Before I qualified for 'wings' I had to complete solo engine off to the ground, having practised a lot before hand, subsequently it was practised every six months with a QHI. All this paid off in Indonesia in 1968 when I had a full blown engine failure in an AB206A. I would have thought that engine offs to the ground were an essential part of anyone's basic training. And yes, the real thing does sound very different to a practise.