The data first: where the B is actually lost
If you are a nurse from Kerala, the Philippines, Sri Lanka or North India preparing for OET, the sub-tests most likely to stop you reaching Grade B are Listening and Reading, not Speaking. That is not our opinion; it is OET's own 2025 demographic data, published on its test statistics page. For candidates who reported Malayalam as their first language, 27.8 per cent reached Grade B or above in Listening and 24.0 per cent in Reading, against 85.0 per cent in Speaking. For Tagalog speakers the figures were 67.4, 43.9 and 85.4 per cent. For Indian nationals as a whole, 37.3, 32.0 and 85.9 per cent. Across all Nursing candidates worldwide, Listening B or above was 32.3 per cent and Reading 24.9 per cent, while Medicine candidates reached 77.6 and 78.9 per cent. Coaching centres sell Speaking because it is easy to sell; the mark sheet says the hours belong on the headphones and the reading passages. This page gives you the format of each part from OET's own guides, a strategy per part, and a four-week plan built only for these two sub-tests.
| Group (self-reported, OET 2025) | Listening B or above | Reading B or above | Writing B | Speaking B or above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malayalam first language | 27.8% | 24.0% | 73.2% | 85.0% |
| Punjabi first language | 39.3% | 31.3% | 64.8% | 84.9% |
| Tamil first language | 46.8% | 43.0% | 71.2% | 85.6% |
| Hindi first language | 58.2% | 48.9% | 73.1% | 89.1% |
| Tagalog/Filipino first language | 67.4% | 43.9% | 57.9% | 85.4% |
| Arabic first language | 66.1% | 69.7% | 73.1% | 91.1% |
| Indian nationality | 37.3% | 32.0% | 72.6% | 85.9% |
| Filipino nationality | 61.9% | 41.6% | 57.0% | 84.6% |
| Sri Lankan nationality | 42.2% | 45.0% | 67.6% | 78.9% |
| Nigerian nationality | 59.5% | 52.4% | 69.0% | 92.3% |
| Nursing (all) | 32.3% | 24.9% | 63.2% | 82.2% |
| Medicine (all) | 77.6% | 78.9% | 79.9% | 92.8% |
Source: OET 2025 demographic data PDF, first-language, nationality and profession tables; B or above is Grade A plus Grade B as printed; every group in this table shows 0 per cent at Grade A in Writing (a handful of other groups in the PDF show 0.1 to 0.4 per cent), so here the Writing column is Grade B alone. OET notes that first language and nationality are self-reported and do not measure proficiency. Two things stand out for our readers. Malayalam speakers have the lowest Listening and Reading figures of any Indian language in the table, while their Speaking is in line with everyone else. And Filipino nurses, who hear a lot of American English, do better in Listening than in Reading, where the gap to Grade B is as wide as it is for Indian candidates.
Why these two sub-tests are hard for our readers
Nothing on this list is a mystery, and each one points to a specific kind of practice.
- Accents you have not lived with. OET's main accents are Australian, British and American, with New Zealand, Irish, Canadian and South African also used (OET Ready listening page). Indian nursing colleges teach a written English and Filipino schools an American one; neither prepares you for an Irish ward sister at natural speed.
- Once only. You hear each recording once and write as you listen. There is no second pass, so a lapse of a few seconds in Part A is a lost mark, and a lapse in Part C can cost two.
- Exact words, correct spelling. Listening Part A and Reading Part A want the word or short phrase from the source, not a paraphrase. In Reading a misspelt answer scores nothing. Candidates who paraphrase well in Speaking lose marks here by "improving" the answer.
- The clock in Reading Part A. Twenty questions in 15 minutes across four texts, then the papers are taken away. That is 45 seconds a question including finding the text.
- Inference in Part C. Reading Part C's two extracts from longer articles test main points, detailed meaning, attitude and opinion, and vocabulary in context across sixteen four-option questions (OET Test Handbook 2026). Skimming is the usual failure, and most candidates skim because they are out of time after Part B.
- Stamina. Listening and Reading are about 40 minutes and then 60, and on paper they are taken on the same day as Writing and Speaking. Build up, before test day, the time you can listen and read without losing concentration; nothing in the four-week plan below is shorter than a full part.
- Vocabulary breadth. Both sub-tests draw on general healthcare topics outside your specialty, plus everyday idiom in patient speech ("it comes and goes", "I'm a bit off my food"). Keep a record of phrasal verbs and everyday expressions from the sample-test transcripts; OET's Ready Study Guide makes the same point about reading widely to build vocabulary.
