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OET · Listening · LC

OET Listening Part C: Presentations and Interviews

OET Listening Part C tests whether you can follow longer spoken material on healthcare topics. You hear two extracts, each a presentation or an interview of about five minutes, played once. Each has six three-option multiple-choice questions about the speakers' views, attitudes, examples and arguments, asked in the order the ideas appear.

Questions
12 (6 per extract)
Question type
Multiple choice, 3 options
Extracts
2 presentations or interviews, roughly 5 minutes each
Plays
Each recording is heard once
Audience
Written for a general healthcare-professional audience

How it works

  1. 1A context sentence introduces the speaker and topic, and you have time to read the six questions.
  2. 2The recording plays once. Questions follow the order of the talk, so you can track your position as you listen.
  3. 3You choose A, B or C for each question during or straight after the recording.
  4. 4The second extract repeats the process with a different topic and different voices.

Sample question

Original sample · not from an official test

Context (original): A physiotherapist is interviewed about exercise programmes for older adults. Audio: "People assume the barrier is motivation. In our clinic it was mostly transport: patients wanted to come, but two buses each way wore them out before they'd even started." What does the physiotherapist say about attendance?

  1. AA. Patients were less motivated than staff had expected.
  2. BB. Practical travel problems kept many patients away.
  3. CC. The sessions themselves were too tiring for older adults.
Show answer

Answer: B. Practical travel problems kept many patients away.

The speaker rejects the motivation idea ('people assume') and names transport as the real barrier. Option C mixes up the tiredness caused by the journey with the sessions.

Tips that work

  • Listen for signals of opinion: 'people assume', 'what surprised us', 'I'd argue'. Part C often asks what the speaker actually thinks, not what others believe.
  • Use the question stems as a map; each one points to the next section of the talk.
  • Note contrasts such as 'but', 'in fact' and 'however', which often come just before the tested idea.
  • If you are unsure, choose the option that matches the speaker's attitude, then move on before the next idea passes.

Common mistakes

  • Picking an option that states a common view the speaker goes on to reject.
  • Losing concentration in the middle of a five-minute extract and missing two questions in a row.

Questions candidates ask

How long are OET Listening Part C recordings?

Each of the two extracts runs to about five minutes, according to the published guidance; exact lengths vary by test.

Are Part C questions in order?

Yes. The six questions for each extract follow the order in which the information is heard.

Is Part C only lectures?

No. An extract can be a workplace or professional-development presentation, or an interview such as a podcast-style conversation with a health professional.

Other OET Listening tasks

OET overviewOET Listening: all partsOET full mock testsOET articles on the blog