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 you on your writing, speaking, reading and listening skills. Here we shall discuss some OET listening tips that will help you to ace the listening test. Enjoy your read!

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.

OET listening test structure

Let’s discuss the structure of the OET listening test in detail:

The OET listening subtest has three parts and they are as follows –

Part A – Consultation Extracts

• 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

• 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

• 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.

The OET listening part of the OET exam needs proper preparation. With the right approach and practice plan, you can ace your listening skills. We can help you with your preparation. You can find the best OET listening materials with us. Get access to top-class OET listening tips, practice materials and mock tests that will boost your preparation process with OET coaching Institute in Delhi.

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 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 for 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.

At Mindmine Global, you can find relevant OET 2.0 listening materials that will help you ace the listening exam. You can also avail sample papers for OET listening relating to different healthcare professions. For instance, you can get access to the OET reading , listening 2.0 sample test for nurses, dentists, doctors, physiotherapists and many more.

OET listening sample

One of the best ways to prepare for the OET listening test is to work through OET listening  and OET Writing sample tests. Just watching English movies and English songs are not enough. You need proper preparation resources too. We have got your back. We can provide you with study material and tips that can help you grab good grades in your exam.

Let’s discuss some of the best ways to attempt your listening subtest of the OET exam. Stay with us!

OET listening part A

As explained earlier, in this part, you will be given two different extracts. Let’s take the first OET listening audio. Suppose, you are given an extract where you hear a nurse and a patient talking. Given below are some points that you need to keep in mind while attempting questions for this section:

1. In part A of the listening test, it is mostly the patient who is speaking. The health professional, generally, asks questions.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Listening Part A sample

Let’s say that the patient said something like:

“ Well nurse, I haven’t been feeling too well lately. And, in particular, I’m finding the evenings pretty dreadful. For about one week now, I’ve been experiencing faint evenings.”

Suppose your case note looks like this:

                       Felt(1) ________especially in the evening.

4. One point that you need to keep in mind is that the case note presented to you will differ from the way the patient/nurse says it.

5. You should also be conscious of how the conversation is progressing. In the exam paper, you will see some ‘signpost’ words. These are considered to be the sub-headings and are highlighted in bold like:

–  PATIENT/REASON FOR REFERRAL/BACKGROUND/OCCUPATION/TREATMENT HISTORY                and other such words.

The words mentioned above are some of the keywords that can guide you through the audio. These words are usually uttered by the health professional. Also, the health professional won’t use the exact language given in the case note. For example, instead of the word ‘occupation’, the word ‘work’ can be used.

OET listening part B

As we discussed earlier, part B of the listening test will contain 6 questions.

OET listening part B sample

Here is a sample question for you:

1. You hear a nurse briefing her co-worker about a patient. What does he warn his co-worker about?
   1. The patient is allergic to some kinds of medicines.
   2. Proper care must be taken to prevent the patient from fainting.
   3. Oxygen masks will be needed if the patient becomes breathless.

As you can notice, this question has several parts to it. The first part can be called the context statement. This means that you can hear that the nurse is briefing her co-worker about a patient. Therefore, you can get a clear idea that there are two speakers. Similarly, from the second part of the question, you can identify that at least one of the speakers is male.

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. Let’s see an example of a sample extract to comprehend it better:

Listening Part C sample

“John showed little enthusiasm for receiving treatment. Some co-workers in the clinic took the view that if he refused to help himself, there was little they could do. It was right, they said. But I did not agree. Since John could not use his legs or right arm, I made sure we concentrated on what he could do with his left hand.

For instance, I worked on strategies to help him dress. We worked on skills like making him write with his left hand. I wanted to ensure that I could at least get him to function by whatever means that were open to him.”

Now, suppose the question goes like this:

• Because John seemed uninterested in treatment, Hannah decided to concentrate on:
  -What he could achieve easily
  -Allow him to try and help himself
  -Making him come to terms with his injury issues

How to attempt the multi-choice question mentioned above?

1. When you consider the three answer options, you will notice that the first and second options are different from C. The first two options concentrate on what John can do while the third option focuses on his recovery process.
2. The keywords for the first and second options can be ‘easily’ and ‘himself’. So, if we simplify these options, they can be put like this:
   • Easy improvements
   • Motivation to act independently
   • Helping John to accept his injury issues.
   • If we take into account the audio, there is no mention of encouraging independence or working with John to accept his injuries. Here, the gist of the audio is to improve the range of activities that John can do by himself. Therefore, the second answer is correct.

How is the OET listening score marked?

