Getting 350 in the OET Reading Paper & Listening Paper

How can I get more than 330 in my OET reading paper?

"Mam, I repeatedly fail the reading and listening modules. My score is 300 - 330. How can I improve this?"

One of my YouTube students asked me this question, and I know that this candidate is not alone. It's quite a common problem, so let's look at how to fix things.

1. The first thing to realise is that it will take time. Going from 300 or 330 to 350 is not going to happen overnight, or even a couple of weeks. It's a process and you need to give yourself a reasonable amount of time to get there. But how can you do this?

   
   

2. Test yourself and find out your current English level. You can do this for free on sites like the British Council. To get a 350, you need to be a good B2+ and preferably, C1. So, if you're not quite there yet, don't worry. Just invest some time and energy on improving your English before studying for your OET.

   
   

3. Once you're at the correct level, try doing one practise test for the reading and listening. You can find the on the OET website. But just do one test for now.

   
   

4. When you mark your scores, do so following the answer key exactly. Don't be too kind to yourself and give yourself marks if you forgot a capital letter - because in the exam, they are very exacting!

   
   

5. Understand where you are going wrong. Really, you want to get as many right in parts A & B as you can (because these are easier than part C) in both the listening and the reading in the OET. Find out what exactly it is you are making mistakes in. Here are some common problems and how to help solve them:

Common OET Problems with Listening and Reading and how to Solve them.

"I ran out of time in Reading Part A."

If you're running out of time in OET Reading Part A, then it probably means you need to improve your skimming and scanning skills. Practise reading for gist - get an overview of any text you read. Then look out for particular words, see if your eye can find them. Here's a video to help you.

"I get about 16 right in Reading Part A."

Find out where you are making mistakes. Is it in spelling? If so, practise writing out each word you got wrong 10 times so that it sticks in your head. Did you forget a plural? Then, double check your answers to make sure you've included things like that final 's' or an article where needed. Ideally, you need to get about 18 right in Part A, so that you have to get fewer right in Part C to still pass.

"All the options are mentioned in Reading Part B."

Yes, they might well be. The trick here is not to look at the options before reading the text. Read the prompt, and understand if it's gist, or specific information you need. Then go to the text and try to answer it in your own words. Finally, see which of the options best matches your answer. Again, you need good skimming and scanning skills to do well here. Here's a playlist to help you.

"I get really stuck in OET Part C. It's so long and complicated."

Here, you have to do a bit of reading for fun at home. Go through blog posts, journals, peer reviews and read, read, read, anything connected to healthcare. Of course, there will be times when you don't understand a word, or two, or even three. Just accept it and try to guess from context. But, remember, if you get 18 right in Part A, and 5 right in Part B, you only need around 10 more in Part C over both reading tasks, so focus more of your engergy on A and B and then a bit on Part C.

But what about the OET listening?

"I"m not used to the different accents."

Well, in that case, you need to get yourself used to them. The OET typically uses, British, Australian, or US accents, but you could get patients from anywhere in the world, so you need to be ready. Listen to podcasts and medical TV shows. Here's a list that could help you.

"I thought spelling wasn't important in OET Listening Part A?"

It isn't to a certain extent - but only if that word is not a common word. If it's something really specialised, perhaps a C1 or C2 type of word that is rarely used, then you can try to guess at the spelling and as long as the reader can understand you, that's okay. However, if it's a really common word that all B2 students should know, then you should know it too and be able to spell it correctly.

"How can I get more right in Listening Part B?"

One way is to understand the type of question being asked. Is it 'gist' - in which case you need to udnerstand the global meaning; is it 'detail' - e.g. what is the dosage?; or is it 'a course of action' - what happens next. Understanding what to listen out for will help you hear it better, because your ear and brain will be waiting for it. Here's a video to help.

"I got lost in Part C".

Get into the habit of using the questions to guide you as to where you are. In an interview question, the interviewer will always lead you you to the next question. In a presentation, the presenter will use signposting language to move on. Here's some more help for you.

I hope this helps and if you have more questions about your OET and how best to study, then just let me know!