CGFNS Now Accepts OET and PTE for US VisaScreen

Tanya Freedman, CEO Connetics USA: Hi everybody, and welcome. It's Friday, so it must be Friday. Facebook live with Connetics USA, our weekly show. Onwards and upwards. Everything that a nurse or healthcare worker needs to know about, about coming to live and work in the United States. I am your host, Tanya Freedman, chief executive officer of Connetics USA. And we are very excited today. I see we have a lot of comments in the chat already about how exciting the breaking news is today.

Our show today is going to be about the OET English exam as well as the Pearson PTE English exam. It was breaking news on the 24 May this year. The Health Resources Services Administration, the HRSA, announced that CGFNS are going to be incorporating more English proficiency exams into their portfolio.

So no longer do healthcare workers only have the option to do IELTS or to do TOEFL, but now there are a host of other tests as well. So today we're going to learn more about Pearson PTE specifically, as well as the OET specifically. In future shows we're going to learn about Cambridge and we're going to dig even deeper into these shows.

But for any healthcare worker that's watching today all over the world, this is breaking news. This is a very exciting development. You are going to have more choice of which English test you can do to come and live and work in the United States.

So if you are watching today, if you've just joined us, please put into the chat any questions that you might have. Today's show is going to be in two parts, so please stay on for the rest of the show. We are going to first be speaking to some executives from Pearson PTE and from OET. And then in the second half of the show, we're going to be talking about the mechanics, how these tests actually work.

So I think we have a lot of questions in the chat that are coming in. And we are very excited today to bring in Gary Neil from The OET. And Meredith Soaks from Pearson Pte. Welcome Gary. Welcome Meredith. Thanks Tanya. Nice to be here. Thank you, Meredith.

So today, everybody who's watching, we are going to be speaking specifically to Gary from the OET, Meredith from Pearson Pte, learning about these tests and what it means for international health care workers. This is a very big announcement. This is breaking news. We're going to have future shows in the coming weeks about these two different proficiency tests. But for today, we're going to be getting a great overview from Gary and Meredith. So, Gary and Meredith, welcome to the show. I can see we already have some questions in the chat from our nurses all over the world. But I think let's start off with some introductions. So ladies first.

Meredith, you want to go ahead and introduce yourself? Thank you. My name is Meredith Stokes. I'm with PTE academic. The Pearson tested English. We have been around for a little over ten years as PTE academic. Pearson has been around for an incredibly long time, and we have a very large network of English language learning that we like to include in all of our introductions. So I managed the US. I am located in Houston, Texas, outside of Houston, and I am so excited to be able to just provide opportunities for different learners who choose to take different tests. As you said, this is breaking news. This list has not been updated in decades, and so having the ability to give choice is amazing. And so we're thrilled to be here. Thank you, Meredith. And the ability to give choice is really the key for today's show because, as Meredith says, this is the first time in many years there are many people, Connetics one of them, who've been working very hard behind the scenes with both Meredith and Gary to try and get Pearson PTE and OET into the US. And now it is happening. 1 August you will have choice, as narrative says. So I see we've got Frederick, who's asking, so now the OET is accepted. The answer is yes, Frederick, the OET is accepted. So, Gary, tell us a little bit about a background about yourself and about the OET.

Gary Neal: Yeah, so I'm VP of America for OET, based in Los Angeles, and the test has been well established in Australia, New Zealand, the UK for many years, but has fairly recently arrived on the scene in the US where we were recognized by ECF and G for international medical graduates. And the test is specific to healthcare. That's really the distinguishing feature of the test, and it was constructed specifically for professionals seeking licensure. So that's really the main feature of OET. And I'm delighted to be here and delighted that candidates will be able to use OET results to come to the US in future for nursing. Okay, so we're going to be digging deep today into the OET, into Pearson, PTE. As Meredith said, we have now got choice and different people learn in different ways.

So it's really important as an international healthcare worker to learn about these different options and how they might be applicable to you, what is going to be the best fit for you. So if you are a healthcare worker around the world today, please put your questions into the chat. I see we've got a lot of questions already in the chat, and I see a lot of people are also tagging their friends and their colleagues to watch this show. If you have not done so already, please do so.

Onwards and upwards. It's all about healthcare workers, helping healthcare workers. This is free information to help and educate healthcare workers around the world about what it takes to come and live and work in the United States. So let's dig in.

So I have a question, and this is for both Meredith and Gary. Why is this announcement that came from the CGFNS, that Pearson PTE and OET are two additional tests, and we are going to speak about some of the others in future shows. But specifically today for Pearson PTE and OET, why is this important for international nurses?

Meredith? So I can answer this question, and it also is going to answer a question in the chat of Sharine, and it's talking about license endorsement. And that's exactly why this is important, because up until now, with CGFNS utilizing both OET, PTE and  some other options, the only options were TOEFL and IELTS, if you wanted to go for the endorsement or Visa screen or the CES, the credentials evaluation.

So if you wanted to apply to a state with a different language test, then that state has to manually process their own applications. And that's pretty rare. There are some states, we have about 15 that do recognize PTE previous to CGFNS. But what this does is this really gets access to all of the states that are utilizing CGFNS because they just don't have the bandwidth to do individual processing of applications.

So this really opens some doors as far as instead of having just 15 states for PTE and I think OET has four, you now have the ability to send anywhere through CGFNS that utilizes the Visa screen or the credentials evaluation services.So I think that did I answer that question, Tommy? Yes, I think you answered that well. Thank you, Meredith.

