Hi, 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. So, in today's video we're going to look at Listening and specifically Listening A,
we will look at a brief overview of the listening paper, we'll look at the format of Listening A and
what to expect from the audios. So, what happens in the OET listening exam? How long is the test?
So, the test lasts approximately 40 minutes, there are three parts to the listening test A,
B and C. There are a total of 42 questions and each with one point per question. So,
let's take a look at what each part of the test contains. In Listening Part A,
you will hear two patient led dialogues, in Part B there will be six monologues or
dialogues and Part C is two longer presentations or interviews with healthcare professionals. Part
A lasts about 15 minutes, Part B approximately 10 minutes and Part C lasts about 15 minutes.
Let's take a look at what you can expect from listening Part A. In Listening Part A,
there are two patient led conversations, approximately 15 minutes in total,
there are 24 questions divided equally, so there are 12 each extract and the task is a gap-fill
exercise where you need to complete the gap with a word or a short phrase. Before you listen,
the context of the conversation will always be provided, let's take a look at an example.
Let's have a look at the questions. As you can see, there will be information provided under
headings, there will also be some information already given to help you keep up with the
conversation, the information is based on what a healthcare profession would usually
record for example, information on medication, previous treatment or perhaps symptoms. What
type of audios will you hear in Listening A? One conversation is usually with a doctor or nurse,
but the other audio could be with another healthcare professional such as occupational
therapist, physiotherapist. The audio is patient-centred, this means that they will
speak the majority of the time and you will only hear the recording once. The setting
for the audio could be a consultation and it can be a referral to a specialists such as a
gastroenterologist or a neurologist or another healthcare professional, such as a dietician.
Example content of the interactions could be a patient describing previous treatments, a patient
explaining medical history, or perhaps the patient explaining a personal matter. You should write the
words exactly as they are spoken in the audio and there is no change in word form. It will be what
the patient says, not the healthcare professional. You need to write what you hear as accurately as
possible but minor spelling and grammar mistakes are allowed. Some of the written clues might
not be the same as in the audio for example, you can see that here in the audio the patient says,
I haven't been able to, but in the written clues it says, has had trouble. How should you
approach Listening A? First, read the context given so you have an idea of the situation,
then use the headings and information given to help you decide what to listen for, for example,
medication, body part... Take advantage of the time given before the audio starts,
look at the gaps and predict what information you are listening for, be aware of paraphrasing
in the notes as remember the audio may be different from the written notes. So, how
can you practice? It's really important that you develop your listening skills for the OET exam,
you should listen to a wide variety of accents and healthcare topics, only doing exam practice papers
will not sufficiently prepare you for the exam. For Listening A, you want to practice listening
to a variety of consultations, such as on Matthew Smith's YouTube channel, this contains a variety
of role plays. Please, remember though that these are not a OET role plays but are a useful
resource. You might also check out other extracts from TV programs such as GP Behind Closed Doors,
or 24 hours in A&E, these will not only improve your listening skills, but also
help your knowledge of language commonly used by patients - patient speak. Top tips for Listening
A. Write as you listen, answers are short and minor spelling and grammar errors are allowed,
use the headings and words around the gaps to keep up with the conversation and practice your
listening skills. So, thanks for watching, if you would like more strategies and tips on how
to prepare check out our website, link below. Please like and share so we can help more people
achieve success in the OET exam, don't forget to subscribe for more videos like this, bye!