Time allotted: 25 minutes
The OLT is carried out on a computer equipped with a headset and microphone; however, test takers will not be required to use the computer mouse or keyboard. The OLT may be taken before or after the Written Assessment.
It consists of five tasks which sample typified and recurring speech acts within college and university settings:
Format
Task 1 (2 minutes)
Make a short oral presentation
Test takers are given the topic for the presentation upon registration in stage one and may take as much time as they like to prepare and practice their talk in advance of the test.
Task 2 (5 minutes)
Relay information obtained from a lecture
Test takers are asked to provide key information to another student based on their understanding of a short recorded segment of a professor’s instructions.
Task 3 (5 minutes)
Relay information obtained from an academic document
Test takers are asked to provide specific information based on their reading of a short, generic academic document.
Task 4 (5 minutes)
Relay information from an academic text
Test takers are asked to read a section of the text in Task 3 aloud, for the purpose of discussing the text in the context of a group discussion or academic presentation.
Task 5 (8 minutes)
Explain a choice for participation in a group project
First, test takers listen to a professor’s instructions for a group oral presentation. Then they listen to other members of a group who explain their preferences for participation in the presentation.
After listening to the other group members, the test takers are asked to explain their own presentation choice and ask a question regarding an important detail related to the presentation (e.g., time allowed, marking criteria, available equipment, etc.)