The candidate card
Setting
Home visit, community rehabilitation service
Candidate
You are a speech pathologist with the community rehabilitation team. Mr Khoa Phan, aged 65, is the husband and main carer of a 63-year-old woman who had a left-hemisphere stroke three months ago. She has moderate expressive aphasia, but she understands simple sentences relatively well. At your last visit you noticed that Mr Phan asks her to repeat words correctly before he responds. She has started to withdraw from conversation.
Task (interlocutor: carer)
- Find out how communication is going at home and how Mr Phan is coping (daily conversations, his wife's withdrawal and mood, his own wellbeing)
- Explain in simple terms what expressive aphasia is (a language difficulty, not a lack of effort or intelligence)
- Explain communication strategies that can help (allowing time, short sentences, yes/no questions, gesture, writing, pictures)
- Respond to his belief that she could speak properly if she tried harder, and persuade him to try a different approach
- Agree a plan for home communication and therapy practice, and arrange follow-up (including any further support needed)
In the test you get 3 minutes to read the card and plan, then about 5 minutes to talk. This card is original, written for this site; the interlocutor's card is not shown.
How to approach this card
- Begin with how Mr Phan is, not only his wife, and ask about a typical conversation at home. Ask about her mood and withdrawal and about his own wellbeing, because you may need to arrange support for him too.
- Explain expressive aphasia as a problem getting words out, not a problem of effort or intelligence. Use an everyday comparison, such as a word being on the tip of the tongue, and keep the explanation short.
- When he says she could speak if she tried harder, acknowledge the frustration and avoid correcting him bluntly. Link it to what you saw, asking her to repeat words correctly before he responds, and offer an alternative.
- Teach a small number of strategies, with one demonstration he can copy: time, short sentences, yes/no questions, gesture, writing, pictures. The trap is a long list. Ask which one he would try first.
- If time is short, prioritise the explanation, the change from correcting to responding, and one follow-up date. Raise further support for him and any concern about her mood, then ask him to summarise the plan.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- How are you finding things at the moment, as her husband and main carer?
- She knows what she wants to say; the words are the hard part.
- Let's try responding to what she means first, and leave out correcting the word.
- What would you find easiest to try this week?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| expressive aphasia | A language problem after stroke that makes it hard to find and say words. |
| left-hemisphere stroke | A stroke on the left side of the brain, the side that handles language for most people. |
| communication strategies | Simple ways of talking and listening that make it easier for her to get her message across. |
How this card is marked
Two assessors mark the recording on nine criteria: intelligibility, fluency, appropriateness of language and resources of grammar and expression (each 0–6), then relationship building, understanding and incorporating the patient's perspective, providing structure, information gathering and information giving (each 0–3). Grade B usually means 5 on each language criterion and 2 on each clinical one. See the AI Speaking practice guide for what each criterion looks for.
More Speech Pathology role-play cards
- Dysphagia after stroke: refusing thickened fluids Hospital ward, stroke rehabilitation unit
- Preschool stuttering: a father's worry about 'slowing down' Community health centre, paediatric speech pathology clinic
- Speech sound errors and a request to 'cut the tongue-tie' Private paediatric speech pathology clinic
All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Speech Pathology.
Questions about this role-play
How do I challenge his belief without making him defensive?
Validate that he wants her to do well, then explain that aphasia is a language difficulty after the stroke, not low effort. Describe what you saw rather than judging, and offer something to do instead. Showing a strategy working is more persuasive than argument.
What if his wife is present during the visit?
The card describes a conversation with Mr Phan, so check where she is and whether it is appropriate to speak openly. Include her where possible, using the strategies with her as you go, and ask about her mood sensitively. Offer a private moment if needed.
What should I do about his wife's withdrawal?
Ask about it and her mood, and note it in the plan. Explain that you will keep working on communication, and discuss further support, which may include other health professionals such as her GP. Do not label her mood yourself from the visit.
Sources
Last checked 22 Oct 2026. Rules and prices change: confirm on the official page before you book or apply.
OETAce is an independent practice site. OET is a registered trademark of Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment (CBLA); we are not affiliated with or endorsed by CBLA. All practice material here is original.