OET TRAINING INSTITUTES IN KERALA

 

WHAT iS OET?

   The Occupational English Test (OET) is a special test developed to assess the language proficiency of healthcare professionals needing to work in an English speaking country. The OET exam scores are accepted by international healthcare councils in 15+ countries including Australia, the UK, the USA, New Zealand, and Ireland.

Some of the notable councils accepting OET scores are:

•  UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
•  the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
•  the Nursing and Midwifery Councils of New Zealand

The OET exam is also accepted by many top Australian universities, healthcare bodies, and the Australian Border and Immigration Protection.

OET Test Types

• OET Reading
• OET Writing
• OET Listening 
• OET Speaking

OET Reading

The OET Reading exam comprises three parts (OET Reading Part A, OET Reading Part  B, and OET Reading Part C) with 42 questions to answer. The time allocated to complete all parts of the reading exam is 60 minutes.

OET Writing

The OET writing test is customised and profession specific. For instance, the writing task will be based on a typical workspace situation and will vary from profession to profession. For instance, a nurse does the writing task based on her workplace situation and vice versa. The overall duration to complete the OET writing exam is 45 minutes.

OET Writing Exam structure

• The OET writing task involves writing a variety of letters. Some different letter formats in the writing task including, a letter of discharge, a letter of transfer, a letter to inform or advise a patient, or a group. 
• The writing task varies from profession to profession. For instance, radiography professionals are tasked to respond to a written complaint.

The standard process involves 2 independent trainers assessing the OET writing performance, and the performance is measured by a band score against the following 6 criteria:

• Purpose
• Content 
• Conciseness & Clarity 
• Genre & Style
• Organisation & Layout 
• Language

OET Listening

The OET Listening test comprises 3 parts with 42 questions to answer. All questions are derived from general healthcare topics. The total duration of the Listening test is about 40 minutes which includes, recorded speeches and pause to permit adequate time to complete writing the answers. 

OET Speaking

The OET speaking test uses customised materials for each profession (nurse, pharmacist, and veterinary). Here, candidates will take up the professional role, and the interlocutor plays the role of either a client, patient, or relative. For veterinary science professionals, the interlocutor might play the role of a pet owner.

OET Speaking Test structure

In the OET speaking test, a candidate’s profession is verified by the interlocutor, followed by a warm-up conversation about their professional experience. Post which, the interlocular explains the role of both and gives a 3-minute duration to prepare for the OET speaking test. The speaking test will be of typical workplace conversation that reflects the situations faced by healthcare professions every day. The entire discussion of this role-play happens for about five minutes.

How is the OET Speaking Score Calculated?

The following are the criteria for calculating the OET speaking scores:

• Intelligibility
• Fluency
• Appropriateness of Language
• Resources of Grammar and Expression
• Relationship-building
• Understanding and incorporating the patient’s perspective
• Providing structure
• Information-gathering
• Information-giving