And Mary is saying, well, that's good news, Mary. You are 100% correct. So, Gary, let's dig a little deep into the OET now. Can you tell us a little bit about the OET exam? I know that you've got some slides. So as you are talking, perhaps our Admin team will be sharing some of these slides. And feel free, as I said, for everybody who's watching, we're going to dig first into the OET and talk a little bit about the exam and how that is different, maybe to the IELTS or the TOEFL, that people have a little bit more experience with those exams, and then we're going to talk more deeply about the Pearson PTE.

Okay, Gary, so tell us a little bit about the OET. Yeah, sure. Thanks. And also to the earlier question as well. Candidates can now use results from a nursing specific test to apply for nursing jobs in the US. So that's really the main exciting news, I think, for nurses.

So, about the OET, it was commissioned by the Australian government back in the 1980s. They recognized that there was a problem at the time with some communication errors amongst migrant workers in the healthcare field, and they felt that there should be a test that was specific to health care. So it was developed at the University of Melbourne and became established in Australia and New Zealand. And then Cambridge Assessment took majority ownership of the test in 2013. And that's really when it started to grow internationally beyond Australia and New Zealand, and there are twelve versions of the test. It covers twelve healthcare professions, and the largest number of candidates is in nursing. And the productive skills are profession specific.

So for writing and speaking, you would cover topics specific to nursing and in the receptive skills, they're on general health care topics. So it's still more relevant than a general academic English test would be. It's developed not only by language assessment experts, but also by subject matter experts who are practicing health care professionals. So here in the US. We have a retired nurse, Joy Inveson, who was at the Oregon Board and then was a consultant for the Oregon Board of Nursing for many years. And she reviewed the test and the materials to make sure that they were authentic for the US. Workplace and is involved in an ongoing basis on item writing. Obviously, each test has to be unique because we have twelve professions, we need a lot of items, so those subject matter experts are very important to that process. I think there might be a slide there which just shows the differences between the writing and speaking tests in a general academic English test and in OET, but just to run through it while they're maybe being loaded up In a typical general academic English test, you could be asked to write on pretty much any subject.

There was a doctor recently telling me that they'd been asked to write an essay on rare birds, whereas with OET, it's a relevant health care scenario. So you would receive case notes and you would write a letter to another healthcare professional. And then in the speaking test, it takes the form of a role play, and the candidate would play the part of a nurse, and an interlocutor would play the part of a patient or a relative. And the candidate needs to demonstrate not only English language skills, but also healthcare communication skills, and then mark 40% on their ability to demonstrate healthcare communication skills in the speaking test. So they might need to reassure an anxious patient, or they might need to manage the power relationship between the professional and the patient.

They would be typical things that they would do in the speaking test. And candidates tell us that the process of preparing for the test and going through the process of testing really gives them confidence that they'll be able to practice effectively once they're licensed and in the workplace.

The slide, they're really just talking about some of the things that have driven the demand for the test with healthcare regulators and things I'm sure you're all familiar with. Big shortages in English speaking countries, an aging demographic, consumer expectations at the bedside, so communication skills being a really important clinical skill.

So all of those factors have developed the demand for OET and the healthcare specific test. Okay, yeah, there's the slide, there just talking about the subject matter experts.

And then in terms of acceptance, there's a slide somewhere that shows who recognizes the test. And you'll notice that it's pretty much all healthcare regulators. There are some universities for graduate programs who recognize the test for admission, and it's valid for that purpose, but it was really designed for healthcare professionals seeking registration or licensure.

So that's really the focus in terms of our approach to regulators and our construction of the test and ongoing development of the test to make sure it's really specific for that purpose. Okay, Gary, thank you so much. That gives us a great overview of the OET.

And we're going to talk a little bit more specifically about some of the questions in the chat, like which states also accept the OET and what is the difference when the CGFNS accepts it or when the state accepts it?

Meredith, just at a high level, can you give us an overview of the Pearson PTE  exam and share that with our viewers? Sure. So I think the most awesome thing about Pte is the amount of time that it can take you to book a test, get your results, and get them over to CGFNS. Can be done within a week. It's fully computer based test. We have over 380 test centers worldwide, and we test in over 118 countries.

Again, I said most of the results are already within 48 hours. And pardon me, I'm not crying. I'm having an allergy attack. Oh, goodness. I am excited. I'm not so excited that I'm crying. Weird. That in the US. Yes, it is a single two hour test duration. And that is, I think, something else that's really key is it's one setting. It can't be broken into two sometimes I know that I'll can be broken into two different sessions on two different days.

This is one session, 2 hours seamless. We do have practice material available, tons of it. We even have free material. And we work with kinetics, so I'm sure you can reach out with Connetics and we'll get them some vouchers for practice tests. We encourage everyone to take a practice test, go through the test, see how you feel about it, get your scored results. And the great other thing about Pte is we have a really detailed score report. And what that score report is going to do, even on the practice test is show you where your weaknesses are, where your strengths are, and you can really improve your English skills based on that.

Instead of taking test prep and wasting an entire weekend, you can really hone in on those skills, improve your English, and then improve your score. So we want everybody to be prepared, know what they're getting into, have a really good feel for the exam, and the practice test does that.

So, again, we are more than happy to work with some vouchers and get all of you guys some practice with this exam. I know historically, IELTS and TOEFL have kind of been the only thing that was available.

