Communication is the basic skill needed in any competitive exam. English language proficiency is a must for almost all the exams. But at times language acts as a barrier mainly because the candidates are not from native English speaking community.
Table of Contents
HOW TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE SKILLS?
Improve your proficiency in the language, especially in listening, speaking, reading and writing. You can improve your score on the OET exam by carefully following the instructions and remembering all the tips associated with these skills. Before the test, try to listen to accents from a variety of English speaking countries. Studying all aspects of English, including grammar and vocabulary, will also help improve your OET score.
There are two aspects you have to take care of before actually attending the exam: learn the test well and improve your English. You might need to work more on grammar and vocabulary. So in an English speaking country, you need to talk to your patients in a very friendly language and tone. Apart from knowing the nuances of the language, you are supposed to use the language according to the context.
As part of language improvement, listen to audio podcasts on medical lectures. Repeated listening helps you to catch new words that come across. To improve your speaking skills, engage yourself with your friends for role play. Setting up a scenario like that of a medical field helps you a great deal to avoid inhibition in talking in English. Improve the art of writing by learning how to write precisely to the questions given. You can polish your writing skills with the help of a good trainer. Reading skills can be enhanced by reading out loudly. Loud reading helps yourself to pinpoint your errors while reading. Remedial measures can be taken at once.
CHALLENGES FACED BY NON NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS
Difficulty in communication or poor communication is a major issue. Non native English speakers may miss out on opportunities to secure employment. It adversely affects their career prospects. Almost all the hospitals abroad need their employees to communicate in English. In such cases, how talented you are, you may miss out on opportunities if you lack fluency in English. English is also commonly used as a language of medium in training programmes for competitive exams. Navigating healthcare systems can also be a major challenge for non native English speakers. The inability to speak in English in your working place leads to frustration and a feeling of discrimination. Most importantly a non native speaker struggles to express their thoughts and emotions as such, leading to misunderstandings.
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORE
- Enhance your vocabulary
Whenever you come across a new word while reading, adopt techniques that help you to remember the word. Review them regularly to retain the word in your memory. You can also depend on vocabulary building apps to enhance your knowledge of words.
- Read extensively in English
Reading any genre helps you to improve your skills. Pay attention to sentence structure and patterns. This to an extend will help you to improve your score in the OET exam.
- Listen and Respond
First listen to an audio and then record your speech. Listen to your own pronunciation and make corrections if necessary. This will help you at the time of interview.
TIPS FOR IMPROVING ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY FOR NON NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS
- Record yourself
- Improve pronunciation and intonation
- Get a friend to conduct a role play
- Speak slowly and fluently
- Practice each and every word
- Avoid repetition and use synonyms for words.
- Practice speaking English daily.
CONCLUSION
With enough practice and willpower a non native English speaker can definitely earn a good score for the OET exam. Practice is the keyword behind the success of the OET exam because it depends on the language skills.