Planning to work abroad? Tips to ace at English fluency test
CAINTA, Philippines — You’ve been planning to work abroad as a medical professional for some time now, and you have more or less put together all your documents already.
There is just one more requirement, though: Your English language certification. The English language certification is really a requirement for those planning to work as medical professionals in English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Filipino doctors and nurses are actually at an advantage, as English is constitutionally named as one of the Philippines’ official languages. With a little more guidance through these tips from TrueProfile.io, a platform that provides Filipino healthcare professionals around the world with tools they need to secure a lucrative career abroad you should be able to ace that English fluency test without any trouble.
Here, though, are some steps you may want to take just to make sure you really do:
Enrol in training courses. This may help. TrueProfile.io offers various preparation courses for two types of English language certifications: the Occupational English Test (OET), which is the preferred test for healthcare professionals, as it is based on medical English and English used in the day-to-day language in a medical environment; and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), which is the world’s most popular English language proficiency test to help you work, study or migrate to a country where English is the native language. It would also be helpful to get your credentials to reach prospective employers abroad.
Practice taking the exam. One of the benefits of enrolling in a training course is that you get to practice taking the actual test so you can properly prepare for it. The exam will involve an assessment of four language skills Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. So you can ask your teacher for timed mock exams to build confidence in these four language skills.
Record yourself while speaking. Ask your teacher to do a one-minute speaking interview with you, with vocabulary corrections and feedback to help you get better. When you record yourself while doing a speaking interview, you will be able to assess where you need to improve. Practice your expressions for speaking, using phrases that can help you score better points by giving you more time to think, such as “That’s an interesting question; let me think…,” “I would imagine that…,” and “I suppose…”
Improve your reading and writing skills. Try to explore useful materials, such as English-language newspapers and magazines that come from the UK, US, or Australia. Read words out loud. Write down words that are not familiar to you, look for their meaning, and remember them. This will help you expand your vocabulary and help improve your English.
Develop reading techniques. Practice reading lengthy texts. Reading is, after all, one of the challenging aspects of the language tests, and since you are given limited time during the exams, develop reading techniques such as skimming, which is used to get a general overview of the text, and scanning, which is used to locate specific keywords or phrases. Then read the surrounding text in detail to find the answer you’re looking for.
Learn to be a good listener. Listen well so you become a better reader and writer. Listen to English resources from the US, UK and Australia., such as TV shows, movies, newscasts, even podcasts, to add to your vocabulary and hear the different English accents used.
Be a better writer. Writing well means better chances at passing your English writing exams. Try using simple writing methods like making an outline to keep your ideas focused and organized as you write. English fluency certifications are not designed to test how smart you are but how you are able to present your ideas clearly. Keep your ideas simple.
Take your time. You have limited time to finish the exams but don’t rush it too much either. Give yourself enough time to express yourself so you are able to read, listen, write and speak well. Ace your English language certification by putting your act together.
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