Occupational English Test – Speaking Task

                                      

OET is an international English language test that assesses the language communication skills of healthcare professionals who seek to register and practice in an English-speaking environment.

About the Speaking sub-test

The Speaking sub-test is delivered individually and takes around 20 minutes. This part of OET uses materials specifically designed for your profession. In each role-play, you take your professional role (for example, as a nurse or as a pharmacist) while the interlocutor plays a patient, a client, or a patient’s relative or career. For veterinary science, the interlocutor is the owner or career of the animal.

The Speaking sub-test structure

In each Speaking test, your identity and profession are checked by the interlocutor and there is a short warm-up conversation about your professional background. Then the role-plays are introduced one by one and you have three minutes to prepare for each. The role-plays take about five minutes each.

Role-plays

You receive information for each role-play on a card that you keep while you do the role-play. The card explains the situation and what you are required to do. You may write notes on the card if you want. If you have any questions about the content of the role-play or how a role-play works, you can ask them during the preparation time.

The role-plays are based on typical workplace situations and reflect the demands made on a health professional in those situations. The interlocutor follows a script so that the Speaking test structure is similar for each candidate. The interlocutor also has detailed information to use in each role-play. Different role-plays are used for different candidates at the same test administration.

How is speaking assessed in OET?

       The whole Speaking test is recorded and it is this audio recording that is assessed.

·        The Speaking sub-test is marked independently by a minimum of two trained OET Assessors. Neither Assessor knows what scores the other has given you, or what scores you have achieved on any of the other sub-tests. Your test day interlocutor plays no role in the assessment of your performance.

·        OET Assessors’ judgments are targeted and specific, not a general evaluation of candidates’ ability in spoken English.

·        OET Assessors are trained to focus on how a candidate responds to the particular task on the day. They apply specific assessment criteria that reflect the demands of communication in the health professional workplace. Remember that OET is a test of English-language skills, not a test of professional knowledge.

·        Candidates who are familiar with the assessment criteria and pay attention to the details of the specific role-play task have a better chance of demonstrating their ability in the key areas. Candidates who use memorized material or merely rely on techniques that worked in other circumstances tend not to perform to their full potential in the test.

Your performance on each of the two role-plays is scored against nine criteria and receives a band score for each criterion:

·        Intelligibility (including pronunciation, intonation, stress, rhythm, and accent)

·        Fluency (including rate and flow of speech)

·        Appropriateness of Language (including use of language, register, and tone that are suitable for the situation and the patient)

·        Resources of Grammar and Expression (including range and accuracy of language, ability to paraphrase when required, and capacity to maintain cohesion in longer utterances)

·        Relationship-building (including initiating the interaction appropriately, demonstrating an attentive and respectful attitude, adopting a non-judgmental approach, and showing empathy for the patient’s predicament)