OET - The Occupational English Test

The Education Matters Course Outline

Course Description:

This is a 21-hour (concentrated preparation course which means to plan and provide OET candidates, who are medical healthcare professionals (nurses or doctors), with all of the information and skills required alongside practice tests to enhance your score. The preparation covers each of the 4 skills; Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking specified by OET.

There are 50 X 25-minute lessons over a period of 10 weeks with 5 lessons per week. If you prefer you can take 25 X 50-minute lessons over a period of 5 weeks.

If you would like to concentrate on one particular component of the OET we can offer a 5 lesson one week course specifically focussing on either the listening, the reading, the writing or the speaking. 

Who is this for:

This course is specifically aimed at those in the medical profession, i.e. nurses, midwives and doctors, whose first language is not English. This course would also be appropriate for care workers and ancillary workers.

English level:

At least an intermediate plus (B2/C1) level is expected in order to start this course. If you have a lower level than this, we can provide a course which will bring you up to this level. It is not recommended that you take this course if you are not at this level of English. This will depend on an initial assessment of your level of English. You will also be expected to complete a substantial amount of guided self-study outside the classroom in order to complete this course successfully.

Learning Outcomes:

  • students will achieve a level of English that will enable them to communicate clearly with patients and colleagues
  • students will achieve a level of analytical and reasoning abilities in English which will help them to understand complex medical texts
  • Occupation Specific Vocabulary building
  • Intensive preparation using Spoken Language through Listening practice.
  • Students develop note-taking skills as well as listening for overall meaning
  • Students are additionally given a cultural awareness of the country in which they intend to practice
  • Students will be able to communicate successfully with both patients and colleagues in a clinical setting.
  • Students will gain the ability to compose letters to other healthcare professionals and be able to pass on significant data about their patients' clinical history, progress, discharge Summary or to request further appraisal.

THE COST:

Please contact us and we will organise arrange a personalised quote for this course. This may include the need for you to take a pre OET general English course to bring your level up to the required standard.

The cost of a lesson is £25. You  may pay for the complete course at the start which will entitle you to a discount of 15%. However, you may choose to pay in stages, 25% in advance and then 25% every 3 weeks. This will entitle you to 10% discount. However, if you choose you may pay as you go after each lesson but this will not necessarily guarantee a regular time slot.

For a personalised quotation please contact us and specify exactly what it is that you need: info@educationmattershastings.co.uk

WHAT IS THE OET?

The Occupational English Test is a relatively new qualification that has been devised by Cambridge Assessment English and the University of Melbourne, Australia. It was designed to enable those who work in the medical professions to attain a level of English that will allow them to fully work in this environment without the lack of language capability inhibiting their ability to be understood or to understand others.

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

This will serve to improve the quality of care given in hospitals and healthcare settings. The OET replicates the actual workplace communication that takes place and measure the candidates' abilities across the four skills, listening, reading, writing and speaking.

WHERE IS IT RECOGNISED?

The OET is recognised in many countries as the standard of English required to work in those places. The majority of official medical institutes in these countries now recognise the OET as the standard to be applied. These countries include; Australia, Ireland, Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, UK, UAE, US and Ukraine.

As the OET say on their website 'OET results are accepted as proof of English language skills in the UK, the USA, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Singapore, Malta, Namibia and Ukraine.'

WHAT DOES IT INVOLVE?

The OET covers all four language skills with an emphasis on communication in a healthcare environment. Each of the components are assessed individually and relate to a wide range of health professionals. The first two, listening and reading are applicable to all healthcare professionals. These involve understanding a range of texts from a general healthcare setting such as patient consultations and lectures as well as being able to read different types of text on health related subjects.

The other two skills, writing and speaking are specifically designed to relate to your specific area of healthcare. The writing could focus on something specific such as a letter of discharge or transfer providing advice to a patient, career or other group. The Speaking will be two role plays in which you take your professional role with the examiner playing the part of a client or patient, or a relative or carer.

WHERE CAN I TAKE IT AND HOW MUCH IS IT?

The test can be taken at centres all over the world. The dates and places are all on the OET website (https://www.occupationalenglishtest.org). The details for entry and the cost of the examination are also on the website. Candidates must pay for and complete their own individual entry for the examination. The current price (September 2020) is approximately $430.