OET · Listening · LB
OET Listening Part B: Short Workplace Extracts
OET Listening Part B checks whether you can follow short conversations and briefings in a healthcare workplace. You hear six separate extracts, such as a handover, a team briefing or a talk with a patient, each about one minute long and played once, and answer one three-option multiple-choice question per extract.
- Questions
- 6 (one per extract)
- Question type
- Multiple choice, 3 options
- Extract length
- Roughly 1 minute each
- Speakers
- One or two people per extract
- Plays
- Each extract is heard once
How it works
- 1A short context sentence tells you where the extract takes place, for example a ward handover or a pharmacy counter.
- 2You get a few seconds to read the question and the three options before the audio begins.
- 3The extract plays once, then you choose A, B or C.
- 4The next extract starts with a new context; each of the six is independent.
Sample question
Original sample · not from an official test
Context (original): A charge nurse is briefing staff at the start of a shift. Audio: "The new hand-gel dispensers are in, but please don't remove the old ones yet. Facilities will collect them on Thursday once they've checked every bay has a working unit." What are staff asked to do?
- AA. Take the old dispensers to Facilities on Thursday
- BB. Leave the old dispensers where they are for now
- CC. Check every bay for a working dispenser
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Answer: B. Leave the old dispensers where they are for now
The instruction to staff is 'don't remove the old ones yet'. Option A misplaces the Thursday detail, and C is the job Facilities will do, not the staff.
Tips that work
- Read the context line carefully; knowing who is speaking to whom tells you whether to listen for an instruction, a concern or an opinion.
- Underline the question focus in your head: purpose, next step, main point or the speaker's feeling.
- Expect all three options to be mentioned in some way. The right one answers the exact question asked.
- Answer as soon as the extract ends and let it go; the next context arrives quickly.
Common mistakes
- Choosing the option that repeats the most words from the audio.
- Confusing what one speaker suggests with what is actually decided.
Questions candidates ask
How many questions are in OET Listening Part B?
Six, one for each short workplace extract. Each has three options.
What kind of recordings appear in Part B?
Everyday healthcare interactions such as handovers, briefings, team discussions or conversations with patients or carers, spoken by one or two people.
Do I need clinical knowledge to answer Part B?
No. Everything you need is in the recording; the questions test listening, not medical expertise.
Other OET Listening tasks
OET overviewOET Listening: all partsOET full mock testsOET articles on the blog