• Assessors and computers mark OET listening subset. Part A is assessed by the exam assessors while part B and C are computers scanned.
• Part A is double-marked. This means that two OET assessors will check your answers. Both of them utilize a very detailed marking guide. It helps them to determine if you have provided the correct answer or not.
• Avoid including extra information in your answer. It may contradict with the correct part of your answer. Moreover, it will make your answer appear unclear to the assessors. You might not get marked for it. Part A does not mean paraphrasing what you hear. You have to complete the notes with the same words that you hear.
• Also, the assessors who check the answer are regularly monitored. This is to ensure whether they are assigning marks in a consistent and right manner or not.
• If you want to attain grade B in your listening exam, you need to get at least 30 answers correct out of a total of 42 items.

We can provide you with the whole package of OET listening samples. Practice as many questions you can. Connect with us to avail OET listening practice test with OET coaching center Delhi.

OET listening tips

Consistent hard work and regular practice can help you ace the listening sub test of the OET exam. Here are a few OET listening tips from our side that will help you get a better hold of the listening section of the OET exam. Keep reading!

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.

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.

Easy tricks to ace your OET listening practice

Want to enhance your listening skills for the OET listening paper? Nowadays, you can utilize the OET listening app to enhance your exam preparation. Don’t have access to listening app. Fret not.  We are here with some simple tips that can help you master the exam:

Try to comprehend the different arenas of medicine or healthcare

If you are a nurse or doctor or another kind of healthcare professional, you may be familiar with the medical topics you deal with. For instance, there are certain medical occupations that you should be familiar with. Some of them are cardiology, oncology, ophthalmologist and many more.

Also, try to get familiar with the structure of the exam

In order to attain a good grade in your OET listening test, you need to understand the format of the exam well. For example, you should know that you will have time to review your answers after each section. You should be aware of the rules and regulations related to all parts of the listening tests.

Moreover, try to read questions before hearing the OET listening audio

If you have attempted a sample test, you must be knowing that there is some time to read the questions. This way, you can make your predictions about what you are going to listen to.

Also, try to be familiar with common abbreviations

A lot of abbreviations are used in the healthcare arena like BP for blood pressure, A&E for accident and emergency departments. You should be aware of such abbreviations. When you know the abbreviations, it will help you avoid spelling mistakes.

Health podcasts and videos are beneficial for enhancing your skills

Listening to health podcasts is one of the best ways to improve your listening skills. You can subscribe to a variety of podcasts and can listen to them in your leisure time.

If you want to avail OET listening materials, you can get in touch with us. Get access to an OET listening sample that has different types of practice questions.

How to score well in the OET listening test?

• Try to enhance your listening skills outside the test contexts. You should not limit your listening practice to test preparation materials. Focus on broadening your ability to deal with new content and unfamiliar voices. You can listen to different programmes on the radio.
• You should know how to apply the right skill for each part of the listening sub test.

Tips on attending different sections of OET listening test

1. Let’s start with listening to part A. It is about garnering specific information, mostly from the patient. First, you can jot down the information exactly as you hear in the recording. Secondly, you don’t need to invest your time trying to figure out whether your grammar is perfect or not because assessors generally accept minor grammatical errors.
2. Next is listening to part B. Listening part B involves workplace communication. It is about comprehending the gist of the conversation between two healthcare co-workers or a professional and a patient. It can also be a communication between a healthcare professional and a group of co-workers. So, in this section, you should focus on selecting the option that points out the right gist.
3.  Lastly, in listening to part C, you need to understand whether the question includes a direct meaning or an inferred meaning. In direct questions, you need to express the speaker’s main idea. As inferred meaning questions are related to the speaker’s attitude, you need to identify the deeper meaning of what has been said.

Some more common tips: 

In this section, we are going to delve into some of the most common tips on acing the OET listening exam:

• Firstly, for all the parts of the listening test, you should know how to use the pauses that are included in the audio.
• Secondly, remember to read the question booklet carefully as it will help you identify what you need to listen carefully.
• Thirdly, try to focus on the overall meaning of the recording for multiple-choice questions.
• Most importantly, try to manage time effectively. In the exam, you will hear the recording only once. Therefore, you should try to write your answers as you listen.
• Finally, focus on completing the question booklet correctly. For part A, you can write your answers directly onto the lines provided for the extracts in the question booklet. The other two parts that are part B and C are computer-marked. So, follow the instructions provided on the front page of the question booklet.

Follow the above-mentioned OET listening tips and enhance your preparation process. We are with you at every step of your preparation. Get the best OET listening sample papers with us. Also, you can get access to the best OET listening materials. All you need to do is to keep practising the right way. Consequently, you’ll surely pass the exam with flying colours.

Good luck with your OET listening preparation!

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