Tips to improve OET Listening Test
January 27, 2023 2023-01-27 17:33Tips to improve OET Listening Test
Structure of OET Listening
- PART A: CONSULTATION EXTRACTS
- PART B: SHORT WORKPLACE EXTRACTS
- PART C: PRESENTATION EXTRACTS
OET 2.0 LISTENING
- OET LISTENING PART A
- OET LISTENING PART B
- OET LISTENING PART C Â Â
OET LISTENING TIPS
The OET exam assesses the English Language communication skills of healthcare professionals who wish to register and practice in an English-speaking environment. It tests your writing, speaking, reading, and listening skills. Here we shall discuss some OET listening tips that will help you to ace the listening test
Structure of OET Listening
The OET listening sub-test comprises three parts that consist of a total of 42 questions. The topics that are tested are of generic healthcare interest and can be comprehended by candidates across all professions. The length of the listening audio is 40 minutes. This duration includes the recorded speech and some pauses to write your answer. The OET listening subtest has three parts and they are as follows.
- Part A: Consultation Extracts
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• Part A deals with consultation extracts. This means that the OET listening part A will assess your ability to identify a piece of specific information during a consultation.
• In this part of the OET listening test, you will be provided with two different extracts. In each of the extracts, you will hear a health professional talking to a patient.
• The first extract will have a set of case notes with 12 gaps. Likewise, the second extract that you will hear will also have a set of case notes with 12 gaps.
• You will be required to complete the professional’s notes, utilizing the information you hear. - Part B: Short Workplace Extracts
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• The OET listening part B, you will be provided with a total of 6 extracts and six questions. You will be given 1 minute for every extract and the related question.
• The audio will have a speaker or two, discussing a workplace situation. Along with the short audio, you will be given a 3 option multi-choice question.
• Part B will assess your skill and ability to identify details, opinion, gist or the purpose of these short extracts.
• The extracts can be of any kind such as team briefings, handovers or health professional patient dialogues. - Part C: Presentation Extracts
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• The OET listening part C will gauge your ability to follow a recorded presentation or interview on healthcare topics.
• You will hear two extracts. Each of them will last for about 4-5 minutes. You will be able to hear the extracts once only.You will have to answer six 3-option multiple choice questions per audio extract. There will be two types of questions in part C. Some questions are direct and will
end with a question mark. Some questions will sentence completion type. You will
have to choose the correct option to complete the answer
OET 2.0 Listening
The OET listening exam pattern changed in September 2018. The main change that comes with OET 2.0 listening is the division of the test into three parts. Earlier, there were only two. All parts have sections that include a total of 10 recordings. But this does not mean that the time duration of the exam will be longer. In fact, it will be shorter with only 40 minutes allotted for the exam. The time has been reduced now. Basically, this change has been brought to make the exam pattern more specific for healthcare professionals.
- OET Listening Part A
As explained earlier, in this part, you will be given two different extracts.
• In part A of the listening test, it is mostly the patient who is speaking. The health professional, generally, asks questions.
• One more thing which you need to keep in mind is that the word or phrase that you will use to fill the gap can be one word, two words or a few or even numbers.
• Also, whatever word or phrase you write into the gap, it should be the same as mentioned in the audio. It should not be a synonym or it should not be translated into any other form.
Follow these OET reading tips and improve your chances of performing efficiently in this section of the OET reading exam. Regular practices of OET reading sample papers can help you improve your reading skills. - OET Listening Part B
As we discussed earlier, part B of the listening test will contain 6 questions. There are numerous types of questions in part B.
1. Detail identification questions – In some questions, you will have to identify details of the audio extract.
2. Opinion based questions – In this, you are asked to identify someone’s opinion about someone or something. For instance, how does the nurse feel about a particular new policy?
3. Straightforward Questions – Some types of questions are straightforward like why does A do B? The other types of questions are incomplete sentence-style questions. - OET Listening Part C
Part C of the OET listening subtest is considered to be the most challenging of all the listening parts. Two extracts last for about 4-5 minutes. These audios are generally an interview or a presentation by a healthcare professional.
OET Listening tips
Some common points to remember in the OET listening test
1. Inform the staff about audio problems
If by any chance, there is a problem with your OET listening audio, you should straightaway inform the staff. Never waste your time and try to do things on your own. Instead, you should inform the staff about your problem as soon as possible.
2. Focus on time management
Now, the listening part of the OET exam consists of different sections. You will be provided time to focus on the questions before the recording. This is when you can utilize your time in the best way. Concentrate on the questions that you are going to answer.
3. Learn the knack of attentive listening
The main key to success in the OET listening test is mastering the art of listening with concentration. Listen to every detail properly. Try to give your heart and mind to the audios. Always focus on the keywords you have got in the questions. Focus on synonyms, antonyms and other phrases.Â
4. Don’t get stuck on tricky questions
If you do not know the answer to any particular question, kindly leave it
and move to the next one. You should not waste your time. Before submission, you can come back to that tricky question again and make an attempt to answer it.
5. Don’t exceed the given word limit
Also, there are some questions that require you to answer the questions in a limited number of words. Try to make sure that you do not exceed the word limit for such kinds of questions.
The OET listening part of the OET exam needs proper preparation. With the right approach and practice plan, you can ace your listening skills.
