IELTS:
Pros -
- Comparatively cheaper test than OET (less than half the price).
- Lots of material available online as this test has been taking place since a very long time.
- More centres and dates available.
- Both computer based and paper based available.
- Results are released quicker than OET.
- Does not require any medical knowledge, just basic English skills which are used on a daily basis.
Cons -
- IELTS speaking is based on random topics so sometimes it tests your general knowledge rather than English. Example: they could ask you "what are certain ways companies can help reduce pollution?" Or "what are different water sports people enjoy in your country?" It could be simple to some but to others who don't have an idea about water sports or pollution prevention it can make you go blank during the test.
- IELTS writing is considered very tough. Lots of people get stuck on band 6.5. This is not because of lack of vocabulary or incorrect grammar, it's because IELTS has a very specific writing criteria that they want you to fulfill. The grade is based on multiple points like task achievement, task response, coherence and cohesion, grammatical range and accuracy and lexical resource. So it's important to structure your essay according to the criteria.
OET:
Pros -
- The vocabulary used in OET is profession specific and hence more familiar to a doctor. In contrast, in IELTS if you are given an essay to write about crime and do not know the vocabulary related to it, it could affect your score.
- OET writing has only one task and provides enough time to complete it properly unlike IELTS where you have to jumble between two tasks.
- OET speaking is also more familiar as it similar to talking to a patient in clinical settings.
- The OET marking scheme cares much less about grammar. To do well in IELTS you have to “show off” your grammar in both the writing and the speaking. You also have to deliberately use complex vocabulary and idioms, even if they would not normally be necessary to make your point. However, in the OET you only need to have correct grammar and appropriate vocabulary to complete the task.
- OET has an overall higher pass rate than IELTS and the score is based on grades which have a wider cap (100).
Cons -
- Expensive test ( costs more than twice the cost of IELTS).
- Lesser material available online.
- Very less centres and dates available.
- Results take lot of time to be released.
- OET speaking requires communication skills like expressing empathy and being polite to the patient. It depends on culture to culture, for instance, in my home country the style of communication is very different compared to the one in test.
- OET writing is tricky. You will have to go through the case notes and pick the most accurate information to put in the letter. It requires a lot of practice. (But the benifit is you get 40 mins for a single task and is less tedious than IELTS writing tasks)
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