How do I prepare for my OET exam?
By Gemma Raw
The Occupational English Test, OET for short, is a specialist government-approved English language test. It is designed to assess the English language skills of international health and social care professionals looking to practice in the UK. The OET assesses your ability to correctly understand and use the English language in scenarios regarding your profession. The test itself only takes 2 hours and 50 minutes and is broken down into four sub-tests, including:
Listening (45 minutes)
Reading (60 minutes)
Writing (45 minutes)
Speaking (20 minutes)
Read our blog on ‘What is the passing score for the OET?’ to find out your score required to pass.
How much time do you need to spend preparing?
To achieve a Grade B, you’ll need to prove that you can communicate effectively with patients and other healthcare professionals using the correct language, tone and register, with only occasional inaccuracies. Additionally, you must also show that you understand the clinical context of what you hear, read, say and write.
How much time you’ll need to prepare for the OET depends on your current English language abilities. This could be just a couple of hours a week or more intense than this (a few hours each day over weeks or months).
How can you prepare?
The OET has created a Preparation Portal packed with free preparation materials. Here, you can access:
Sample OET tests for you to practice in your own time
Recorded masterclasses with expert advice on how to pass the OET sub-tests
Live Q&As with OET experts
On-demand OET All-Stars content (free online resources from OET preparation providers)
Once-a-month online prep hour with an OET expert
A downloadable OET writing guide
OET YouTube channel is full of helpful videos, role-plays and more
The Start for Success package that brings everything together to help you prepare for success
Helpful OET social media pages
The OET has a fantastic social media presence. Every day you can expect to learn something new as you prepare for the OET. For example, on Facebook and LinkedIn, you’ll find Live OET Events you can tap straight into. Also featured is advice from providers such as Specialist Language Courses and tailored support for each profession.
Likewise, the OET’s YouTube channel is a great resource, especially if your preferred learning style is a video tutorial. Helpfully, the videos are grouped into the four sub-test areas to make it easier to access the content you need.
OET Help and Frequently Asked Questions
There’s an excellent FAQs feature on the OET website and drop-in clinics and sessions. Additionally, you’ll also find that specialist OET language course providers will be happy to help you.
Good luck – try not to overthink the OET. Remember, it’s designed to ensure that you have the assessed standard of English to safely practice in the UK.
For more information about overseas worker requirements, please read our collection of blogs.