The common thread is exposure. Speaking can be improved by rehearsing twenty role plays; Listening and Reading improve with hundreds of minutes of the right input, which is why the plan below is measured in minutes per day rather than tasks.
Listening, part by part
Format details are from the OET Test Handbook 2026 and the Ready listening page: three parts, approximately 40 minutes, 42 marks (A 24, B 6, C 12), Grade B typically at least 30. Before each part you get a short time to read the notes or questions; the free sample tests on OET Ready show exactly how long, so time yourself on those.
Part A: two consultations, 24 marks
Format. Two recordings of a consultation between a health professional and a patient, 12 note-completion gaps per recording. You complete the notes with the same word or short phrase you hear. OET says you lose marks if you repeat words from the notes, add information not in the recording, or contradict yourself or make your meaning unclear.
Strategy. In the reading time, read the headings, not the gaps: they tell you the order of the conversation. Predict the type of word for each gap (a body part, a duration, a drug). Write only what you hear, one to three words, in the form you hear it: OET's Ready page says there is some flexibility over spelling in Listening but that you may still lose marks for it, and a different word form is a different answer. If you miss a gap, move on at once: one lost mark is better than three. Use the two minutes at the end (paper) to check spelling and grammar in each answer, because OET says grammar mistakes can cost marks too.
Practice. Take an official sample Part A, do it under test conditions, then read the transcript and highlight every phrase that paraphrased the notes. Shadow the patient's speech aloud for two minutes; connected speech you can produce is connected speech you can hear.
Part B: six workplace extracts, 6 marks
Format. Six short recordings from a range of healthcare contexts (handovers, briefings, a colleague conversation, a professional with a patient or carer), one three-option question each, with a short time to read each question first.
Strategy. Read the context statement first ("You hear a nurse briefing a colleague"): it tells you who and why. Then read the question for the one word that fixes the focus (today, warns, plan). Cross out options as the audio rules them out. Hearing the words of an option is not the answer; every element of the option must be true. Expect synonyms, not the exact words.
Part C: two presentations or interviews, 12 marks
Format. Two recordings, each a presentation or an interview on a healthcare topic of general interest, six three-option questions each, with time to read the questions before each one starts. In the official sample tests the questions follow the order of the talk.
Strategy. In the reading time, read all six question stems first for the shape of the talk, then go back to the options for question one. In an interview, the interviewer's question signals the next item; in a presentation, listen for "that brings me to", "in terms of", "now, on to my case study". Treat "but", "although" and "however" as alarms: the answer often sits on the far side of them. Do not stop listening when you hear a familiar word; all three options are usually mentioned.
Practice. Ten to fifteen minutes a day of a health podcast in an accent you find hard. The OET Ready Study Guide's own list includes Health Report (ABC), All in the Mind (ABC), Inside Health (BBC) and the TED Talks health playlist. Pause after each section and say a one-sentence summary aloud; then check with the transcript where one exists. Our podcast guide explains how to turn that into a routine.
Reading, part by part
Format details are from the OET Test Handbook 2026 and the Ready reading page: three parts, 60 minutes split 15 for Part A and 45 for B and C, 42 marks (A 20, B 6, C 16), Grade B typically at least 30. No extra checking time at the end.
Part A: four texts, 20 questions, 15 minutes
Format. Four short texts on one topic (a dosage table, a guideline, a flowchart, a description of symptoms), labelled A to D. Questions in three types: matching (which text contains this information), short answer and sentence completion. Answers copied exactly; abbreviations only if the text uses them; wrong spelling scores zero.
Strategy. Spend the first minute skimming titles, headings, bullet points and the labels on any chart to learn what each text is for. Do the matching questions first, in order: they teach you the texts. Then scan, do not read, for the key word in each short-answer stem. Keep answers to one to three words. If a question takes more than 45 seconds, guess and move on; on paper these papers are collected and never seen again.
Practice. OET's own blog has a guide to scanning (it is listed in the Ready Study Guide). Our method: practise skimming and scanning as separate skills with a timer, slow first, then faster. A useful drill for scanning is reading a transcript backwards for a drug name. Our short paragraphs reading practice is a low-stakes place to build the habit before using the official samples.
Part B: six workplace extracts, 6 marks
Format. Six short extracts of workplace communication (a policy, a memo, a guideline extract), one three-option question each on the detail, purpose or main idea, sometimes written as an incomplete sentence.
Strategy. Read the question before the text so you know whether you are reading for purpose, main idea or a detail. Check every element of the option against the text. A typical trap (our example) is an option that names something that is in the text, say the controlled-drug cupboard, but adds a supervision duty the text never states. Our split: about 12 minutes for all six, leaving 33 for Part C.
