How OET works
Four sub-tests, healthcare settings throughout.
12 minutes · A free lesson from Start here
OET tests English in healthcare settings. Listening and Reading are the same for every profession; Writing and Speaking are specific to your profession (nursing, medicine, pharmacy and others).
| Sub-test | What you do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | Part A: notes from two consultations · Part B: six short workplace extracts · Part C: two longer presentations or interviews | about 40 minutes |
| Reading | Part A: four short texts, read fast (15 minutes) · Part B: six workplace texts · Part C: two longer texts | 60 minutes |
| Writing | one letter — usually a referral — from case notes | 45 minutes (5 of them reading only) |
| Speaking | two role-plays with an interlocutor playing the patient or relative | about 20 minutes |
Quick check: Which sub-tests are specific to your profession?
- Listening and Reading
- Writing and Speaking
- All four
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B: Writing and Speaking
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: How long is the OET Writing sub-test?
- 45 minutes, the first 5 for reading only
- 60 minutes of writing
- 20 minutes
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A: 45 minutes, the first 5 for reading only — You read the case notes for 5 minutes, then write for 40.
Quick check: What happens in the Speaking sub-test?
- A talk to a panel of doctors
- Two role-plays with an interlocutor playing the patient or relative
- A written test on medical terms
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B: Two role-plays with an interlocutor playing the patient or relative — It takes about 20 minutes in all.
Quick check: How many workplace extracts are in Listening Part B?
- Two
- Twenty
- Six
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C: Six — Part A is two consultations, and Part C is two longer presentations or interviews.