And we just really, like I said earlier, we want to provide choice because everybody learns and everybody tests differently. The price is usually about $205, $215. Typically a little bit less also than TOEFL or IELTS. And again, you can find all of this information on pearsonpte.com, and we'll be giving you guys some websites, but you can find our test centers. You can find our test countries. You can go directly to look to book a seat and see if it's going to be tomorrow or if it's going to be a couple of days that a seat is available. But with PTE, it's awesome, because, again, if you're ready to take your test and you're ready to submit your licensure get started, we can get you through the process in less than two weeks very easily.Okay, so thank you, Meredith, for sharing that as well. I see we have a question here from Newton who's saying, please can you confirm the city's names?

Meredith, I know that you have said that you're going to send Connetics a list of where all the Pearson PTE centers are. So we will be putting that in the chat for anybody who is asking. So I'm just looking at the chat in terms of the questions Deborah is also asking, please. We are the locations for taking the test and exam.

Gary, can you talk a little bit about that in terms of the OET? Yeah, I mean, we have venues worldwide. There are three forms of test taking for this particular recognition. The at home versions of the test aren't accepted, but we have paper based test venues in the number of countries keeps changing. I think it's 80 countries the last time I looked. And again, because we're part of the Cambridge network, we have access to that network as well. And the computer based version of the test is operated with Pro Metric as a partner, so we have access to all of their worldwide test incentives as well. So an extensive network both in the US. And abroad. Okay, thank you, Gary.

And you'll be posting that information. Gary will be posting that information into the chat for everybody as well. So you will have care information of where you can take the OET exam. We have a question here from Ian. Iman is asking when it will be applicable or when it will start. My understanding, Meredith and Gary, is that this will begin on the 1 August, am I correct? Absolutely.

And I'm waiting on confirmation, but I did reach out to confirm. I believe that if the score is still valid, even if it's already been taken, as long as the score is still valid on August 1, they will use that for acceptance. If the score expires July 31, unfortunately, probably not, but I am waiting on confirmation for that that you should be able to use either OET or PTE, any test, as long as it's still valid. It's just that they won't start using.They won't be able to process until August 1. Okay, so that's good information. And we will have Mukhal Bakshi, who is the chief of strategy from CGFNS, will be on the show next week.

So please, everybody, watch out for next week's show 07:00, a.m. Pacific Time check where you are in the world, what time it will be same time as today, but the CGFNS will officially be on the show. And I see that judge, I have the question, why does the CGFNS decide to open other English exams? We will be asking that exact question, but I think the short answer to that, to your question, Jaja, is that the CGFNS have been working behind the scenes with many companies such as OET and Pearson PTE Connetics have actually been involved in that as well. And this is just a process that has taken a long time to be able to give healthcare workers a choice. Jenny Liu is asking what are the states that accept OET for license endorsement?

Gary, can you speak a little bit about what is the difference between when the CGFNS accepts OET and when a state accepts OET? And then maybe I know we've got a slide of where OET is accepted in which state. Yeah, I think most candidates would like to use their results for both purposes, for their immigration application and their state license application. So obviously the more states that accept the test, the easier that is to do. But things have also been facilitated by the Nursing Compact. So it's possible to apply for a state that's in the nursing compact and then subsequently upgrade that to a multi state license, which allows them to practice in I think it's 39 states at the moment, and it's in the process of expanding. So OET, as I mentioned, is relatively new to the US.

But we've been growing recognition very quickly in the space of two or three years. So at the moment we're recognized by Florida, which is a compact state, oregon, Washington and most recently Michigan. And the board has approved in Illinois and New Jersey. But you have to wait to go through a process where the regulation is changed in state law before the nursing Board can start accepting results.

We're expecting those states to start accepting results later this year, and then we have a significant number of other states, particularly since this news was released, who are interested in starting to review and consider the test as well. So within a short space of time, I think we'll pretty much have most of the states available for candidates to apply to in a streamlined format using their results for both purposes.

Okay, so Gary, thank you for sharing that. In terms of the OET, I'm going to go to marriages now and ask her the same question in terms of Pearson PTE.

But I wanted to share with everybody before we have Meredith answer that same question. If you kind of think of the CGFNS as the umbrella, it's the umbrella that oversees the entire United States. Having the CGFNS accept the Pearson PTE and the OET now as additional English Proficiency tests is very important because that is the requirement for the Visa screen certificate, which is the requirement for the Green card, or for the TN Visa for any international nurses.

In fact, we have a Success Path on our website. If you haven't seen it already, please check the Success Path and you will see there at step number four, which is Licensing and Credentialing. So first of all, you've got to pass the NCLEX, prepare for your interview, and then you would either come on a TN Visa or a Green Card.

And if you don't know what that means, watch the other shows and onwards and upwards, and that will be explained to you. But under licensing and credentialing the CGFNS requires an English proficiency exam. Up until the 1 August this year, they only accepted the IELTS and the TOEFL.

And now the exciting breaking news, if you're just joining the show, is that there are other exams that are going to be accepted, that is the Pearson PTE and the OET, and we're going to be talking about some of the other exams as well.

But today we're highlighting OET and Pearson PTE, and that is the umbrella. Then you will have different states. So, as both Gary and Meredith have said, each person is now going to have the choice to be able to say if they want to do Pearson PTE, or if they want to do OET. And the decision will be on what kind of learner you are and that's why we're learning about the different tests. But also if the state that you want to go to also accepts OET or Pearson PTE.

