OET Speaking Tips: How to score an A in OET Speaking!
After sharing our tips on OET Writing, we now have some OET Speaking tips. If you want to get an A (or B) on the OET speaking sub-test then you need to know what the examiners are listening to when you speak. Your OET results will depend on how well you include the following criteria into the way you speak.
OET Speaking Tips 1 – Start the conversation
A lot of candidates make the mistake of thinking that the OET speaking sub-test is an examination and not a medical situation. As such they wait for the OET person (the patient) to do the talking. Imagine that you are in a professional setting and you are the nurse, doctor or dentist. You are in control. The OET person is the patient – not the OET person.
As such, it’s up to you to start the conversation.
Here’s an OET sample for nurses:
“Hello, my name is Jane and I’m the community nurse. Can I start with your name?”
Don’t sit there and make the patient start the conversation. It’s up to you.
OET Speaking Tips 2 – Keep the conversation moving
It’s also up to you to maintain the conversation. If the conversation stops and silence happens you need to bring it back to life.
Here’s a sample:
“So, please tell me a little bit more about your situation.”
Or,
“Is there anything that you would like to add?”
OET Speaking Tips 3 – Ask questions to get the patient to talk
If the patient is reluctant to speak, you will need to ask questions that force him to speak.
Consider the following two questions. Which one will get the conversation moving?
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- Do you feel sore?
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- Can you describe the pain to me?
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Question A would give you a Yes or a NO answer.
You need to think of questions that will get the patient to talk – to open up and tell you more.
OET Speaking Tips 4 – Listen to the patient
Although the OET speaking sub-test is a test of your speaking ability, it is as much a test of your listening ability. In order to “reply” you need to understand what the patient says.
Perhaps more importantly, you need to “listen” in terms of hearing what the person has to say. Don’t just concentrate on your performance, concentrate on communication. You need to respond appropriately to what the patient says – even if you are nervous.
What’s interesting is that the more that you concentrate on communication through listening, the less nervous you will be. When you focus on yourself – on your performance – the more nervous you will get.
OET Speaking Tips 5 – Adjust your language
Depending on who you are speaking to, you need to adjust your language to suit the scenario.
Think about this:
You are talking to a depressed 87-year-old man.
You are talking to an aggressive 18-year-old man.
How would your language change? How would the words and intonation change?
OET Speaking Tips 6 – Unexpected turns…
Every now and then the OET person will test you by asking you something a little odd. He or she wants to see how well you respond – how flexible you are in your thinking and language.
For example, “What’s the phone number of the occupational therapist?”
What do you do? Do you laugh? No. You give a phone number, or you say:
“I will give you the number after our consultation.”
OET Speaking Tips 7 – Organise the role play
If you really want an A you will have to organise the role play into clear stages with an introduction, body and conclusion.
In the introduction, you introduce yourself, welcome the patient and summarise the scenario.
In the body, you move through the tasks, one-by-one.
In the conclusion, if you have time, you should summarize the role play by saying:
“Ok, so we have discussed the use of X and although I understand your concerns, I think it’s the best thing to do.”
The key to OET speaking
Although you can read ABOUT the OET all day long, when it comes to success it’s all about OET preparation. You need to prepare for the OET. You do need to be careful of the OET material for nurses that is available online and for sale on Gumtree and other classifieds. Sometimes it can be very different from the actual OET. You need to make sure that the OET materials that you use are similar to the actual OET test. At E2Language, we use OET materials that are identical to the actual OET so you can be sure that your OET preparation is effective.
An OET preparation course is a good idea, but again, you need to choose carefully. Many teachers don’t really understand the OET. While they may be able to give you an OET sample test for nurses, do they really know how to teach it? A good OET teacher is very rare because it is an uncommon test.
If you want to get optimal results then check out our OET preparation course at www.e2language.com because we are OET experts. We are the OET’s only authorised partner. We specialise in getting OET candidates the OET results that they need and we do it FAST.
Written by Jay Merlo
Dinusha Chandi says:
Very good
Femina says:
Excellent
Ottilia Mushure says:
Excellent
Yoyo says:
Fantastic!Very useful information!
Abhiram says:
Hello Yoyo,
Thank you very much for your kind words 🙂
We hope that you are having a delightful experience with E2Language.
Best,
AC
grace says:
hi.
I read sumwhere in your scoring system that … you need 33.3% in PArt A n 66.6% in Part B of reading… can it be the otherway round? Also for listening.. is it OK if i get 65% all together or its a must to get 50 n 50 in both parts? Can you plz clear this doubt?
thank u
Abhiram says:
Hello Grace,
This can only be answered by OET themselves. Please feel free to reach out to their support team with this.
