Do you worry about errors in the OET speaking?
Then keep watching and we'll show you how to improve in Resources of Grammar and Expression.
Hi, Jo here from SLC, here to help you with your OET preparation.
In today's video we're going to look at resources of grammar and expression,
we will look at what this criterion actually means and how to improve in this area. Don't forget to
check out our website, we've got the perfect OET preparation course for you, let's get started!
So what does this criterion actually mean? Well, to reach the requirements
for this assessment criterion you need to use a range of vocabulary and structures,
use natural language and any errors you have shouldn't interfere with the conversation.
So how can you improve in this area? it's important to widen your knowledge of vocabulary
and structures, let's take a look at a couple of examples, which one do you think is better?
Nurse: So, now we have to do the dressing, ok? Patient: yes, that would be really helpful.
Nurse: Ok, so just wash it and dry it. After, put on cream and put on the dressing, ok?
Nurse: I’d like to explain how to apply the dressing, to your burn, ok?
Patient: yes, that would be really helpful. Nurse: First, you will need to wash the area
and pat it dry. Then, apply a thin layer of cream and put the dressing on over it. Finally,
you will just need to make sure the dressing is secure. Do you think you can manage that?
In the first one there is lack of variety and range,
however in the second one we can see that there is a range of structures and variety of language.
Using natural language will help with this area too,
let's take a look at some examples. Look at the phrases in green,
these are all examples of natural language, can you work out what they mean from the context?
Getting you down means making you feel sad or depressed, bring down is a phrasal verb
meaning reduce, get on means manage or cope and pop back means return or come back, and finally
give you a hand means help you. Making some grammatical errors is okay in the exam but as
long as these errors do not interfere with meaning or have a negative impact on the conversation.
Take a look at these examples, can you spot the errors?
We can see that "bited" has been used instead of "bit". We can also see that the wrong
tense has been used here, the present simple instead of present continuous,
"it is still bleeding" because it's happening now, but do the errors interfere with the
overall effectiveness of the conversation? no, the meaning still remains clear to the listener
and the errors don't have too much of an impact on the conversation.
Now look at another example, can you find the errors
and what is the impact of these errors on the conversation?
There are more errors here, and they cause some strain for the listener.
"The dog was bitten" actually means that the dog received the bite and not the patient,
so this might confuse the listener. "Was bleeding" is using a past tense and this
suggests that it isn't bleeding now, which is not correct. "We will leave dog bites open"
should be in present simple as it's something which always happens in this kind of treatment
and the last error suggests that there will be some infection which is not right.
So let's look at some practical ideas that you can use to improve
in this area during your self-study. Practice, knowledge versus skill.
It's important to practice because without practice you won't be turning your English
grammar and vocabulary knowledge into a skill, so practice as much as possible.
Record yourself and listen back to review and then repeat, by recording yourself you have the
opportunity to review your recording as many times as you need to in order to recognise
the areas you need to improve on. Identify your weak errors and common errors to review,
when you have identified your weaker areas it is important to prioritize areas which
could cause misunderstandings for the listener for example, are you using the correct verb tense
or has it changed the meaning to something you haven't intended?
Make a note of your errors and write lots of example sentences with the correct language
and say them out loud to help you remember it can also be very helpful to repeat the
same tasks again but varying your language each time, by paraphrasing
and repetition you will be able to use your language more flexibly and more confidently
and finally, focus on thorough vocabulary study. Rather than learning long lists of words, study
more in depth so that you are confident with word formation, synonyms and prepositions for example.
Top tips for resources of grammar and expression. Practice, keep practicing so that you become
confident with your knowledge and skill in this area, identify repetitive errors
once you have realized where you are making mistakes it will become easier to reduce them.
Self-correction, some self-correction is expected so provided it's not too frequent,
if you know you have made an error when speaking then correct yourself.
So thanks for watching, don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos like this,
hit the bell so you're notified every time we post a new video, the next set of videos coming up is
all about the Clinical Communication Criteria so stay tuned. Don't forget to check out our website,
we've got the perfect OET preparation course for you, see you next week, bye!