So you will be watching breaking news here, onwards and upwards in the coming weeks and months, as more states probably will be accepting both of these exams. So I see. There was a question here from Sharine who asked, what if for license endorsements. Some states, like Oklahoma don't recognize

Pearson PTE or OET. So remember Sharine for your umbrella for your Visa screen, CGFNS accept it now from the 1 August, so you will be able to use an exam for that purpose. But if you want to go specifically to Oklahoma, they may or may not require an English proficiency because some states do or don't. I'm not 100% sure of Oklahoma. We would have to ask our licensing team. But they will probably going to be accepting both of these exams in the coming weeks. You want to share with everybody who's watching today on Pearson PTE side, how that works in terms of the different states. The status update right now. Yeah. And it's actually a perfect segue with Oklahoma. I don't know that you even knew this yet, Tanya.

We haven't formally made this announcement because we were waiting for Oklahoma to publish it, but we have been now added by the state regions of Oklahoma for their educational system. So previously they had been limited to only the same two tests as well. And we've been working with them in a pilot. They've actually done a pilot for over five years with some of their universities to really make sure that and vet all of the language tests. So we've been added as an option for Oklahoma schools. I had been in touch with the Board of Nursing for Oklahoma and they were basically kind of under that same state board.

So I know that as soon as the state does the education, they were going to be coming on board with or without CGFNS. So I think the way Tanya explained it was an umbrella of the Visa screen is the most important because that's for the immigration purposes.

And then we're hoping, and I think it's more than hope at this point because we've communicated both OET as they said, and US with a lot of these nursing boards, that as soon as CGFNS US added it, they will go ahead and add that option also because they want to give choice, but they also want to make it simple for them. They want it to all come through CGFNS typically. So this will really make it easier for you guys as applicants, I think, to these states, because you don't have to apply to the state individually.

You can apply through CGFNS and with Connetics as well. Thank you for clarifying merit, because it can feel for a lot of nurses right now. And I'm just kind of looking at the chat. This is great news. This is very exciting, but it also can feel very confusing. How does it work in each specific state?

How does the two different exams compared to the IELTS? And in a few moments, we're going to be breaking to where we're going to talk more a little bit about the mechanics of the exam. But I think this is a great start and a great overview for everybody to understand the choice that is now going to be available from the 1 August. So Mary has a question. I really have my OET, my scores are acceptable in the US. So, Mary, I think Meredith already answered your question just in terms of the CGFNS. It looks like they're going to be accepting the scores as long as the scores are still valid for that August 1 start date.

But please tune in next week to our next show, Onwards and Upwards, where we will have McColl Bakshi, who's the chief of strategy from CGFNS and we'll double check that question for you. And then Christopher is asking, where's the nearest test center here in Saudi for PTE?

Meredith, I don't know if you know that answer on the top of your head. I do not. But let me look. If you actually go to Pearsonpe.com and the top thing, it'll say, find a test center closest to me and you can use your location and it'll give you the exact test center that's closest to you. Because we are in 180 countries, it's hard for me to remember and we have multiple test centers in almost every country. Something else to keep in mind, CGFNS does not accept any at home tests. PTE does offer PTE online and there are a few nursing boards in the US. Including Texas, and I think two others that are accepting for PTE online as well. So if you do live in a place with incredibly limited access to language testing, you might want to look at other options. I think, again, this whole announcement is that there's now options and there's going to be lots of ways to demonstrate your language proficiency. Thank you, Mary.

So those links our team will be posting into the chat. Everybody, I know there's a lot of questions now that this great news, but what does it mean we are the test centers? How do I decide which exam I'm going to be using? What is applicable for me in my specific situation? We've got a question here from Nazarene and I think there was one from Alyssa as well. Is the OET accepted for medical laboratory?

Gary? Yes, that's a good point, actually. So there's one score for above bachelor science level and then a lower score for the med techs. So it's actually a C for reading, writing and listening for medtech and a B in speaking, whereas for registered nursing it's a C plus in reading, writing and listening and being speaking. Okay, so thank you for giving that information. Gary and Meredith.

We've come to the end of the first part of the show, which is just the overview of Pearson, PTE and OET. But Gary and Meredith will be back on onwards and upwards because we know I'm just watching the chat and it's kind of blowing up. There are a lot of questions.

So Meredith and Gary have very graciously agreed that they will go into the chat after the show and answer as many questions as they can for our viewers, but they will be back on future shows. We're going to have a lot more information on how this change impacts everybody. What are the choices learning about these options and see what is the best fit for you to finish off the segment. Gary and Meredith, what advice do you have for any healthcare worker now who is looking at the options?

Meredith, let's start with you. I would say look at the options available and go through the practice material. That's free on everybody's website and see which tests you're more comfortable with, see what fits your learning style the best, see what, again, you feel the best with. Because I think a lot of how we test, whether it's language proficiencies or standardized testing, a lot of your results come from how you're feeling internally. So I would encourage everyone to look at the preparation and then look at things like availability, cost, the time it's going to take you and kind of plot that out and see what works best for you. Thank you, Maria. That's great advice.

Gary, what would you say is your advice to anyone who's now looking at the options? Yeah, I agree. Go on to the preparation portal. Look at Pass papers, look at the YouTube videos. Go on the weekly Facebook question and answer chat with Rebecca from the Education Department at OET, where you'll hear other candidates who are preparing to take the test. Some of our graduates come on those sessions as well just to offer advice to others. So just learn as much as you can about the differences between the test and make your decision about which one is best for your professional development. Thank you, Gary.

