OET stories

Occupational English Test ... Nurses

* Studied in Mohali at UCOL, India
* Bachelor of Nursing (RNBN)
* Nursed for nearly four years in ICCU &    Medical Ward
* Has passed OET in N.Z.
* Now preparing for Nursing Registration in N.Z.
* About to begin permanent full-time   employment in N.Z

Raj came to New Zealand in May with the goal of becoming a New Zealand registered nurse. She had an IELTS score of six and needed to increase her score to a seven. She eventually passed the OET exam in October which enabled her to finish the process of becoming a registered nurse in NZ. Raj had no idea that it would take so long to pass the exam and she advises other nurses to get their level of English to as high a standard as possible before they arrive. Raj says, "It doesn't matter how much experience you have, you must have the language, without it you can't do your job."

Raj's hard work has paid off and she believes it is due to maintaining a positive attitude and never losing sight of her goal. The most difficult thing was working to support herself and studying at the same time. Also, the loneliness was awful, "the first six months, it was exciting…after that it was difficult…preparing food, working, studying so I called friends, prayed a lot and listened to music, to lift my spirit."
Raj's success has been largely due to the strategies she used to improve her English and to keep herself in a positive frame of mind. She joined the library, went to church services, "I was thinking it was one way to listen to songs, the priest's accent, prayer as well." She made friends with other nationalities and socialized with them, texting, got their phone numbers. "I chose the way to spend my time to kill the loneliness."

Raj was also supported by her homestay, and ETC. When Raj first arrived in NZ, she went into a homestay, "I spoke a lot with the family…every day I was learning. They took all responsibility for caring for me, took me to the park, cooked for me and drove me to school. NZ was really, really new to me, you know, so it was good to be in a homestay." She spent about five months at ETC improving her English in preparation for IELTS and OET. At ETC "I learned English at an academic level which is a requirement of the Nursing Council. On the very first day so many red marks on my essay," laughed Raj, … "After four or five months my confidence had grown so that I could speak to people. The staff at ETC helped me a lot. I gained different experiences from different teachers and that helped me with general knowledge. I liked the flexibility of the teachers. Marie spent a lot of extra time with me after class in her own time. ETC is the place that I made many different friends, experienced different accents, different food. ETC arranged trips like to ten pin bowling, kiwifruit picking and the snowy mountain. I didn't have that chance in India."

Raj chose Palmerston North because she felt the other cities were too big. "Palmerston North is small and quiet. It is easy to get familiar with PN…because it's small; I am always bumping into friends which don't happen in big cities." For Raj, the highlight since coming to NZ has been passing her OET exam. "My parents are so proud of me. I am in N.Z. on my own. They are so happy with what I have achieved. If they are happy, I am happy."