Occupational English Test which is also very popularly referred to as OET is a test of English taken exclusively by the healthcare professionals who wish to practice in the United Kingdom in particular along with a few other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Ukraine, Dubai etc. This test of English is particularly for the professionals in the field of healthcare. Since the year 2013, OET is being conducted by the Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment which is popularly referred to as CBLA. This is actually a joint venture between the Cambridge English Institute and the Boxhill Institute. OET is specifically designed in a way such that it replicates various tasks of healthcare workplace settings so as to measure the ability of the candidates across different skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking.
Why Choose OET?
There are several reasons as to why the candidates choose OET are as follows.
- OET happens to be one of the most preferred tests by the healthcare professionals for going the United Kingdom for studying and work. In an addition to this, there are other countries who accepts OET as a proof of proficiency in English hereby making it a good test to take.
- The candidates sitting for OET need not require to sit for other English tests for proving their level of English proficiency.
- The scores of OET are accepted by a number of professions in the healthcare sector which ensures that one test serves all the purposes.
- OET is comparatively easier as compared to the other English tests because the test focuses mainly of questions related to the exact healthcare profession thereby making it convenient for the candidates to crack it.
Professions Accepting OET
The professions accepting OET are as listed below for the candidates to prepare accordingly.
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Dentistry
- Optometry
- Physiotherapy
- Pharmacy
- Occupational Therapy
- Podiatry
- Radiography
- Speech pathology
- Dietetics
- Veterinary Science
Who Recognises OET?
At the time when you are planning to sit for OET, it is important to know as to who recognises the test and where the OET scores are valid. The countries where the OET scores are recognised are as follows.
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Canada
- Philippines
- Ukraine
- Dubai
- Namibia
There are a number of colleges, universities, hospitals, nursing homes and healthcare boards, ministries, councils as well as authorities of the above mentioned countries recognises OET.
Structure of OET
Knowing the structure of OET before sitting for the exam would be extremely helpful in cracking the exam. The candidates appearing for OET should know that the test consists of four sections that are
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing
- Speaking
The candidates are required to prove their proficiency in English language in all of the four sections. Let us delve a bit deeper to find more about each section.
Listening
The listening set consists of three sections with a total of 42 questions in all where the time duration is 45 minutes. The candidates are presented with recorded speeches in all the three sections consisting of consultation extracts, short workplace extracts and presentation extracts respectively for judging the listening capabilities of the candidates in various formats.
Reading
The reading set consists of three sections with a total of 42 questions in all where the time duration is 60 minutes. In this set, the candidates are required to answer questions related to generic healthcare topics involving expeditious reading and careful reading thereby testing the reading capabilities of the candidates in different formats.
Writing
In the writing section, the candidates are required to write a letter of reference in their field of speciality. This is basically a profession specific section designed to test the writing capability of the candidate in a time duration of 45 minutes.
Speaking
Speaking is the ultimate section of OET where the candidates are required to individually enact their own professional role in the scenarios of real life in an environment of professional healthcare setting in a time duration of 20 minutes for testing the speaking capabilities of the candidates.
So, now when you have a clear and complete understanding of OET including all necessary details, it becomes much easier as well as convenient for getting through with the test.