Two real OET Speaking role-plays, start to finish
Almost every OET Speaking sample you can find is a written transcript. A transcript hides the two things candidates most need: the pace, and how much of the five minutes an unhurried opening actually costs. So here are two you can listen to, recorded end to end — a nurse delivering an unwelcome update after a long emergency-department wait, and a GP with a patient who does not want the test she is recommending.
The nurse’s and the doctor’s turns were written and synthesised. Neither patient was written at all — both are the same AI patient the app runs, improvising from a card in the role-play bank. Nobody scripted either of them, which is why Mr Wilson raises his friend Arthur unprompted in the medicine recording below, and Mr Carter asks for pain relief before anyone offers it in the nursing one.
A GP and a reluctant patient
Transcript provenance, since this is a page about accuracy: the doctor’s lines are the exact text that was synthesised, so they are authoritative. Mr Wilson’s are machine transcription of what he actually said, reproduced verbatim — they have not been tidied, because a tidied line would no longer match the audio.
What the doctor was holding
In the exam you get three minutes with a card like this and never see the patient’s. Read the tasks, then listen again and watch where each one gets achieved — none of them are announced.
Setting: Local medical clinic. Your role: Doctor.
Mr George Wilson, 72, a retired mechanic, has had recurrent non-exertional chest discomfort for two months. Initial tests — ECG, bloods including troponin, chest X-ray — were all normal. You recommended a stress echocardiogram and he seems hesitant. This consultation is to address that and plan next steps.
- Explore his specific reasons for hesitating, given the normal results.
- Validate his concerns about more testing without dismissing his symptoms.
- Share why further investigation matters in his case — his age, and the nature of his symptoms.
- Offer an adjusted option that respects his values or practical constraints.
- Agree one concrete step he is willing to take this week.
Task five is the one candidates most often lose. It is easy to explain well for four and a half minutes and finish without anything actually being agreed — and “we’ll see how you get on” is not a concrete step. In the recording it arrives at 4:04, and the patient repeats it back.
An ED nurse and an unscripted patient
Transcript provenance: the nurse’s lines are the exact text that was synthesised, so they are authoritative. Mr Carter’s are machine transcription of what he actually said, reproduced verbatim — including the safety-net he repeats back without being asked at 3:09, which is the clearest evidence in the recording that it landed.
What the nurse was holding
Same rule as the medicine card above: three minutes to read it, and the patient’s card is never shown to the candidate.
Setting: Emergency Department. Your role: Emergency Department Nurse.
Mr. Daniel Carter, a 54-year-old long-distance driver, has been waiting in the Emergency Department for several hours with acute lower back pain. He is becoming visibly frustrated with the delay. Your role is to assess his condition, provide a preliminary explanation of his pain, and manage his expectations regarding the wait time.
- Greet Mr. Carter, acknowledge his wait, and confirm the acute lower back pain he presented with.
- Gather a focused history of his lower back pain, including onset, character, radiation (e.g., down the leg), aggravating/alleviating factors, and any associated symptoms (e.g., numbness, weakness, bladder/bowel changes).
- Clarify any initial triage findings regarding his pain and mobility, and explain the need for further physical assessment or imaging by a doctor.
- Explain the probable causes of acute lower back pain in his situation (e.g., muscle strain from prolonged driving, disc issue) and outline the immediate ED plan, including pain management and further diagnostic steps.
- Confirm his understanding of his condition and the ongoing ED process, addressing his frustration about the wait and setting realistic expectations for when he will be seen by a doctor.
What the assessors are listening for
Two assessors score every role-play against nine criteria. Four are about your English. Five are about how you conduct a consultation — and those five are where clinically excellent candidates most often lose marks, because they are not habits anyone is taught to perform out loud.
Linguistic criteria (band 0–6)
Clinical communication criteria (band 0–3)
Your overall result for Speaking is a Grade A–E, not a band — bands are the per-criterion sub-scores. How the two relate.
Where the time actually goes
The role-play is short enough that structure is most of the score. Timings below are from the medicine recording above, so they are one real example rather than a rule — but the shape generalises.
- 0:00 – 0:50Open, and hand the floor over
Greeting, name, and one open question. Fifty seconds feels expensive when you have five minutes; it is the cheapest fifty seconds in the exam, because everything after it is a response to something real.
- 0:50 – 2:20Find the actual objection, then name it back
This is Understanding the Patient’s Perspective being earned rather than claimed. Mr Wilson’s stated reason is cost; his real one is his friend Arthur. Naming Arthur is what changes the conversation.
- 2:20 – 3:40Explain — including what the test cannot do
Information Giving rewards chunking and honesty over completeness. Conceding the limits of the investigation buys more credibility than another reason to have it.
- 3:40 – 4:36Offer a choice, check, agree, safety-net
Two options rather than one, an explicit check that the explanation landed, one concrete step, and what to do if things change before then. The safety-net is frequently the last thing said and frequently the thing that is missing.
How long is the OET Speaking sub-test?
About 20 minutes in total, of which the two role-plays are up to five minutes each. You get three minutes to read each card beforehand. The medicine recording on this page runs 4 min 36 sec, which is close to a full role-play. The nursing recording runs 3 min 23 sec, well short of the five minutes available. Treat that as a shorter example, not a target: in the exam you have up to five minutes, and the tasks on your card are what you need to cover in that time.
What is an OET Speaking role-play card?
A one-page brief. Yours sets the scene and lists the tasks you must cover; the interlocutor holds a different card telling them who they are and what they will resist. You never see theirs, which is why the tasks have to be achieved in conversation rather than recited.
How many criteria is OET Speaking scored on?
Nine. Four linguistic criteria — Intelligibility, Fluency, Appropriateness of Language, and Resources of Grammar and Expression — and five clinical communication criteria: Relationship Building, Understanding and Incorporating the Patient’s Perspective, Providing Structure, Information Gathering and Information Giving.
Are the patients in these recordings real people?
No, and nor are the nurse or the doctor. Their turns were written and synthesised. Neither patient was written at all: both are the same AI patient the app runs, improvising from a case card in the role-play bank — which is why Mr Wilson brings up his friend Arthur unprompted in the medicine recording, and Mr Carter asks for pain relief before anyone offers it in the nursing one.
More on the sub-test itself: the OET Speaking sub-test explained, how the three preparation minutes are best spent, the mistakes that cost the most marks, and what sitting Speaking at home requires. The nursing recording above also appears alongside a full Grade A vs Grade C comparison, annotated move by move here. To practise with a card of your own, browse the OET Speaking role-play cards by profession, or take a free OET practice test and get your own role-play scored.
You cannot practise this by reading. Say it out loud.
The patients in those recordings are the same AI patient the app runs. Pick a card, run a five-minute role-play, and get all nine criteria scored about a minute after you stop talking.
On Android, Windows or a Mac? OET Live now runs in your browser — the same role-plays and scoring as the iPhone app, nothing to install.
iPhone app: iOS 16 or later. On anything else, use it in your browser at oetlive.com/app.
Want more? Try Essential monthly free for 3 days — up to 30 practice minutes (about 6 role-plays). A card is required; cancel before the trial ends and you are not charged, otherwise it renews at US$39.99/month.