Use the context statement in Listening Part B

The audios in Listening Part B can be a monologue (one person speaking) or a dialogue (two people speaking).

A context statement is above each question and the three answer options. It gives clues about how many people will speak in the recording. It also provides useful information about the healthcare professions of the people speaking. These clues will help you start to imagine the conversation and the kind of contents they might discuss before the recording starts.

For example:

You hear a dietitian talking to a patient.

The use of 'talking to' (rather than a verb like discussing) suggests the dietitian will do most of if not all the talking. You can imagine the dietitian will explain to or inform the patient about an aspect of their diet.

Here’s another example:

You hear members of a hospital committee discussing problems in the X-ray department.

Although 'members' can mean any number more than two, you will only ever hear a maximum of two people speaking in OET. 'Discussing problems' suggest they are problem-solving together.

Listen to the context sentence as it is read aloud to you before your 15 seconds to read the question and answer options. Picture the situation in your mind. This will help you access the recording more easily.