This week's sessions
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- Take the quick checkDo all four parts of the quick check, then type your latest official OET scores on your plan home if you have them. Note which sub-test is furthest from its target.
- Listening Part B: six workplace extractsRead this week's lesson, then do the listening set below. Read each question before you play the extract, and play it only once. Then read every explanation.
- Reading Part A against the clockDo Reading Part A in 15 minutes. Skim all four texts first, so you know which text holds which kind of information, then answer.
- A first role-play cardChoose the card closest to your profession. Prepare for 3 minutes, record yourself for 5, then listen back. Note one moment where you hesitated and one task on the card you missed.
- How a B-level letter is builtRead the referral letter guide. Then write one opening paragraph for any recent patient (change the details): who the patient is, and what you want the reader to do.
This week's lesson: what the speaker means in Listening Part B
At C+, most people catch the words in OET Listening. The step up to B is catching the meaning: why someone is speaking, what they want, and how they feel about it. Part B tests exactly this. You hear six short workplace extracts, such as a handover, a briefing or a team meeting, and answer one question about each, with three options.
The question tells you what to listen for
Read the question before the extract starts and decide what kind of answer you need:
- Purpose: "The pharmacist is mainly warning staff that…" Listen for the main point, not every detail.
- Request: "The nurse wants her colleague to…" Listen for can you, could you, I'd like you to, please.
- Opinion or attitude: "What is the doctor's view of…?" Listen for words that show how certain or positive the speaker is.
The distractor is usually mentioned too
All three options often appear in the extract. The wrong ones are things that are already done, only possible, or mentioned and then rejected:
"His pain's well controlled now… What I'm less happy about is his urine output… I've already let the registrar know… Can you keep a close eye on his fluid chart?"
Pain is mentioned first, but it's under control. The registrar is already informed. The request is about the fluid chart.
Signal words that point to the answer
- Contrast: but, however, what I'm less happy about, the thing to watch is. What comes after usually matters more.
- Hedging: I wouldn't rule it out, I'm not against it in principle, I'd be cautious about. These show a balanced view, not a yes or no.
- Correction: actually, sorry, I mean. The information after the correction is the one that counts.
Hedged attitudes are the hardest
Compare these two answers to the question "What is the physiotherapist's view of a scan?":
Too strong: A scan is never useful. Accurate: A scan isn't needed at this stage.
If the speaker says "I wouldn't rule it out later, but right now…", the answer is about now. At B, you choose the option that matches the speaker's exact degree of certainty.
Don't hold on to a missed question
Each extract is short, and the next one starts quickly. If you miss one, choose your best guess and move on. A blank answer can't score, and worrying about it costs you the next extract.
Speaking and writing this week
You'll also try a role-play card and read the referral letter guide. Don't aim for perfect yet. Notice where you hesitate, and which criteria you're not sure about. Weeks 3 and 4 work on both in detail.
This week
Take the quick check, then type your latest official OET scores on your plan home, if you have them. In the listening set, read every explanation, even for questions you got right. The aim is to learn why each wrong option is wrong, because the same traps come back in the real test.
Practice for this week
Listening Part B: six workplace extracts
Loading questions…
Weekly check: Reading Part B workplace extracts
Do Part B (six workplace extracts). For every answer, find the exact words in the extract that support it, and check whether the wrong options are too strong or not mentioned.
When you finish, come back to your plan home: your dashboard updates with the new score.
Answers, explanations and transcripts
Finish the test first, then open each section to check your answers. Every answer has an explanation.
Listening Part B: six workplace extracts
Transcript: Part B: a ward handover
Nurse Kim: OK, bed four, Mr Rossi, day two after his bowel surgery. His pain's well controlled now. We changed him to oral tablets this morning and he's comfortable.
Nurse Patel: That's good.
Nurse Kim: What I'm less happy about is his urine output. It's been under thirty mils an hour since lunchtime, and he isn't drinking much. I've already let the surgical registrar know, and she's coming to review him before six. Can you keep a close eye on his fluid chart until then?
Nurse Patel: Sure. I'll check it every hour.
Transcript: Part B: a pharmacist's briefing
Just a quick update for everyone. From next Monday, the insulin pens we stock on the wards are coming from a new supplier. The insulin itself is exactly the same, so there's no need to change anyone's dose. The thing to watch is that the new pens are a very similar colour to the rapid-acting ones, so it would be easy to pick up the wrong pen in a hurry. We're putting coloured labels on the shelves, but please read the name on the pen every single time before you give it.
Transcript: Part B: a physiotherapy consultation
Patient: I was hoping you'd send me for a scan today. My brother had one for his back.
Physio: I understand why you'd want one. A lot of people expect a scan. But honestly, with the kind of pain you've described, and no numbness or weakness, a scan is unlikely to change what we do right now. I wouldn't rule it out later if things don't improve over the next few weeks. For now, I'd rather we get you moving with a few simple exercises.
Transcript: Part B: a team meeting
Dr Singh: So the proposal is to bring in the new early warning chart across the whole hospital from March. Any thoughts?
Dr Moreno: I'm not against it in principle. The old chart's out of date. But I'd want to see how it works on one or two wards before we roll it out everywhere. If the trigger levels are set too low, we'll have the medical emergency team called to patients who are perfectly stable.
Dr Singh: That's a fair point.
Transcript: Part B: a nurse educator's update
I'm pleased to say our falls numbers have come down this quarter, so thank you all. But when we looked more closely at the falls that did happen, most of them were at night, when patients were getting up to go to the toilet on their own. So rather than adding more checks during the day, we're going to focus on regular toileting rounds and making sure the call bell is always within reach overnight.
Transcript: Part B: a practice nurse and a GP
Nurse: Mrs Okafor has missed her last two diabetes reviews. Shall I send her another reminder letter?
GP: I'd rather we didn't just send another letter. The last two clearly didn't work. Could you give her a call yourself? Sometimes there's a simple reason, like transport or the cost of the appointment, and it's much easier to sort out on the phone.
Answer key (6 answers)
| # | Question | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | You hear a nurse handing over a patient. She wants her colleague to | B. monitor the patient's fluid balance closely | 'Can you keep a close eye on his fluid chart until then?' Pain is mentioned first but is already controlled (A), and the registrar has already been told (C). Part B often mentions things that are already done. |
| 2 | You hear a hospital pharmacist talking to ward staff. She is mainly warning them that | B. two kinds of pen could easily be confused | The key point follows 'The thing to watch is…': the pens look alike. She says doses don't change (A), and the labels are being added (C). |
| 3 | What is the physiotherapist's view of a scan? | A. It isn't needed at this stage | 'A scan is unlikely to change what we do right now… I wouldn't rule it out later.' Hedged language like this is how Part B tests attitude: not 'never', but 'not now'. |
| 4 | What is Dr Moreno's attitude to the new chart? | C. She would like it tested on a small scale first | 'I'm not against it in principle… but I'd want to see how it works on one or two wards.' 'Not against it' rules out B; the 'but' rules out A. |
| 5 | What does the nurse educator say the review of falls showed? | B. Patients going to the toilet at night are a key risk | 'Most of them were at night, when patients were getting up to go to the toilet.' The numbers came down (A), and she says 'rather than adding more checks during the day' (C). |
| 6 | What does the GP ask the nurse to do? | B. Phone the patient personally | 'Could you give her a call yourself?' Transport is only a possible reason the GP mentions (C), and the letter is what he wants to avoid (A). |
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