Knowledge Bank
An ESOL crisis in Scotland – and what to do about it
Contact us Back to Menu ↩ Evidencing the ESOL Crisis: Towards a Vision for ESOL in Scotland Francesca Stella and Meg Wishart, University of Glasgow
October 29, 2026
A Briefing Paper for Healthcare Training and Recruitment Professionals
Both IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and OET (Occupational English Test) are used to test the English language of healthcare professionals in different parts of the world.
They are chosen by regulatory bodies to ensure doctors, nurses and other professions have sufficient language skills to communicate at a high level with patients and colleagues, and so ensure safe and effective care.
This briefing looks at the two tests and compares them. As a result, healthcare training and recruitment professionals will be able to make better and more informed decisions when looking at which test is most appropriate for the health professionals they work with where the two options are available.
Contact us Back to Menu ↩ Evidencing the ESOL Crisis: Towards a Vision for ESOL in Scotland Francesca Stella and Meg Wishart, University of Glasgow
Contact us Back to Menu ↩ Train the ear first If you want to learn a language well, start by listening to how it sounds.
Contact us Back to Menu ↩ Four recently published reports look at ESOL from quite different angles but have remarkably similar conclusions. The APPG on
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