IELTS TRAINING CENTRE KENYA - IELTS PREPARATION | OET | TOEFL | PTE | GRE | DUOLINGO
Title: IELTS TRAINING CENTRE KENYA - IELTS PREPARATION | OET | TOEFL | PTE | GRE | DUOLINGO
Master Essential Skills by OET Roleplay Speaking Criteria
Do you want a higher score for your OET speaking roleplay? We can help you with that! You should:
1. Read this article.
2. Understand how expressing ‘empathy and sympathy’ relate to the ‘effective communication’ speaking assessment.
3. Finally, go to Unikcolors Media Institute sign up for free and practice a few OET speaking exercises.
Effective communication is crucial in a healthcare setting as it enables healthcare professionals to understand a patient’s needs, provide appropriate care, and build trust and rapport with patients and their relatives.
Expressing Empathy and Understanding
So, whilst empathy is not specifically listed as an OET speaking assessment criteria, it is an important aspect of effective communication. As such, it falls under the OET assessment criteria of “appropriateness of language” and “interactiveness“.
For example, a candidate may use appropriate language to show empathy towards a patient who is anxious about their medical condition. This could include using phrases such as “I understand how you feel,” or “It’s natural to be worried in this situation”.
The candidate may also show empathy by actively listening to the patient’s concerns and responding in a way that addresses those concerns.
By expressing empathy and sympathy in your OET speaking role play, you demonstrate to the OET interlocutor that you are in command of the scenario, as reflected in the language you use. This demonstrates that you understand the context of the role play to the interlocutor. It also improves your professionalism to your patients, too.
Examples of Empathetic communication
Practice and find your style in empathetic communication; listen to the audio file of the below communications.
Other examples of empathetic and sympathetic communications are:
“I can understand how difficult this must be for you.”
“I’m sorry to hear that you’re feeling this way.”
“I can imagine how frustrating that must be.”
“I’m here to listen and support you in any way I can.”
“That must have been a really challenging experience for you.”
“I appreciate how hard you’re working to manage your condition.”
“I understand that this is a sensitive topic. Please let me know if there’s anything you’d prefer not to discuss.”
What is the OET Speaking Roleplay?
The OET (Occupational English Test) speaking roleplay is one part of the OET
speaking test. The roleplay involves you (the candidate) playing a ‘role’ of a
healthcare professional. You will have a conversation with an interlocutor (an OET-
trained interviewer) who takes on the role of a patient or a patient’s relative.
During the roleplay, you will be given a scenario. The scenario requires you to communicate with the patient or patient’s relative in a way that demonstrates their ability to communicate effectively and professionally in an English-speaking healthcare environment. The scenarios are designed to simulate
real-life situations that you as a healthcare professional will encounter in your work.
Watch this video with expert OET teacher Mark to learn the best way to show empathy in the OET Speaking Test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62LFE6Y1BlQ
OET Speaking Assessment Criteria
Effective communication
‘Effective communication’ is an OET (Occupational English Test) speaking assessment criteria that has several sub-parts. You will read below how ‘empathy and sympathy’ are part of the ‘interactiveness’ sub-criteria. The complete list of sub-criteria includes:
Intelligibility
Your pronunciation, word stress, and intonation should be clear and accurate to ensure that the patient can understand what is being said.
Fluency
Your ability to speak smoothly and without hesitation, using appropriate pausing and phrasing, is important for effective communication.
Appropriateness of language
Your ability to use language appropriate for the healthcare context is important. This includes using medical terminology and avoiding jargon or slang, is essential for effective communication.
Resources of grammar and expression
You should be able to use a range of grammatical structures and vocabulary accurately and appropriately to ensure effective communication.
Discourse management
You should be able to organize your ideas and communicate them effectively, including responding appropriately to questions and providing relevant information.
Interactiveness
Your ability to engage in a conversation with the patient or patient’s relative in a way that shows interest, empathy, and understanding of their needs and concerns is important for effective communication.
OET Practice Tools
The OET Speaking Intensive package includes over 25 live classes, 100’s of practice questions and 2 Assessments marked by expert teachers where you receive detailed feedback in 48 hours.
Are you hoping to increase your OET Writing score as well? Read our OET Writing blog and learn how to satisfy the examining criteria, understand the purpose of the document, how accuracy of case notes is important and to incorporate vocab and grammar.