Great advice. And thank you so much, Gary and Meredith, for joining us. Thank you for agreeing to going to the chat and answering as many questions as we are getting inundated with questions right now. Lots of excitement, lots of buzz about Pearson PTE and the OET. And we know this is new for everybody, so don't get panicked, don't get nervous, don't feel overwhelmed. This adds a whole another layer of questions for a very complicated process already. So don't worry, we got you, everybody, and we're going to be answering your questions and familiarizing everybody with the process and what this means. Please also check out on the Connetics USA website. We have a blog that will share with you all the different options right now.

How does IELTS compare to OET compared to PTE? And next week we'll be sharing a checklist. So keep watching because this is how you'll be able to determine which exam is going to be the best for you. Please go to the Connetics USA website and download that blog. We're now going to be moving over to

the next part of the show where we're going to be talking about the mechanics. We're going to be talking about some of the questions that I see pouring into the chat right now that we'll be talking about what are the differences, how does the school works? Where can I take it, what is the availability of results, how do I pay it, what is the cost of the exams?

And we're going to be bringing in Brian and Grace. Brian from Niners is joining us. Welcome, Brian. Thank you for having me. Great to have you here. And Grace from Swoosh is joining us. Welcome, Grace. Thanks, Tanya. Hi. Hello, Brian. Nice to be here. Hi there. Welcome to our two partners. I esteemed partners Niners and Swoosh English, who are going to tell us a little bit more in depth about the mechanics of how these exams work. So we're going to be comparing the IELTS to the OET and the Pearson PTE. We're going to be talking about the locations, one of the places where with the test centers for OET and Pearson PTE, we're going to be talking about the availability of test dates, we're going to be talking about the availability of results, how quickly you'll get the results from these exams. We're going to be talking about how you pay it and what the costs and how those differ, and lots of different questions about the actual mechanics of the exams. So before we do that, I want to just have I think Brian and Grace don't need any introduction to our viewers as they are esteemed partners and part of the Connetics College. Connetics College for those people who don't know, every week on a Monday we have a show with our partners. This is free information for nurses where we have different topics that are important for international health care workers. So upcoming shows on the Connetics College. On the 11 July, we have Ailes class listening, followed by electorate talk recognizing, sign posting language. Grace is hosting that on the 18 July, we have a class on NCLEX about heart failure. Darius is hosting that on behalf of Aspire one of our NCLEX partners. And then Niners are hosting on the Connetics College on the 25 July and IELTS class on the Spot writing task hosted by Ervin and Brian. So please keep watching on the first every Monday for the Connetics College as well. And Brian and Grace are no strangers to onwards and upwards.

But let's start off with Grace and Brian just giving a brief introduction about themselves and about Swoosh and Niners. Let's start with Grace. Ladies first. Thank you, Daniel.

So, hi everyone. If you don't know me already, I'm Grace Boosey, and I am the academic manager at Swoosh English. So at Swoosh we are an online exam preparation academy and we focus on preparing candidates for the IELTS, the OET, and the PTE exam.

So this announcement is very exciting for us because we have been preparing students for these exams for a long time. So it's great that it's going to be available to so many more people now. Thank you, Grace. As Meredith said earlier, and Gary shared, this just gives health care workers choice. So that's really what the bottom line is. And it's really about educating yourself about that choice and seeing what's the best fit for you.

Brian, do you want to introduce yourself? Sure. My name is Brian Martin Sioson. I'm one of the lecturers of Niners IELTS Review and Tutorial Center. I've been teaching IELTS for the past twelve years and PTE, I guess since 2015. I am also a certified OET Trainer and I've actually taken both the IELTS and the PTE, and in both occasions I got perfect marks in the IELTS and also in the PTE. So I think I'm in the proper position to talk about these two examinations since I have actually personally sat these tests and have actually scored pretty high. 9.9 delivers different test preparation programs for various English examinations, including IELTS, OET and PTE, the precise exams that we're going to talk about today. Thank you, Nanas. Thank you, Brian.

And we are very excited to have both Niners and Swoosh English on the panel today to talk more about the mechanics and ask a lot of the questions that we see pouring into the chat right now. So we're going to get right to it because I see the clock is ticking and we've got so much information to cover. We're going to be talking now about the locations, the test date, availability of results, credit card, the payment fees, the cost of the exams, how the exams are different to IELTS, and we're going to really be picking Brian and Grace's brain and sharing a lot of the answers to the questions that we see coming into the chat right now.

So I think let's start with Grace. We have some slides, and I'd love you to go through that with us talking about how the Pearson PTE is different from the IELTS exam. So we're going to start with the PS and Pte.

Grace is going to be talking us through over the next three slides how the Pearson PTE is different from the IELTS, and then Brian is going to talk about how the OET is different to the IELTS over the next three slides. Go ahead. Great.

Thanks, Tanya. Okay, so as you can see from the graphic here, the main difference or one of the biggest differences between PTE and IELTS is that the PTE is entirely computer based, so there is no human interaction during the test whatsoever. So whereas, for example, in the IELTS test, the speaking part is done as an interview with another person, with an examiner, the PTE is different because you speak into a microphone.

The computer records all of your answers, and all of your answers are assessed by artificial intelligence. So some people might prefer to take the PTE because of that lack of human interaction if they prefer just a computer based test. But of course, both options are available for IELTS as well. Another difference, which I think Meredith did talk about earlier, is the amount of time it takes to register, take the test and get your results.

