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Are you considering the OET (Occupational English Test) to advance your career in healthcare or apply for a visa abroad from Malaysia?

Understanding its exam format and suitability to your professional goals is the key to unlocking avenues and opportunities overseas. Whether you're a nurse aiming for international registration or a healthcare professional in Malaysia looking to work in a new country, the OET assesses your English proficiency within a medical context.

Overview of the OET test format

The OET exam format is specifically designed to evaluate the English language skills of healthcare professionals. It consists of four sub-tests: Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening. Each test section assesses different aspects of communication essential for registering, practising, and working in an English-speaking healthcare environment.

OET Speaking test format

The Speaking section of the OET evaluates your ability to communicate effectively in English within a healthcare context. It is around 20 minutes long and includes role-plays where candidates interact with an interlocutor playing the role of a patient, colleague, or in the case of veterinary science, an animal’s owner or caretaker. This tests your ability to convey information clearly, provide advice, and demonstrate empathy.

OET Writing test format

In the Writing section of the OET, test-takers are required to write a letter based on a given case note within 45 minutes. The letter types vary depending on the profession (e.g. Veterinary Science, Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry) but typically include referral letters, discharge letters, or letters of advice. This section assesses your ability to organise and present information coherently, using appropriate medical terminology.

OET Reading test format

The Reading section of the OET is split across three parts that assess your ability to understand and interpret medical texts. Part A is 15 minutes long and involves skimming and scanning short texts for specific information quickly in order to answer a set of questions. Parts B and C have a combined time of 45 minutes; Part B involves reading six short workplace-related extracts to answer one question per extract; while Part C requires test-takers to read two longer professional-grade articles before answering eight questions.

OET Listening test format

The OET Listening section is approximately 40 minutes long and comprises 42 questions across three parts: consultations, workplace dialogues, and presentations. Test-takers listen to recordings of healthcare scenarios and answer questions to demonstrate their ability to comprehend spoken English in various medical contexts.

Section

Time allotted

Number of segments

Skills assessed

Score range

OET Speaking

Approx. 20 minutes

2 segments

Assessed on 4 linguistic criteria (Intelligibility, Fluency, Appropriateness of Language, Resources of Grammar and Expression) and 5 clinical communication criteria (Relationship building, Understanding & incorporating the patient’s perspective, Providing structure, Information gathering, Information giving)

Scale of 0-500 in 10-point increments with 0 being the minimum and 500 being the maximum score. The numerical score will then be mapped to a separate letter grade ranging from A (highest) to E (lowest).

OET Writing

45 minutes

1 segment

Assessed on 6 criteria (Purpose, Content, Conciseness & Clarity, Genre & Style, Organisation & Layout, Language)

OET Reading

60 minutes

3 segments (Part A, B, C)

Skimming and scanning; identifying specific information

OET Listening

Approx. 45 minutes

3 segments (Part A, B, C)

Identifying specific information (e.g. opinion, speaker’s purpose)