An issue that can sometimes be confusing in Reading A is deciding which tense to use when the answers are verbs. This is important, because as grammar is marked even if your verb choice is correct, using the wrong tense will mean you get zero marks for that question. As a general rule, the tense of your answer should be the same as the tense of the verbs around it – if these are present tense, use present tense, and so on. Let’s look at an example:

Text: “Of the injuries requiring operation, 29.8% were to the elbow”

Question: “Of the injuries recorded, more than half were sprains and strains, and elbow injuries accounted for 29.8% of those that …(question)…

Of course, the words in the text that we want are “requiring surgery”, but grammatically this does not fit into the question. We need to change the form of the word “requiring”. Note that the other verbs in this question, “recorded”, “were”, and “accounted” are all past tense. This means that our verb form of “require” should also be past tense. The answer is therefore “required operation“. This is just one quick example of how to use this trick when needing to decide on tense choice.

The listening component of the Occupational English Test can be difficult for some students. This can be due to the difficulty of the topic, the speed of the speakers or the fact that they miss some answers. Here are some tips to help you improve your listening skills.
1. Practice as much as you can!
This seems obvious but it is best tip I can offer. The more you listen, the better you will get at comprehending what is being said, the better you will get at note-taking and the better you get will at answering the questions quickly.

2. Use the preparation time wisely
You have 1 minute before Part A of the listening audio and then another 1 minute preparation time before Part B. This time should be used to look through the paper, underline key words (more on this later) and try to predict what is coming in the conversation.

3. Identify key words
Use the preparation time to underline or highlight specific words in the questions which you will listen out for. This allows you to predict what the speaker will say. Please note that they won’t necessarily use the same words as what is written in the question – they may use synonyms or the question has paraphrased the speaker’s sentence. This makes it all the more worthwhile to identify the key words PRIOR to the audio beginning.

4. Use the pauses BETWEEN questions.
This time is there for you to complete the previous question and read the next question. Again, you should start to predict what you are likely to hear, even before the recording continues.

More often that not, the roleplayer will ask you to begin the conversation during the speaking exam of the OET. Therefore, it is vital you know how to introduce the situation confidently and – more importantly – appropriately. This will leave the markers with a good first impression from the very beginning.
The key to the introduction is: consider the SETTING of the conversation. I will give examples of appropriate introductions in the various settings.
Community Health Centre / Community Clinic
In this setting, you may assume you have not met the patient before. Therefore, you could introduce yourself and your role:
“Hi, my name is _____ and I am the community nurse here today…”
Then you can ask one of the following:
“What can I do for you today? / “How can I help you?” / “What brings you here today?” / “What seems to be the problem today?”
Hospital Ward / Emergency Department
In this setting, you may know the patient and some details. For example:
“Hi, I’ll be the nurse looking after you. I can see from your notes that _____.”
You could then also ask:
“How are you feeling?” / “What can I do for you?” / “How are you going?”
Home Visit
In this setting, you have arrived with a CLEAR role and purpose. This should be presented in your introduction:
“Hi, my name is _____ and I am the nurse from the local hospital. Today I’m here to discuss/talk about/show you how to….”
These are examples of the three settings you will get – make sure you practice all of these https://disabilityarts.online/levitra-20mg/ during your preparation for the OET speaking test!

Many candidates have difficulty finding the time to sit down and spend several hours studying for the OET exam. Fortunately, employing a consistent approach that involves shorter periods of study on a regular basis can be just as useful.

 

For the listening part of the test, one such approach involves taking advantage of the ABC’s 1-minute podcasts. Follow the steps below, at least twice a week, and you should find that you can improve your listening and note-taking skills significantly.

 

1. Listen to the audio of a 1-minute podcast on a health topic from http://www.abc.net.au/health/minutes/ while reading the transcript.
2. Replay the video, this time writing down the main points in note form (as you would in the exam).
3. Use the transcript to check the accuracy of your notes.
4. If you wrote down anything incorrectly, revise the vocabulary used to communicate that point in the video (look up the definition of each word, and write down the words and their definitions in your personal vocabulary list).
5. Repeat!

 

This short exercise will allow you to improve your performance in the listening test by:

• Practicing accurate note-taking,
• Practicing listening for key words and main points,
• Learning new vocabulary as you study, and
• Building up your experience in listening to spoken English on a variety of cialico.com health topics.

 

Good luck!

 

Anna Brzeska, OET Teacher

In this blog, I will outline some of the general questions that students have asked me regarding the OET as it’s very likely that you will have the same questions.

