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Speaking Sub Test Booklet PDF
Speaking Sub Test Booklet PDF
Speaking Sub-Test
Occupational English Test Preparation Course
Speaking Sub-test
These notes have been prepared to assist candidates with the different
styles of the Speaking Test.
Part I – Warm Up
The candidate answers questions about their personal background,
previous study and their experience in their chosen profession
Part 1 – Warm Up
Opening/Ice-breaker
REMEMBER this stage is not assessed except for some vets who only have
experience in tropical medicine rather than with domestic animals. However,
it is an opportunity for you to become relaxed before you begin the
assessment stage of the speaking test .
Homework Task
Greeting/Introduction
Examination - imperatives
- requests
- making a diagnosis
Diagnosis
- explaining a diagnosis / condition
- checking understanding of diagnosis
- acknowledging patient reactions
- reassuring
Leave-taking
Taking a case-history
Examination
Diagnosis
Making a diagnosis Explaining a diagnosis
For explanations
regarding specific
It looks like you’ve got _______. conditions, see
All your symptoms point to _______. Booklet _____
Page 9 of 15 Author: Judith Given
You’ve probably got _______.
I’m quite sure what you have is _______.
Occupational English Test Preparation Course
Speaking Sub-test
Checking understanding of a
diagnosis
Suggesting
How about you try and cut down on the number of cigarettes you’re smoking?
Why don’t you get a little more rest each day?
Why don’t you try some exercise each day?
What about I visit you each day and check up on your progress?
Maybe you ought to )
Perhaps you should ) slow down a bit.
It might be a good idea to )
How about joining a social club?
Reassuring
…Treatment (continued)
If you don’t cut down your cigarettes, you run the risk of having a heart attack.
If you continue to smoke, you increase your risk of having a heart attack.
If you don’t have the surgery, the pain is not going to go away.
If you take the tablets regularly, you’ll be able to keep the condition under control.
If you look after yourself, you’ll still be around in 20 years time.
Inviting Feedback
Leave-taking
1. Make sure that you the “entry point: for the role-play right – for example,
if the role-play says the patient has come for the results of the test, greet
the patient with “Hello John, how are you/I’ve got the results of that test
you had done and it shows…” rather than starting off with questions relating
to the patient’s general medical history.
3. Highlight the important points involved in the role-play i.e. the points you
have to cover and the functions you have to complete (explaining/reassuring).
If you have time, jot down an overview of those points’stages so that you
don’t have to re-read the consultation during the role-play. Prepare a “map”
for yourself to return to quickly if you forget where you’re up to in the role-
play.
5. Try to provide some sort of feedback after every clause the patient utters.
This can be verbal or non-verbal. The more you use such feedback, the more
“natural” the role-play will seem. Mmm / Yes / That doesn’t sound too good /
OK / Uhuh.
A good strategy is to pick up the final part of the patient’s utterance and
repeat it to show you have understook and are listneing actively.
Patient: “I’ve been feeling off-colour for about two week.”
Doctor: “Mmmm. For aobut two weeks”
6. Keep the volume of your voice up. Don’t trail off as this makes you hard to
hear and also makes you seem uncertain / lacking in confidence that you are
perfroming the task well.
7. Deliver information in “chunks”. The better the information you give, the
less the interlocutoe needs to ask questions to push you to give an
appropriate language sample.
8. Say the same thing in several ways (rephrase, paraphrase) – this is typical