Best,
AC
ElnoorElfakey says:
Pleause lm same question apart from part A reading subtest 33.3%or other
Supreet says:
My oet yest is on 4th of november. Would you please give me some tips
Abhiram says:
Hello Supreet,
We would be happy to assist you here.
Please email your questions to [email protected] so that the Duty Tutor can guide you accordingly.
Best,
AC
Manpreet says:
Great information given.. but sir could you tell where from i can get the oet material for practice myself?
Abhiram says:
Hello Manpreet,
We would be happy to assist you here.
We are working on additional materials for the OET and would be happy to understand the specific areas that you wish to obtain additional material. Please let us know the specific sections that you are looking to have additional practice material by sending an email to [email protected].
Best,
AC
Geethu says:
My OET exam wil b on ths jan… Would you plz help me to score B grade in speaking
Abhiram says:
Hello Geethu,
We look forward to helping you pass your OET test and help with the Speaking section. To help you choose the package that’s right for you, please send us your recent test results, the scores you wish to achieve and your next test date, if you have already booked one, to [email protected] so that the Duty Tutor can recommend the next steps.
Best,
AC
Christee says:
If we greeted the patient and started the task without introducing ourself will it reduce my score for B grade
Drlubna says:
Hi,
I have been searching for online courses for oet medicine I mean for doctors and I am not able to find any course especially for doctors .can u please guide me how to enroll for the course.
Thank you
abhi says:
Hello Dr. Lubna,
Please reach out to our Duty Tutor regarding this. They would be happy to assist you further.
You can reach them here.
Best,
AC
Ruqiya says:
How do i get oet materials?? Can u please help me with coaching of writing and speaking??? Please reply
olivia says:
Sure! Become a paid member with us and you can get 1-on-1 teacher tutorials, feedback on assessments and practice questions! See our packages here: https://www.e2language.com/Home/OET
Meera sajeash says:
Hi, I am Meera, would like to do nursing OET in January,and,also like to get material s from . what can I do.please help me out.
Preeti Clement says:
Resources from E2 for my OET preparation are extremely beneficial. I would like to access for more practice materials. Kindly guide me as I am preparing for exam on 2nd of February. Thank you.
olivia says:
We hope you did well on your exam! If you need some more help after receiving your results feel free to sign up to one of our paid packages for more materials! https://help.e2language.com/support/solutions/articles/28000011304-how-do-i-sign-up-for-a-package-
WISHING YOU THE BEST!
Lisseth says:
This resources are extremely useful/
Jo Hayridge says:
Most useful. Thank you.
ye says:
hello
A.R says:
Good
rohit aggarwal says:
thanks for the information
Bindu says:
Hi Sir,
How can I get the oet materials for the self study and could you teach me some tips to get the score B.
Thank you
Bindu.
olivia says:
Sure! We have lots of OET resources for those who would like to self study! If you are interested in signing up as a student go ahead and check out: https://help.e2language.com/support/solutions/articles/28000011304-how-do-i-sign-up-for-a-package-
If you have trouble please reach out directly to our E2 Duty Tutors: https://help.e2language.com/support/tickets/new
Cheers!
Mel says:
I would like to receive this but not sure which form you are referring to.
Fill out the form below to receive a list of simplified medical vocabulary you can use on the OET!
olivia says:
Here’s one way to access a FREE E2 OET Simplified Medical Terms Vocabulary List: https://help.e2language.com/support/solutions/articles/28000014149-oet-simplified-medical-vocabulary-list
That’s our student help desk portal!
Olivia & The E2 Team
Nawar Alasaad says:
I need speaking and writing materials.
E2Language Team says:
Hello Nawar, for speaking and writing material, you can sign up for one of our OET packages here: https://www.e2language.com/Course/OET/NursesAndDoctors. If you have any questions about our packages, please email us at: [email protected].
All the best,
Maree from your E2 team
arman says:
Dear E2
how can get this form ?
Fill out the form below to receive a list of simplified medical vocabulary you can use on the OET!
E2Language Team says:
Hello Arman, you can find the medical vocabulary list here: https://support.e2language.com/support/solutions/articles/28000014149-oet-simplified-medical-vocabulary-list.
Best wishes,
Maree from your E2 team
Gloria Ifeoma says:
Hi Jay,
I must commend you for the great job you’re doing. You made OET look so easy to pass.I am certainly hopeful that I’ll pass with your helpful tips and courses.Thanks.
E2Language Team says:
Hi Gloria,
Thanks for your comment! Best of luck in your exam!
Seena jacob says:
I have exam on next month.cal I get some tips about all module
E2Language Team says:
Hi Seena, we offer preparation packages with skill-building exercises for all four modules! You can view our packages here: http://www.e2language.com. If you have any questions, please send us an email at [email protected].
All the best,
Maree from your E2 team