliable assessment of all four language skills – listening, reading, writing, and speaking – with an emphasis on communication in healthcare settings. OET is comparatively easier for most healthcare professionals such as nurses, than other general English test like IELTS.

Listening sub-test:

The Listening sub-test consists of three parts, and a total of 42 question items. The topics are of generic healthcare interest and accessible to candidates across all professions. The total length of the Listening audio is about 40 minutes, including recorded speech and pauses to allow you time to write your answers. You will hear each recording once and are expected to write your answers while listening.

Listening sub-test structure:

Part A – consultation extracts (about 5 minutes each);

Part A assesses your ability to identify specific information during a consultation. You will listen to two recorded health professional-patient consultations, and you will complete the health professional’s notes using the information you hear.

Part B – short workplace extracts (about 1 minute each);

Part B assesses your ability to identify the detail, gist, opinion, or purpose of short extracts from the healthcare workplace. You will listen to six recorded extracts (e.g., team briefings, handovers, or health professional-patient dialogues) and you will answer one multiple-choice question for each extract.

Part C – presentation extracts (about 5 minutes each);

Part C assesses your ability to follow a recorded presentation or interview on a range of accessible healthcare topics. You will listen to two different extracts, and you will answer six multiple-choice questions for each extract.

Reading sub-test:

The Reading sub-test consists of three parts and a total of 42 question items. All three parts take a total of 60 minutes to complete. The topics are of generic healthcare interest and are therefore accessible to candidates across all professions.

The Reading sub-test structure:

Part A – expeditious reading task (15 minutes);

Part A assesses your ability to locate specific information from four short texts in a quick and efficient manner. The four short texts relate to a single healthcare topic, and you must answer 20 questions in the allocated time period. The 20 questions consist of matching, sentence completion, and short answer questions.

Part B and Part C – careful reading tasks (45 minutes);

Part B assesses your ability to identify the detail, gist, or main point of six short texts sourced from the healthcare workplace (100-150 words each). The texts might consist of extracts from policy documents, hospital guidelines, manuals, or internal communications, such as emails or memos. For each text, there is one three-option multiple-choice question.

Part C assesses your ability to identify detailed meaning and opinion in two texts on topics of interest to healthcare professionals (800 words each). For each text, you must answer eight four-option multiple-choice questions.

Speaking sub-test:

The Speaking sub-test is delivered individually and takes around 20 minutes. This part of OET uses materials specifically designed for your profession. In each role-play, you take your professional role (for example, as a nurse or as a pharmacist) while the interlocutor plays a patient, a client, or a patient’s relative or carer. In veterinary science, the interlocutor is the owner or carer of the animal.

The Speaking sub-test structure:

In each Speaking test, your identity and profession are checked by the interlocutor and there is a short warm-up conversation about your professional background. Then the role-plays are introduced one by one, and you have three minutes to prepare for each. The role-plays take about five minutes each.

Role-plays:

You receive information for each role-play on a card that you keep while you do the role-play. The card explains the situation and what you are required to do. You may write notes on the card if you want. If you have any questions about the content of the role-play or how a role-play works, you can ask them during the preparation time.

The role-plays are based on typical workplace situations and reflect the demands made on a health professional in those situations. The interlocutor follows a script so that the Speaking test structure is similar for each candidate. The interlocutor also has detailed information to use in each role-play. Different role-plays are used for different candidates at the same test administration.

Writing sub-test:

The Writing sub-test takes 45 minutes and is profession-specific. There is one task set for each profession based on a typical workplace situation and the demands of the profession – a nurse does the task for nursing, a dentist does the task for dentistry, and so on.

The Writing sub-test structure:

The task is to write a letter, usually a referral letter. Sometimes a different type of letter is required: e.g., a letter of transfer or discharge, or a letter to advise or inform a patient, carer, or group. Along with the task instructions, you will receive stimulus material (case notes and/or other related documentation) which includes information to use in your response.