How should I practice speaking at home?

Practice is key to improving and preparing yourself for the OET. For all the components, I strongly encourage you to practice within the time limits. For speaking in particular, you should be practicing with another person and, if possible, record the conversation so you can listen back to it.

What if I don’t know anything about the topic in the test?

This may happen and it’s important that you do not freak out! Remember the OET is designed as a English test and not a medical knowledge test – this means that, if the you don’t know the topic, just analyse and comprehend the information given to you and you should still be able to complete the task.

Should I use pen or pencil in the exam?

For MOST of the components, it actually doesn’t matter if you use pen or pencil! My best advice is to use whichever writing utensil you feel most COMFORTABLE writing in because you will be using it a LOT on the exam day. However, for reading part B, you will need a pencil to fill in the multiple choice answer sheet.

These are all very common concerns for the OET student – you’re not alone!

I often get asked by students how they can improve their reading. I hope these following tips will give you a better grasp of mastering OET reading.

1. IDENTIFY KEY WORDS

This particularly applies to Part A of the reading. When the clock starts, begin by glancing over the texts and their headings for key words that highlight their content. Seek out words that identify the SETTING, the KEY TOPIC or the TIME of the text.

2. READ OFTEN AND READ WIDELY

Apart from completing the practice tests, it is important you get used to medical writing styles. So I strongly encourage students to seek out medical writing from online resources and read them often. This will expose you to the type of language and writing structure that will come up in the exam.

3. JUST MOVE ON

The reading is completed under time pressure and this is often the key thing that stumps students. If you get stuck, don’t be afraid to move on! You can always come back to the question with a clearer head after you’ve completed the rest of the task.

4. PRACTICE AND TIME YOURSELF

Timing is key in OET reading so make sure you are putting that pressure on yourself and getting used to the time limits! And, as always, PRACTICE.

All the best for your preparation.

Many students trip up in the OET writing for the same reasons – all of which can be easily avoided if you follow the following easy, quick tips.

1. READ THE WRITING TASK

This seems obvious, but it’s remarkable how many students glaze over the task. Make sure you read it CAREFULLY and identify WHO you are writing to, WHAT is the purpose for writing and their ROLE in the patient’s care. Do not assume you are writing to a community nurse, as this is where students commonly make the mistake.

2. IDENTIFY THE KEY ISSUES

Read through the notes carefully and identify what are the most important issues in the case. This ensures you pick up the most relevant information to include in your letter, rather than blindly writing everything from the notes.

3. MONITOR YOUR WORD COUNT

The word count of the task is 180-200 words. This is one of the key marking criteria so I strongly encourage all students to leave at least 1 minute at the end of the task to quickly count their words and ensure they are within the limit. Aiming to stay within the word count also encourages you to choose your relevant information carefully, as discussed in tip #2 above.

4. PRACTICE!!

This doesn’t need to be said but I will say it anyway. Practicing will not only allow you to hone in these quick tips I’ve mentioned in this blog, but also give you an idea of how much time you are using to do each task.

All the best and I hope you will put these tips into practice.

A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations sound natural to native English speakers, so it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with some common examples.

Examples of common collocations in healthcare letters are given below, along with their parts of speech and meaning:

• Verb + noun:
  • Take a pulse/temperature/blood pressure
    • g. I will take your blood pressure regularly.
  • Sustain an injury
    • g. She sustained a right femoral fracture.
  • Do a test
    • g. Please do a repeat x-ray next week.
  • Verb + preposition:
    • Diagnose with
      • g. He was diagnosed with pneumonia.
    • Admit to
      • g. He was admitted to the geriatrics ward.
    • Discharge from
      • g. She will be discharged from our facility tomorrow.
    • Complain of
      • g. She complained of trouble sleeping.
    • Associate with
      • g. The headache was associated with nausea.
    • Suffer from
      • g. He suffers from type 2 diabetes.

It’s important to spend some time learning collocations, because using them incorrectly can confuse or mislead the reader/listener. Here are some hints to help you learn collocations more effectively:

1. Learn collocations as single blocks of language. E.g. learn “diagnose with” rather than “diagnose” + “with”.
2. Google is a powerful tool. Find new collocations by Googling “English collocations in healthcare”. Then, Google the collocation itself to find examples of its use!
3. Revision, revision, revision! Every time you see a new collocation, add it to a list and write it down in a sentence. Revise your list every week.