Hello! I'm Jo from Specialist Language Courses
We are OET Premium Preparation Providers which
means we are experienced and skilled in what we do, helping people achieve
success in the OET exam. In today's video
we're going to take a look at the strategies you can use for Listening C.
All the materials we look at are available on our online course
Reach OET B, link below. We're going to take a look at a brief
overview of Listening C, how you can approach this part of the
exam and some study tips. There are three parts to the listening
test, in this video we are going to take a closer look at
part C.
What is the exam format for Listening C? In part C there are two long
presentations or interviews. Each extract will feature a healthcare
professional talking about an aspect of their work.
There will be 12 questions, six for each extract
and each one is a three option multiple choice question.
The context of the conversation will always be provided,
here's an example:
There are questions to guide you and three possible answers.
For each question mark your answer by colouring in the circle.
For Listening C you will need to understand large parts of the audio.
Now let's take a look at some strategies you can use for this part.
Before listening to each extract, you have 90 seconds.
It's important to take advantage of this time by looking at the context provided
so you can begin predicting what you may hear.
Notice the structure of the audio and understand the questions.
Read the options and notice the differences between them.
Let's take a look at an example of how to do this.
We can see the key words here in the question
Why, indicates that we need to listen for a reason
and that we need to focus on the reasons given for male breast cancer,
possibly as compared to female breast cancer,
in terms of it not being given too much importance.
If we look at the options, option A deals with
diagnosis. For this answer to fully answer the question
it would have to give information about late diagnosis
contributing to male breast cancer being a neglected disease.
Option B states that because it's uncommon it's not studied enough.
For this answer to fully answer the question it would have to give
information about how male breast cancer is rare or uncommon
and that lack of studies contribute to it being a neglected disease.
Option C states that older male patients with breast cancer
are not treated with importance. For C to fully answer the question it would
have to suggest that this contributes to it being a
neglected disease. So now let's listen and choose the
answer which best fits. Why is male breast cancer referred to as
a neglected disease? Breast cancer in men is much less common
than in women and remains an understudied illness, if
we compare the statistics it is easy to understand why there are
fewer cases of male breast cancer to research.
For example, the estimated risk of a man being diagnosed with breast cancer
before the age of 85 is around 1 in 715
while the risk of a woman being diagnosed with breast cancer before the
age of 85 is around 1 in 8. Each year
tens of thousands of new breast cancer cases are diagnosed
of which about 140 cases are of male breast cancer. Much of the
information we have about male breast cancer comes from our
understanding of female breast cancer although it is clear that men react
differently from women to a diagnosis of breast cancer.
The correct option is B. We can see in the audio script that
breast cancer in men is much less common than in women and
remains an understudied illness. It is then
supported by statistics comparing the incidence of cancer in men compared to
women, highlighting how common it is in men.
It is then restated by confirming that the understanding of male breast cancer
comes from information about female breast cancer
and this is the reason for it being neglected disease.
Option A is incorrect because we can see that the audio talks about the estimated
risk of a man being diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 85
but it does not mention in the audio at what stage of the disease
they are diagnosed, early or late.
We can see that option C is incorrect and it is not mentioned in the audio.
The audio does not talk about older men with breast cancer being neglected.
Now let's look at another example. First, we need to understand the question,
we need to listen for what Ms Weston focuses on
in terms of breast cancer research. For option A,
Ms Weston says that research is mainly about female breast cancer.
Option B states that there is not sufficient research being done
and option C says that research does not focus on psychological areas.
The correct answer will be which option Ms Weston points out,
focuses on or highlights the most. Let's listen to the audio and choose the
answer which best fits. What is the scope of the male breast
cancer problem? I suppose it depends what you're talking
about. If you are looking at the incidence of male breast cancer compared
to female breast cancer, you are looking at quite small numbers,
for example, in the UK there are around 55 000 new breast
cancer cases every year, however cases of male breast cancer only
make up about 370 of these cases.
Male breast cancer is not in the top 20 cancers for men.
Some studies suggest that male breast cancer survival rates are poorer
than female breast cancer survival rates but it can be difficult to judge.
As I mentioned before, men tend to develop breast cancer at an older age
but they also tend to present themselves at their GPs at a later stage of the
disease. Being aware of breast symptoms is
another issue, especially for men who have not been targeted in breast cancer
awareness campaigns for obvious reasons I mean, because the
cancer is relatively uncommon in men. Option A says that it is predominantly
about female breast cancer research. Ms Weston states that the incidence of male
breast cancer is low in comparison to female breast cancer
and is not in the top 20 cancers for men. She then goes on to talk about survival
rates but states that it is hard to judge due to other factors.
The answer is implied as the lack of research for male breast cancer
is because it is more commonly about female breast cancer.
So why is option B incorrect? In the audio script
we can see that it states some studies suggest
that male survival rates are poorer and it goes on to talk about
other factors such as seeking medical advice at a later stage of the disease
and awareness, but it does not state that not enough research is being done.
And why is option C incorrect? Research is mentioned in the audio but
there is no mention of psychological factors
so therefore C is clearly incorrect. How can you prepare for listening part C?
So it's important that you develop your listening skills
for the OET exam. Only doing exam practice
papers will not sufficiently prepare you for the exam.
For listening C, you need to develop your ability to listen to
longer talks and to keep your focus. Let's take a look at some activities you
can do to help develop this skill.
You can use things like
TED Med Talks or podcasts such as BBC inside health,
practice listening to these longer talks and train your brain to stay focused.
Listen to a variety of audios on a variety of healthcare topics.
Listen out for the speaker's attitude and opinion
and practice dealing with unfamiliar content and vocabulary.
Here are some specific tasks you can do in your self-study
using resources such as TED Med. While you are listening you can pause
the talk every so often and summarize what you have heard and
then predict what you think you're going to hear next.
Another useful practice is structuring and sequencing
Note down the main structure of the talk and then listen
and take notes. It can be helpful to watch it another time to compare your
notes and see if there is anything that you missed.
You can then make a note of any expressions they use to organise their
speech. You can also improve your vocabulary by
noting down any unfamiliar words. It is a good idea to
try and guess the meaning from the context before looking up the words and
seeing if you were correct, this can be followed by writing some
example sentences using the new words.
Top tips for listening part C. Notice the structure of the audio before
you listen by reading through the questions,
underline the key words and stay focused. So thanks for watching
if you would like more strategies and tips on how to prepare
check out our website. You will also find handouts which you can download
with everything we've talked about today, link below.
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for more videos like this, bye!