Guides to the German exams

Here we walk through the exams part by part: what comes up, how it is marked, what a good answer looks like and which grammar you need for it. Every sample task and model text on these pages is our own.

The exam and your preparation

• Goethe, telc or ÖSD — which exam is the right one?All three test against the Common European Framework of Reference, and a B1 is a B1 everywhere. Still, the exams are built differently — and an authority sometimes accepts one but not another. Here is how to find yours.
• A study plan up to the exam: eight weeks are enoughWith a fixed date, "learning German" turns into a task with an end. This plan spreads the work so that on exam day you know the format, you know your weak spots — and you are not exhausted.

Writing

• The formal email: how to write it in the German examAn enquiry to the language school, a complaint to the landlord, cancelling with your course teacher: in most German exams from A2 upwards you write a formal message. With a fixed structure and a few set phrases you get it right every time.
• Schreiben B1 at Goethe and ÖSD: three texts in 60 minutesThree tasks, three text types, one hour. In the B1 writing exam the winner is not the most beautiful text but the one that covers every point of the task, strikes the right tone and hangs together.
• Writing at telc Deutsch B1: an email that hits all four pointsAt telc B1 you write a single text — a personal or semi-formal email. Doesn't sound like much, but each of the four guiding points counts, and the raters look at things many candidates never think about.
• Writing at Start Deutsch 1: a form and a short messageWriting at A1 is short — a form and about 30 words. That is exactly why every detail counts: a forgotten point, a missing greeting. Here is how the points come about.
• Writing at Goethe B2: arguing a case and writing formallyA forum post of about 150 words, a message of about 100 — and 75 minutes. At B2 it is no longer enough to cover every point: what counts is how well you argue and how well your text hangs together.

Speaking

• Sprechen B1 at Goethe and ÖSD: plan, present, respondThe speaking exam lasts only about 15 minutes — in pairs, after 15 minutes of preparation. Know what each part asks for and you can practise almost all of it in advance.
• Speaking at telc Deutsch B1: three conversations in pairsThe telc B1 speaking exam is a conversation with your partner from start to finish: getting to know each other, exchanging opinions, planning together. Talk on your own and you give points away.
• Speaking at Start Deutsch 1: introduce, ask, requestThe A1 speaking exam is a group exam with a fixed routine. Know the three parts and you can practise almost every answer in advance — and you will be much calmer on the day.
• Speaking at Goethe B2: give a talk, lead a discussionThe B2 speaking exam has only two parts, but both ask a lot: a structured talk, and a discussion in which you argue, respond and take a position at the end.

Listening and reading

• Hören in the exam: less guessing, more understandingIn Hören you can't turn back the page: the recording plays once or twice and then it is gone. So what you do before and while listening matters all the more — and so does knowing how often each part is played.
• Lesen in the exam: don't understand everything, find the right thingIn the reading part many candidates fail not because of the language but because of the clock. You don't need to understand every word — you need to know what you are looking for and to split your time well.

Marking

• How Schreiben is marked — at Goethe, telc and ÖSDExaminers don't read your text by feel but with a marking sheet. Know the criteria and you know where the points are — and that a forgotten guiding point usually costs more than ten grammar mistakes.

Grammar for the exam

• Two-way prepositions: accusative or dative?An, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen — nine small words that turn up in every German exam. One question is enough to find the right case almost every time.
• The perfect tense: with haben or with sein?In conversation and in personal emails, Germans tell almost everything in the perfect tense. Most verbs form it with haben — a manageable group with sein. Learn that group and this mistake is gone.
• Subordinate clauses: the verb goes to the endWeil, dass, obwohl, wenn — these words link your ideas, and linking ideas is exactly what the writing and speaking criteria ask for. The word order behind them is always the same.
• German adjective endings without rote learningDer gute Wein, ein guter Wein, guter Wein — the same adjective three times, two different endings. Behind it is a single idea, and once you see it you will hardly need the tables.
• Konjunktiv II: ask politely, suggest, advise, wishKönnten Sie …? Wir könnten … Du solltest … Ich wäre gern … — the Konjunktiv II hides in the very sentences you need most in the speaking and writing exams. The forms are simpler than their reputation.
• The passive: when the action matters more than the personIn news items, house rules and formal letters you meet the passive all the time — and so in the reading and listening texts of the exam too. It is always built the same way.
• Relative clauses: saying exactly who or what you meanDer Kollege, der mir immer hilft. Die Wohnung, die wir gefunden haben. Relative clauses describe people and things more precisely — your sentences get longer without getting unclear.
• Verbs with prepositions: learning what belongs togetherIch warte auf, ich denke an, ich interessiere mich für — with these verbs the preposition is fixed, and it decides the case. There is no rule for it, but there is a good method.
• Connectors: how sentences become a textDeshalb, trotzdem, zwar … aber, einerseits … andererseits — connectors show how your ideas relate. From B2 on, examiners watch this closely. The hard part is not the meaning but the word order.