Speaking For The Occupational English Test (OET) Medicine
The Occupational English Test (OET) Medicine is the English language requirement for all international medical graduates (IMGs) who want to work in the United States. In addition, it is the required exam for Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The test is similar to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam; indeed, it is in part created with the help of the University of Cambridge.
There are four (4) components:
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing
- Speaking
Today, let’s go over the Speaking portion of the test.
Speaking Overview
The speaking test is an interview style. It is done in person or over Zoom, depending on the situation.
Overall Test Time: 20 minutes
You will be given two speaking task cards. For each speaking task, you will have 3 (three) minutes to prepare.
The speaking is, in essence, a role play based on the task presented in the card.
The role play/speaking portion should last around 5 minutes.
After finishing, you will move on to the next speaking task.
Looking At The Speaking Criteria
The interlocutor – the person interviewing you in the speaking task – is not an examiner. The speaking sessions are recorded, either with audio recording or video recording, depending on the medium used for the test.
Your speaking will be evaluated by 2 (two) examiners.
The criteria used are divided into 2 (two) categories:
- Linguistic
- Clinical Communication
Linguistic Evaluation
- Intelligibility: able to be understood
- Fluency: speaking without pausing
- Appropriateness: right language choice
- Grammar/Expression: right sentence structure
Clinical Communication Evaluation
- Relationship Building: building rapport with patient
- Understanding: understanding concern and patient needs
- Structure: structure and organize questions and information in the right way
- Information Gathering: asking the right questions
- Information Giving: giving information in a clear way
Look At A Speaking Card Sample
Below is a sample OET Speaking Task. It is a sample only. It is not sourced from OET.
Break Down the Speaking Card
Preparation time
As you can see, you will have 3 minutes to prepare. This is the time for you to review what the situation is and look at the task.
The task will give you a clear guide on what to ask so you do not have to think of what to ask; you simply have to focus on the language you need to get the information and complete the goals.
Setting
The setting can give you an idea of the type of patient and/or the urgency of the situation.
In this case, a suburban clinic can give you information that the patient might be of a certain socio-economic class, a certain education level and/or a certain ethnic group. This does not always indicate these ideas, but it is something to be aware of.
Patient
The age of the patient is given. The main complaint/purpose of the consultation is also provided.
In this case, it is a young adult who is interested in doing drugs. The format then is not necessarily a medical-based consultation; you do not need to ask medical history.
Tasks
The tasks are very specific about what you need to accomplish. The two key words are ASK and EXPLAIN.
Sample Language
As explained, the task has two key words
Ask and Explain
These are important because they will guide your language creation.
It is difficult to consider all the criteria when speaking. It is something that should not worry you as long as you have good, clean sentences that fulfill the task requirement.
Ask about his/her current lifestyle.
Are you a student or are you currently working? Okay, that is great to hear.
What do you enjoy doing?
What do you do after work/school?
Explain that you are there to listen, not to judge.
Thank you for sharing that with me. This is to help me understand your situation and see how I can give you the best help possible. Everything you tell me is kept confidential, okay?
Ask him/her about why he or she is considering drugs. Ask about which drugs are being considered.
Is there anyone around you using drugs? In your family or among your friends?
What makes drugs interesting to you?
Have you tried any drugs before?
Which drugs are your _____ using?
Explain that drugs can have a negative impact on health.
Now, I understand that drugs are attractive to you.
However, I’d like to explain a bit about them.
They can be very addicting, meaning that once you start, it might be difficult to stop.
Also, recreational drugs can severely impact your health.
They can cause . . .
Explain that there are resources to help stay away from drugs.
There are resources available to help you and anyone you know that needs it.
We have counselors at this clinic that can listen to you and provide guidance.
How does this sound to you?
Listening to Answers
The interlocutor has a task card with information he or she will respond with. Your questions and answers should also respond appropriately to what is said.
Tips To Help
The best way is to practice with someone else. The task is a role play, so a friend or fellow student/doctor/researcher could play the role of the patient.
Disclaimer
The information here is aimed at helping you be familiar with the OET Speaking portion of the test. It is also created for language help.
Each speaking task will be different. The information presented is sample language for one possible task card.
Please review the official OET information here.