So, as you can see here, the registration time for Pte is only 48 hours before. So you can register for the exam 48 hours in advance, take the test, and then your results are delivered within two days, whereas the IELTS, it's a little bit longer. It's about three to five days for the computer based test for up to 13 days. If you take the paper test, the results for PTE are delivered relatively quickly.

Another difference between them is that they are scored a little bit differently. So those of you who are familiar with IELTS will know that they have a scoring system from one to niners, whereas the PTE uses a score range of ten to 90. Sorry. So actually they do break down the scores a little bit more in Pte to get quite specific numbers coming out of that.

Let's see, what else? Another difference is that the PTE is a little bit shorter at 2 hours and that is taken in one sitting, whereas the IELTS is a bit longer at 2 hours and 45 minutes. And the speaking test is done separately and can actually be scheduled on a different day. So really we can see, if we look at the differences, that the PTE does seem to be a much quicker process in some ways.

And then if we look here at the sections, so we can see that IELTS has four subtests. It's divided into reading, writing, listening and speaking. Whereas the PTE, it's three tests. So speaking and writing is done together. And then we have reading and listening. And one thing I would mention about the Pte is that some of the sections test integrated skills. So that means that you might be doing the listening section, but you're actually being tested on your listening and your writing, perhaps.

So PTE does have that integrated skilled element, whereas IELTS just tests one skill at a time. Let me just see. I think I've talked about everything on this slide. I don't know if there was any more information. Yeah, I think we've got everything here, Grace, on the difference between the IELTS and the PTE.

Let's move to the next slide and Grace can maybe take us quickly through the difference in terms of the other parameters for the IELTS and PTE. Right? So, yes, if we think more about the exam content, then IELTS and PTE are relatively similar in that they both contain academic content and you're practicing and demonstrating your use of English in real life academic context. So in that respect, they are quite similar. And I'll let Brian talked about how OET is quite different in that respect.

Now, the scoring requirements, I can see a lot of people have been asking about the scoring requirements in the chat. So with IELTS, if you are familiar with that, you are required to get an overall score of 6.5 with a seven in speaking. If we take a look at PTE, it's requiring an overall score of 55, but also saying no section below 50. So you do get an individual score for each section as well as an overall score. So these are the scores that you would be required to achieve. Now, I think we've talked about the human interaction.

So yes, in IELTS you do have to actually speak to a person. If you prefer not to do that, then PTE might be for you because your speaking skills are assessed by a computer. Now the remarking policy. So if after you've taken your test, you want to get a section remarked with IELTS, you can request remarking within six weeks I'm sorry, of the test date, whereas for PTE, it's within 14 days of receiving your results. So just make sure that you're familiar with those policies for the exam that you're taking. And finally, who is it for? Well, the IELTS is traditionally considered to be quite comprehensive test of your English, and it is widely accepted by many institutions worldwide. I would say that PTE might be better for you if you prefer a relatively short and entirely computer based test that you take in one sitting.

But as Meredith did say earlier, I would highly recommend that you take a look at both of them, have a go at a practice test and see which format you prefer. Because really, you're the one who's got to make this decision at the end of the day. Yeah, it really is a very individual decision. And keep watching everybody, because we have our blog on the Connetics USA website that you can download talking about the differences between the IELTS, OET and the PTE.

And next week we're going to have a checklist for you, which will give you some questions to ask yourself because it's going to be your decision, as Gray says, which is going to be the best fit for you before we move on to the OET and how that differs from the IELTS.

And Brian is going to take us through that. Grace, we have one more slide. Just finishing off the Pearspon PTE. If you can just share with us just some of the options of the test centers and cost and payment. Okay, yes, there have been so many questions in the chat, in the comments about the more logistical aspect. So, as you can see, IELTS has got a large number of test centers, 1200 centers in 140 countries. TT has 250 test centers worldwide. When you compare these numbers, you can obviously see that IELTS does have more test centers, but I wouldn't let that put you off the Pte. Do your research and find out where your nearest test center is because there might be one very close to you. The cost of the exam, you can see, is quite similar.

So $218 or $220 for the IELTS, $220 for the PTE. So very similar in that respect. And payment options for the IELTS would be a bank deposit or credit card, whereas for PTE just accepts credit card. So there you can see the more logistical sideof the exams and I do hope that that helps answers all of those questions in the chat. Yes, we have a lot of questions about those exact topics. So hopefully. Everybody.

These charts will give you a better idea of how these exams differ and also keep watching in the chat because Meredith and Gary have agreed to go into the chat and answer some of the questions specifically and Grace and Brian very graciously as well have offered to go into the chat after the show and answer some of the questions as well if we were not able to get to everybody's question.

So Brian, let's talk a little bit more about the OET and the mechanics of the OET. We're going to put that slide back up and start with the first slide which will talk about the overall differences between the IELTS and the OET and Brian is going to take us through that now.

Well, generally IELTS and OET are not very different when it comes to the receptive skills, particularly for listening and reading. They're also very similar when it comes to the type of examinations because we have IELTS on paper and IELTS on computer and just the same in OET we also have OET on paper and OET on computer. So there's a computer delivered version and also a paper edition for both iOS and the OET. So very similar to each other, unlike the PTE which is only computer delivered.

Now, when it comes to the registration time you need to register for IELTS at least four days prior to your examination. IELTS is on high demand, in high demand. So there are a lot of people who are taking IELTS whereas for OET there's not really a lot of test dates. So you have to book your examination at least three weeks ahead for you to secure a slot or an appointment for the test.

