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The Writing Subtest for the OET - how to prepare

6/9/2014

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I have started making some YouTube clips which look at the marking criteria for the writing subtest of the OET. Whilst the writing subtest is profession-specific, it is marked in the same way for all 12 professions.


The current video deals with the first of the 5 marking criteria. Task Fulfilment.


When you first turn over your writing test you have a few minutes reading time. Unfortunately, you can't make notes at this stage so your plan needs to be 'in your head'. The first question is:
Who am I writing to?  - look at the end of the case notes in the writing task for this information.
Why am I writing to this person? - In other words, what type of letter are you writing?
  • referral to another healthcare professional for advice / further treatment?
  • transfer back to a Nursing Home - advising of treatment so far and requesting continuance of treatment
  • a report of advice/ assessment / treatment after being requested to provide the advice
  • informational letter to parents /caregivers about a health issue e.g. at school
  • letter to parent /caregiver about treatment / medication / follow-up after discharge 


If you take a look at the sample letters on the official site you can see examples of the types of letters I've outlined above. Notice how the letter is set out and the language which has been used. If the letter is to a colleague, for example, it is appropriate to use more technical language and some abbreviations (don't overdo it!). If the letter is to a parent or caregiver, you would use everyday health terms.

The first criterion (Task Fulfilment) also includes word count. You are expected to write a letter of between 180 and 200 words. Again, look at some of the sample letters. Get a picture of what 200 words looks like. It's not a long letter,right? Do a test run of your own handwriting on an A4 sheet of lined paper. Write 3 paragraphs of anything - you could copy one of the sample letters if you like. What does the page look like? This should be your guide. The letter you write in the real test should take up the same length as your sample. 

Remember that you can go over the page and use a second page if needed. If you make a mistake,cross it out neatly and write next to it or above if possible. 

A note on handwriting. If you have untidy handwriting or if your handwriting is very large, try to practise before the test. These days we mostly type rather than write by hand so many of us (myself included) have handwriting which is not as clear as it might be. Practise writing 200 words in 30 minutes by timing yourself. This will ensure that you have enough time to plan the letter well before writing and check it after writing it.




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When will I be ready for the OET?

6/9/2014

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'How do I get an A in the OET Listening section?'

27/7/2014

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I was recently asked this and, as it is a common question, I thought I'd answer it here in the blog!
Firstly, the bad news. I was asked how many questions would need to be correctly answered to get an 'A'. There is no simple OET marking template meaning that there is no simple answer to this. The easiest way to explain how your mark is obtained is to direct you to two articles.
1. This is the first (long) article which explains the marking technique:  
Decision Making in Marking Open-Ended Listening Test Items: The 
Case of the OET

2. The second one is a file from OET explaining the test. Bear in mind that the article is from 2009, however, it is still valid. Important points are below:

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Finally, my advice to all candidates is to remember that the OET is a test of how well you communicate in English, not how well you can memorise information. Try to work on your communication skills and ability across the 4 areas. Try to prepare for the test over a few months at least so you can practise listening (and the other skills) as often as possible. In fact, every day...even for only 10 minutes. A 'little and often' will consolidate your skills better than a lot a week before the test.
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More sample dialogues for the Occupational English Test,please.

16/4/2014

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  I continue to be asked for more YouTube videos showing sample dialogues for the role plays in the OET speaking subtest. Thank you all for your interest. Some of you also ask for the transcripts but actually, without an explanation about the language used in the dialogue, transcripts are of limited value. For this reason I decided to self publish some books with hints for the OET for nurses. I have just finished a book for the speaking subtest ( see picture to the left). It is available on the self publishing site LULU which is a site similar to AMazon ion the way you order books.


The reason I decided to write the book was to highlight important information about communication and the language functions you will use to communicate effectively. Some people are a little confused when I say 'language function' so I'll just quickly explain here:

Grammar - these are the correct verb tenses, noun forms and adjective order rules which are the building blocks of the language. For example, the Present Perfect, uncountable nouns etc.

Language functions (also called Functional Language) - this is what you do with the grammar you have learned. So, 'asking about the duration of an event' uses the Present Perfect tense (How long have you had the pain in your side?).


To communicate well, it's important to understand which functions to use in a given situation. This is more important than correct grammar. For example, if you say 'Can you explain me about the accident?', I will understand what you mean, even though 'explain me' is incorrect grammar. It should be Can you explain TO me....



The role play samples which I write and put on YouTube show you examples of some of the language functions you might use in similar situations. Remember that you should develop your own style, not just copy mine! I give you one or two examples under each function heading - you need to go away and think about the sorts of role plays you might have to do and think of the language you will use in them.


This is why I advise my students to write down some mini-dialogues covering particular functions. Think of how you will advise a patient about caring for a simple dressing at home. Try to have no more than 3 points you might tell the patient.
For example, 1. keep clean and dry  2. change every 2 days    3. tell your GP if you notice any discharge.

You might think of 3 different points ( cover dressing with a plastic before you have a shower, have a shower not a bath, have the stitches taken out after a week to ten days). It really doesn't matter what your points are. It's more important to think about the language you will use to advise - It's a good idea to.... You should....It's best to....Make sure that you..... Try not to.....



When you look at the videos on YouTube, try to identify the language I have used in them and think about the reasons I used those particular functions. Feel free to use them as a guide for your own dialogues but make sure your dialogues reflect your communication style, not mine!


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New book 'Occupational English Test for Nurses Hints' 

23/3/2014

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     I have collected hints for the OET for nurses which I hope will help in doing the test. It can be purchased on Lulu.

