We have been conducting live classes on Facebook and YouTube for a while now. You can also check out when our next FREE class is. And what we noticed from teaching these classes is that a lot of students seemed to be concerned with one particular thing in OET speaking: TASK FULFILMENT! Basically, do we lose marks if we do not complete the speaking role play task?
There are usually 4-5 bullet points in a typical roleplay card. The reality though is that some students may only answer 2-3 of them during the limited time in the real exam. This causes students to worry about whether they will lose marks because of this. Today we are going to address this confusion.
When we look at the OET speaking marking rubric, one of the aspects that is marked upon is overall task fulfilment. Which accounts for 20% of the total score. However, please note that you won’t lose marks just because you didn’t complete all the bullet points.
Although they will mark you based on whether you fulfilled the task or not. It is more about you demonstrating your English communication skills rather than finishing all the tasks in a rush. With the new OET 2.0 update, it is now written in the guidelines that they should also assess your ‘clinical communication skills’. I will be talking more about this in future blog posts.
The other misunderstanding among students is the interlocutor task. You might be wondering if he/she trying to help you or harm you? Like I said in a previous article, the OET interlocutor is trying to help students throughout the five minutes for each of the two role-plays. The interlocutors look at the role-play cards in detail beforehand to give them a good understanding of the tasks. So the OET interlocutor will help you as much as possible to try and fulfill all of those bullet points. But it does not really matter if you cannot answer all of them. But you should aim to complete all of the bullet points. This is something to practice with your teachers and study partners before you take your exam.
So remember, if you want to get a great B. You don’t necessarily have to cover all the bullet points. Just demonstrate your English communication skills. If you have any questions, make sure you put them in the message box below and I’ll be happy to answer them. If you want to get more OET tips for each sub-test, make sure you go to www.swooshenglish.com
13 thoughts on “Do you lose marks for not completing the OET speaking role play tasks?”
I finished the task but Idonot know my weak point in speaking to solve it INEED HELP
I finished the task but Idonot know my weak point in speaking to solve it INEED HELP
I finished my role play within 3 minutes instead of 5 minutes. Will I lose marks?
Hi Domonic, many thanks for your comment. Answering your question: The role play is designed to give you a chance to demonstrate your English communication skills, so it’s important to try and speak for the full 5 minutes, otherwise, you might not show the examiner enough evidence of your language ability. Plan to cover all the points on your role play card and think about how you can explain some points in more detail, or ask the patient to clarify something. In this way, you will demonstrate your full range of language skills and be more likely to get a high score.
If you need help with your exam preparation journey please send us an email at: [email protected] to provide you with all the help and support that you need.
I couldnt complete my writing task…last line of contact for queries and the salutation if yours sincerely is missing??? Will I fail the exam…can I still get grade B???
Hi Bhumika, Many thanks for contacting Swoosh English. You might lose some points by not closing the letter properly but you can still get a B grade depending on the rest of your letter, please send us an email to [email protected] once you get your scores as we would love to know how it went 🙂
If I do grammar mistake during role play whether I will lose marks
Hello, I have a question please answer me the earliest you can. There are some speaking tasks that are given semi-finished that is, results given in the case. How can you demonstrate relation-building to whom you already saw a few minutes ago, and ordered lab etc?
Hi Heron, many thanks for contacting Swoosh English. I have just sent you an email from [email protected] in order to help you 🙂
Hello Swoosh!! BTW you videos helps me a lot. I just want to ask if this rule not finishing all of the bullets is applicable until now? Today is october 30 2022
Hello! Regarding the bullet points in the role play, the tasks are designed to help you demonstrate your range of English communication skills, so it is recommended to complete them all to meet the assessment criteria fully. You won’t be marked down for not completing some of the bullet points, however, you will likely miss out on an opportunity to gain marks in specific criteria. If you need extra support with your exam preparation please send us an email to [email protected]
After my speaking, if I asked any irrelevant question make sure that after speaking is done. Will my marks be cut ?
Hi Jaya, many thanks for contacting Swoosh English. We would love to help you pass your upcoming OET exam. Please send us an email at [email protected]