So in that regard, IELTS is actually something that you can more easily walk in comparison to OET because you will have to wait three weeks before you can book another examination. For OET that's also quite disadvantageous when it comes to resetting because you will not be able to reset the examination as soon as possible if you want to get your test results much faster.

Now, for the test validity, at least for IELTS and OET, they're both valid for two years.  So I think all of the English examinations including TOEFL are valid for two years so there's not really much difference here. And when it comes to the exam duration, this is actually where it differs. IELTS is for 2 hours and 45 minutes with a 15 or eleven to 14 minutes speaking test whereas the OET is for 3 hours with a 20 minutes speaking component.

Now, what's different is that sometimes in IELTS you will have to take the examination on two separate locations. Sometimes you have to take the examination on two separate days, one for your speaking test and one for your written exams, particularly for paper delivered IELTS. Whereas when you're taking computer delivered IELTS, sometimes you have to take everything in a single setting and in OET, usually the test is administered within a day, so everything happens within a single day. Usually the morning sessions will be for listening, reading and writing, and the speaking component will be in the afternoon.

Now, the score ranges from one to nine for IELTS, niners being the highest and one being the lowest. But for OET it's between zero and 500. And actually there are letter equivalents for the numerical scores that you're going to be given in the OET, at least for the US. The requirement is somewhere close to B and C plus, so that's between 300 and 340 or C plus and 350 and above, up to 440, will be a B. So I think that's a little complicated because they have the numerical scores and they also have the letter scores. You just have to convert your score to the letter scores so that you will know whether you qualify for the US. For the sections, there are actually four sections in both IELTS and the OET quite different from the

PTE in which there are integrated components. For IELTS. And OET. They're very similar. Listening, reading, writing and speaking are the four components of the test, but I would have to say that the difference here is the context. I'll talk about that in a bit. The listening and reading tests of IELTS and the OET are very similar to each other. The writing and speaking components are a bit different.

Now, the availability of the test results will be within 13 days prior or after sorry, your paper delivered IELTS test or three to five days much faster for the computer delivered test, but for OET it's between 14 and 16 days usually.

So it's a bit longer compared to the amount of time that you will have to wait for your test results to be released for IELTS. Yeah, let's continue to the next slide for the next one. Yeah. This is actually where it differs largely. I would say. Because IELTS is a general exam. So it can be in the academic or social context or in everyday kind of context in which the kinds of passages or listening recordings that you will be encountering are very relatable because there are probably things that you'll get to hear or read when you're already outside the country. Living in a foreign country. Whereas in the OET everything is medical related or in the healthcare context.

This might actually be advantages to people who are exposed to the medical environment because definitely they can relate better to the packages and to the extracts. And they will find it a bit more interesting, in my personal opinion, because the packages and the extracts that they're going to listen to or read are actually very much related to or very connected to their professions.

Now, when it comes to the score, requirements for nurses in the USA has recently announced it's a 6.5 overall ban score for IELTS and a seven in the speaking component, whereas for OET, it should be a grade of C plus for reading, writing and listening, and a grade of B for speaking.

Now, the reason for this is there's no overall score for OET. You only get individual scores for each one of the subtests and no overall score. So you get C plus for reading, writing and listening, and B for speaking. Because there's no overall score in both IELTS and OET, there will definitely be some kind of human interaction, unlike the PTE, in which everything is going to be graded by the computer in speaking. For example, for IELTS, you will be talking to an examiner who will be the one to assess your performance for the speaking examination. Whereas when you're taking OET, you're going to be talking to an interlocutor.

Now, this person does not award the score to the candidate. Instead, the interlocutor facilitates the entire conversation, and the recording is the one that's going to be assessed by the examiners who are based in Melbourne, Australia. So all of the recordings are going to be sent over to Melbourne, Australia, and they're going to be assessed by examiners there. But certainly there will be some sort of personal interaction with another person when you're taking the IELTS or OET.  IELTS takes on an interview for speaking, whereas in OET is going to be a role play, and you will be assuming the role of the health care provider, whereas the person that you're going to talk to is going to be an interlocutor. It's going to assume the role of the patient. Okay. Thank you, Brian.

And then I think it's just a little more there. Well, a lot of our students are very interested to find out if they're able to have remarking for both the IELTS or OT. And, yes, it is possible to challenge your scores. For IELTS, you have a window period of up to six weeks after you take the examination. But for OET, you have to do it as quickly as 72 hours after the release of the results. So you need to file for remarking much sooner if you're taking OET. So, definitely, who are going to benefit from taking the IELTS? Those people, perhaps, who want to go abroad and want to take a general examination of their comprehensive test for their English proficiency, and who want to take an examination that is accepted by literally all the countries in the world and all agencies and all institutions, because IELTS is more widely acceptable compared to other examinations. Whereas the OET is very beneficial for health care professionals who wish to work or who wish to live in an English speaking country because the content of the examination is more relevant to them.

Okay, and then lastly, just a little bit of information when we talk about the logistics. IELTS is definitely the best examination out of the three. When it comes to the locations, there are over 1200 locations or test centers in more than 140 countries in OET. We only have 160 worldwide. In fact, here in the Philippines, there are not really a lot of test centers for OET. So some of our students will have to travel from one place to another just to take the OET.

So you have to check if there's a test center that's available near you when you're taking the OET because there are more limited locations where the OET is being offered.