Part C: two articles, 16 marks
Format. Two extracts from longer articles on healthcare topics of general interest, eight four-option questions each, testing main points, detailed meaning, attitude and opinion, and vocabulary in context (OET Test Handbook 2026).
Strategy. Do not read the whole article first. Take question one, go to the part of the text it points to, read that part slowly, answer in your head, then look at the options. Options share vocabulary with the text on purpose; the test is the difference between them. Two minutes per question is the ceiling; guess and return. Build stamina before test day: Part C comes last, after roughly an hour of continuous listening and reading.
Practice. The OET Ready Study Guide recommends the British Medical Journal, the Medical Journal of Australia, JAMA, Medical News Today and Nursing Times. Read one article a day, write a one-line summary of each paragraph, and note three words you could not define. The Study Guide's reason is the right one: reading widely builds the vocabulary that reading speed depends on.
A four-week plan for Listening and Reading
Forty to fifty minutes a day, six days a week, on these two sub-tests only. Speaking and Writing keep their own slots (see the six-week plan); this is the block most candidates skip. Official sample tests are free on the OET Ready portal; use them in order and do not repeat one until week four.
| Week | Goal | Daily (about 45 min) | Weekend check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Know the parts | Finish each part knowing exactly what it asks | 15 min one Listening part untimed, then the transcript; 15 min one Reading part untimed, then analyse why each wrong option is wrong; 15 min podcast in a hard accent with one-line summaries. | Full Listening sample under test conditions. Record the score per part. |
| 2: Exactness | Stop losing marks you knew | Part A Listening and Part A Reading daily, timed, then a spelling and form check of every answer; 10 min shadowing patient speech aloud; 10 min article with paragraph summaries. | Full Reading sample, timed, Part A papers put away after 15 minutes. |
| 3: Parts B and C | Read for meaning, not for matching words | Two Listening Part B items and one Part C extract daily; one Reading Part C text daily with the "answer before you look" habit; 10 min vocabulary review from your notebook. | Listening and Reading back to back, 100 minutes, no break. Compare per-part scores with week 1. |
| 4: Test rhythm | 30 or more out of 42 in both, twice | Alternate full Listening and full Reading samples, timed, with a 20-minute review of errors by type (missed, misspelt, wrong form, misread option); podcast and article continue at 10 min each. | Both sub-tests in the morning at test-day timing. If either is under 30, repeat week 3 for that sub-test. |
Keep one error log for the four weeks with four columns: missed (did not hear or find it), exactness (right idea, wrong form or spelling), option (chose a lookalike), timing (ran out). By week three the log tells you which single habit is costing the most, and that is the one to drill. Our expectation from the 2025 pattern, to be checked against your own log: Malayalam speakers will see the missed and exactness columns fill first; Tagalog speakers, whose Listening is stronger, the option column in Reading Part C.
Why speaking practice still matters
Having spent a whole page arguing that the hours belong on Listening and Reading, here is the honest other side.
- Fifteen per cent is not zero. In 2025, 13.9 per cent of Malayalam speakers and 13.2 per cent of Tagalog speakers finished at C+ in Speaking, and about 1 per cent at C (OET 2025 demographic PDF). The NMC, AHPRA and the GMC do not accept C+ in Speaking. If your first mock puts you in that group, Speaking is still your priority; the criteria page shows how to tell.
- Speaking practice is listening practice. A five-minute role play with an interlocutor, or an AI patient, forces you to process spoken English in real time, pick up hints, and respond. Connected speech you can produce is connected speech you recognise, which is why daily role plays and shadowing a patient's lines aloud belong in the Listening plan too.
- It is the sub-test you can rehearse exactly. Listening and Reading passages are new every sitting; the shape of a role play never changes. Twenty minutes a day holds a B in Speaking while the big hours go elsewhere. Our AI role-play practice gives you a patient who talks back, a five-minute timer and a recording to score against the nine criteria.
- The job is spoken. Every regulator sets Speaking at B because the ward is spoken. The nurse who reaches B in Reading by week six and can still only manage a scripted opening has passed the test and not prepared for the work. Our hospital conversations guide is for that part.
The proportion we suggest for a typical Malayalam or Tagalog-speaking nurse, based on the 2025 gaps: roughly half the week on Listening and Reading, a quarter on Writing, a quarter on Speaking, adjusted after the first full mock. The format page has the timings for that mock, and the OET hub links every other piece.