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Use the NHS Map of Medicine

13/3/2014

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I am often asked the question 'What if I don't know anything about the disease or condition during the OET?' It may be during the role play when you are thinking about how to explain the treatment for a condition or just explaining the condition to a patient. The NHS Choices website is a great resource to help with this. The picture above from the NHS Choices link relates to Jaundice in Newborns, however, there are several other examples which you can practise with. You will also find glossaries of the terms used in the MOM in the pages following the map.

Whilst the MOM will be of most use to candidates doing the OET for doctors and nurses, they will be of use to other groups - pharmacists, physios, radiographers and podiatrists, for example.





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OET prepare to listen!

5/3/2014

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I continue to receive emails from prospective candidates asking how they can best prepare for the OET. Lately, there has been a run on questions about the Listening test. Most of my students feel that the speed of the Listening test is faster and consequently the dialogue (Part A) is more difficult to understand.

I have checked on this point and the bad news is that the speed has not changed. The difficulty is that Part A is an example of authentic speaking. This means that you are 'in the room' with the practitioner and the patient, listening to a real conversation. As with any real conversation, there are times that the speaker will talk a bit faster or slower. They may vary the pitch of their speech - perhaps speaking a bit softer if they are unsure of what they are saying.

So, how do you prepare for this part of the Listening? You need to listen to as many authentic conversations as possible, trying to listen for the structure of the text. When does the speaker pause? (is it to draw attention to a key point?). Does the speaker's voice go up at the end of the sentence? Remember that if you are listening to Australians speaking, their voices often go up at the end of a sentence. This is more common in female speech. Sometimes it may appear that they are asking a question or sounding unsure but this may not be the case. You need to listen to everything in and around the sentence to be sure.

Talk-back radio is a good opportunity to hear real conversations. They give you the opportunity to develop awareness of how people speak especially how they speak to strangers. Listen and take notes. Identify the words which go together as common phrases. As you become familiar with these phrases, your brain will start 'filling in the missing words'. What I mean is that as you train your brain to listen for key words; the surrounding less important words of the phrase will be filled in for you.

Listening skills are similar to reading skills in that you need to train yourself to pick out /listen for key terms only.

Try to prepare for all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) together. I develop packs around a single health topic for this reason. By reading about a topic e.g. skin cancer, you start to build a vocabulary of terms relating to the topic. Then,as you listen to a podcast about skin cancer, for instance,you will recognise the key terms because you have already seen them in print. This is very important as many words when spoken do not resemble the word when it  is written. 

So, read the word, look up its meaning and check the pronunciation (use any online dictionary which has audio clips for pronunciation). As you hear the word, it is now familiar. A good example of this is the word 'phlegm'. Unless you had read the word and checked the pronunciation, you would have no idea what was being spoken about!

You should also add any phrases which go with your key term. For example, 'cough up' is often heard with 'phlegm'. Carry a small notebook with you and write down phrases or compound words which belong together. This is another way of training your brain to hear only the key terms. Remember that your brain will eventually start to fill in the gaps by itself.





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OET Reading strategies

26/1/2014

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The OET Reading test Part A is a test of several things:
1. Can you skim a text for important information (key terms) without reading the whole text?

2. Can you scan the text for only the information you need to answer a question?
3. Can you use different forms of a word? E.g. A word in the text is given as a verb but you have to use the noun form in the answer.
4. Can you understand statistics and use words to describe what the numbers say?

I have made three YouTube clips which give some advice on answering Part A. I have gone through each question on the Answer Booklet to explain the type of question and reason for the answer. The transcript of the videos is available as a single pdf on this website.
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The OET is shaping up well

19/1/2014

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      The OET is undergoing an overhaul so that it becomes not only a test you have to do to be able to work in a healthcare area but also a good indication of how you will function when you start working in your new job. This is because the OET is specific to your medical area and concentrates on testing your ability to communicate effectively. And, safely. 


Lately, I have had some interesting conversations with candidates who have had a different experience of nursing from my own. The kinds of conversations they have with patients are sometimes quite different from the conversations they will have when they work in Australia, New Zealand, the UK etc. Sometimes, they do not have any experience of communication strategies like persuading a patient to accept a treatment or reassuring a patient. This is part of a wider style of communicating and includes what we refer to as 'intercultural communication'. 


The speaking section of the test often confuses some candidates and so, rather than answer the individual emails I receive, I decided to make a short YouTube video dealing with some of the issues of the role play. You can find the YouTube video along with a transcript of the video on this website.


The most important feature of the OET is the concentration on assessing the language competence of each candidate. Whilst it may be disappointing for a candidate to receive a mark below the essential B grade, it's important to remember that this may indicate that the candidate cannot communicate effectively enough to be a safe practitioner. The healthcare area, be it physiotherapy, podiatry,dentistry, nursing or medicine is all about safe practice. Unlike other ESP areas, communication in healthcare must be safe and accurate. This is where the OET has the potential to be not just an entrance exam but a test of ongoing ability. The need to read medical information is always there - at the workplace, in research, during continuing professional development. The need to be able to communicate in a variety of situations is ongoing - giving bad news, dealing with aggressive patients, managing difficult situations etc. These communication skills are developed with experience but can be practised using the kinds of role plays found in the OET.


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New YouTube video - OET Speaking: the structure of the role play.

6/1/2014

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I have just recorded a short youtube video which deals with the structure of the role play. As with the role play, it is important to develop your own structures for writing referral letters and later for writing patient notes.
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    I am a medical English author of books and online courses. I have a particular interest in  OET preparation and am an OET premium preparation provider with my colleagues at Specialist Language Courses. I am based in the UK.

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