Now, when it comes to the cost, and this is probably a lot, this is a very controversial topic, and a lot of people want to know how much the examination is going to be. While the iOS and the PTE  are almost the same in price, OET is significantly more expensive. It's $587, or when converted to US dollars, around $400. So that's quite expensive, almost twice the price of the IELTS. And you can pay for the IELTS through test centers. And here in the Philippines, for example, they accept bank deposits. And you can also use your credit card or PayPal to pay for your examination depending on the test center, whereas the OET requires a credit card for payment. Okay, so, Brian, that gives a very good, comprehensive overview of the differences between the OET and the IELTS.

And Amir is asking, how can we get registered with you guys for OET coaching? I'm an working here in Kuwait. So, Amir, the answer to that is you can watch the Connetics College where both Niners and Swoosh English will be training in the coming weeks and months on the OET and the Pearson PTE, as well as the IELTS. And this is free information for all nurses. It's from the Connetics USA website.

Our way of paying it forward for nurses and providing free information just to help you. We are out of time, but I want to finish off with one question, and that is to both Grace and to Brian, is to say, what would you say to any nurse or any healthcare worker that's watching right now and saying, okay, this is all very interesting information, but what does it mean for me? Right. I think really we've mentioned this a few times today. The biggest thing it means for you is you now have a choice. And it's really important that you know what to do now that you have that choice. So, as we've mentioned, go onto each of the websites and take a practice test.

Think about all of the things that we've mentioned today, the differences, the similarities. Decide what's best for you once you've decided, okay, I'm going to take, for example, the PTE. Make sure you find yourself some support. Make sure that you've got some teachers giving you feedback, helping support you through your preparation and getting you where you need to be. But, yeah, just keeping yourself informed of all of the differences and similarities, I think is the best thing that you can do for yourself and hopefully we've helped a little bit today.

Thank you, Grace. And as I said, hopefully a little bit today. There's going to be a lot more to come on, onwards and upwards, helping you to decide between these exams. What is the best choice for you, brian, what is your advice? Well, I would want to echo what Gray said. Now, there's plenty of options for our nurses and they can choose whatever examination will suit their learning style or their testing style.

And this is very important because sometimes one examination might not work out for you and there might be a different examination that might be better for you. Maybe you're not the kind of person who likes to write on paper and you want to take a computer delivered or computer based examination, and it will all differ depending on your preferences. My best advice for you is no matter what high stakes English examination you're taking, be it IELTS. OET or Pte that you have chosen, you prepare for it. Because if you want to get a good score and be able to land a job immigrate to a foreign country and change your life, these are just English examinations, but they can be life changing and you don't want to shatter your dreams. Prepare for your examination, train hard for your examination. The reason that I've gotten very good scores in my English examinations is that I prepared really well and I prepared ruthless Leslie for these examinations. And I also want you to have that kind of mindset when you're taking the examination, because these are just English exams, but they can change your life for the better.

Thank you, Ron. Very valuable advice as well, and guidance. Marius is saying Grace and Brian, two of my favorite teachers. Two of our favorite teachers too. So thank you so much to Grace and Brian for joining us. Brian from niners and Grace from Swoosh. English. This has been such a fabulous show. It is so exciting for nurses to be able to have this choice. Please make sure to watch next Friday, onwards and upwards. We'll have Mukul Bakhshi who is from the CGFNS, who will be talking about this decision and the announcement and the change that is coming on the 1 August.

There's going to be a lot more information that is coming your way. So this is just the tip of the iceberg. It's just the beginning, but please make sure to continue to watch the Connetics College. We have many shows that are coming up in the next few weeks and we also have upcoming shows onwards and upwards. Every Friday 07:00, a.m. Pacific Time, check the time in your location. On the 15 July we have a recruitment event. International Nurse. Question and answer. Very exciting. On the 22 July, our usual once a month immigration question and answer with the legal experts.

And on the 29th we have a very interesting show on transportation in. The United States. So put Mark that on your calendars. And then before we talk show, once a month on the 19 July, we have a new segment, very exciting, where you will be asking licensing experts questions and answers that you'll be able to ask the experts on licensing questions. So things about license, endorsements, visa, screens, CES, all of those different kinds of questions.

Before you leave us, please also don't forget the Connetics Initiative. The Connetics initiative is that all Connetics nurses get an IELTS scholarship? And from the 1 August it will be an English scholarship because we'll be helping you to ascertain which English test is the best fit for you. And then, as Brian says, you've still got to prepare.

There's no magic wand. Unfortunately, we also have a free scholarship. So if you have not already done so, please apply to the Connetics USA website and selected nurses will be eligible for the Connetics Scholarship, where we will be paying for your NCLEX exam. We have a new promotion, our NCLEX nurse $1,000 application bonus.

This is our new promotion. So if you have passed the NCLEX and you apply to Connetics between July 1 and September 1, you can earn yourself $1,000. This is what you can do for yourself. A great new promotion. Please apply to our international nursing agency. If you have passed the NCLEX and you would be eligible for the NCLEX application bonus. It's a new promotion, and you can see the details on our website.

Please also watch our podcast, Nursing in America. We have our direct hire program. Nurse aide program. Watch every Friday, onwards and upwards. Watch the Connetics College on every Monday. And if you're looking for a position as an Allied Worker, we have positions all over the United States. So thank you, everybody, for joining us. This was such a fun, exciting show. I just love this show. It is so fun to be able to see this big change come for all healthcare workers. Very exciting developments coming. And on the 1 August, when the CGFNS accept these new TV, and all we can say is onwards and upwards. Thank you, everybody. See you next week. Bye.