OET · Listening
OET Listening: Parts A, B and C
OET Listening takes about 40 minutes and has 42 questions in three parts. Part A is note completion from two consultations, Part B has six short workplace extracts with one question each, and Part C has two longer talks or interviews with six questions each. Every recording is played once, and the test is the same for all professions.
- Time
- About 40 minutes
- Questions
- 42
- Part A
- 2 consultations, 24 note gaps
- Part B
- 6 workplace extracts, 6 three-option questions
- Part C
- 2 presentations or interviews, 12 three-option questions
- Plays
- Each recording once
How OET Listening works
Listening is the first sub-test of the Listening, Reading and Writing sitting. It is not profession-specific: nurses, doctors, pharmacists and the other professions all take the same test, and no specialist knowledge is needed.
Part A checks that you can capture specific details from a consultation, Part B that you can follow short everyday workplace exchanges, and Part C that you can follow opinions and arguments in longer talks. Each correct answer earns one raw mark.
OET reports each sub-test on a 0–500 scale in 10-point steps with grades A–E, and Grade B is set at 350. The exact conversion from raw marks is not published, so treat any raw-mark rule of thumb as approximate.
OET Listening tasks
Tips that work
- Practise only with audio you cannot replay, because the official test plays each recording once.
- In Part A, write the exact words you hear, not clinical synonyms.
- In Parts B and C, read the context line and question stems before the audio starts.
- Train your concentration for five-minute extracts, not just short clips.
Questions candidates ask
How long is OET Listening?
About 40 minutes, including all three parts. Timing can vary slightly because it depends on the recordings.
Is OET Listening profession-specific?
No. Listening and Reading are the same for all 12 professions; only Writing and Speaking are profession-specific.
How many questions are there in OET Listening?
42: 24 in Part A, 6 in Part B and 12 in Part C.
OET overviewOET Listening: all partsOET full mock testsOET articles on the blog