German B2 – Goethe Certification Exam Pattern
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The German Goethe Certification Exam for any level for adults can be given by anyone who is competent to write it and is 16 years of age.
Here is the exam pattern,
German B2 – Goethe-Zertifikat Exam Pattern
The exam consists of four modules which come under the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFRL)
First Module is Lesen for German B2 level Exam – Reading
Marks – 100
Passing – 60
Time – 40 minutes
The reading module contains 5 questions
The first question:
has 9 sub questions and a time frame of 18 minutes to complete this task. It’s a topic-based question. There are four texts based on a topic, you need to find which statement applies to which text. Since all the texts are about the same topic, one must read the texts carefully to find the appropriate answer.
The second question
has 8 sub questions and a time frame of 12 minutes to complete this task. You must read a magazine’s article with blanks and find an appropriate match for each blank. There are 6 blanks and 8 sentences. 2 sentences don’t fit in the text and remain unfilled.
The third question
has 6 sub questions and a time frame of 12 minutes to complete this task. You read an info Text here and select an appropriate answer from three options a, b and c after reading the text carefully.
The fourth question
has 6 sub questions and a time frame of 12 minutes to complete this task. This is a topic-based question, and one must read the texts and find an appropriate heading for each text. You get 6 headings and seven texts out of which one of the texts won’t have an answer.
The fifth question
has 3 sub questions and a time frame of 6 minutes to complete this task. Here you get three texts as questions, and one must find a relevant Title for 3 texts out of the 7 headings given.
Note: The time frame for each question is the ideal time required to complete the question, however one can alter the time required. It is important to finish the exam in 65 minutes. It is quite challenging to complete the exam in the given time frame because of two reasons. The reading speed and the vocabulary. The only way to fix this problem is to read! Doesn’t matter what but read as much German as possible.
Second Module is Hören for German B2 level Exam – Listening
Marks – 100
Passing – 60
Time – 40 minutes
The listening module contains 4 questions
The first question
has 5 sub questions. Each question is either a dialogue, message on the answering machine or a weather report, announcement on railway station, airport or a supermarket. This section you will be listening to once. Each of these conversations will have two questions; 1. True or False, 2. Mark the correct option a, b or c.
Note: you get 15 seconds time to read each question. Do not let your thoughts distract you. Utilize this time to mark the key words and understand the requirement of the question.
The second question
has 6 sub questions. This is mostly an interview with a personality on radio and has questions with three options to select the correct answer from a, b or c. You listen to this section twice.
Note: you get 90 seconds time to read the questions. Try to mark the key points and get more insights about the topic of conversation. Besides it’s an interview so do not expect any pauses in the middle of questions.
The third question
has 6 sub questions. This will again be an interview but between three people, the presenter and two guests. You need to find out who said which sentence and mark it accordingly. You listen to this section once. This is same as fourth exercise of B1 listening
Note: you get 60 seconds time to read the questions. There’ll always be two same gendered people talking together, hence it’s extremely confusing to identify the differences. You can write the characteristics of the voice right in the beginning to avoid the confusion. For example, if it’s an old or a young person, has a heavy or a light voice.
The fourth question
has 8 sub questions. This is a presentation on a particular topic. You need to find out the correct answer from the options a, b and c. You listen to this section twice.
Note: you get 90 seconds of time to read the questions. Since you listen to this twice, focus on the first attempt to make rough notes of what you hear with the help of short abbreviations and key points and mark the answers in the second go.
Third module is Schreiben for German B2 level Exam – writing
Marks – 100
Passing – 60
Time – 75 minutes
The writing module contains two questions.
The first question
is expressing your Forum post. This is a topic-based question, for which you don’t get another topic as an option. You need to work on 4 given points and compose a meaningful and coherent Text within the limit of 150 words. The time frame for this section is 50 minutes and demands a good knowledge and understanding of the topic.
The second question
is about writing a formal letter. It is most of the time a complaint letter. You are given a situation with 4 points. You must find a relevant connection between the points and write a letter using the correct salutation and greetings. The word limit for this section is 100 words and the time frame is 25 minutes.
Note: Writing is a highly controllable Part. One has a lot of time before, during and after writing a text to make necessary changes. Utilize this advantage by spending 5 minutes before and after writing the text.
5 minutes before to Understand the need of the question and to decide the flow of the text. 5 minutes after to check and correct the mistakes yourself.
Fourth module is Sprechen for German B2 level Exam – speaking
Marks – 100
Passing – 60
Time – 15 minutes for both candidates
The speaking module has two questions
The first question
is about making a presentation. You have to make a verbal presentation about one of the two topics. Your presentation should explain all the given points under the topic and shouldn’t exceed 4 minutes. The examiner may or may not ask you a question related to your presentation.
The second question
is about debating on a topic. You must clear your viewpoint and react to your partner’s opinion and counter opinion. By the end of the discussion, you should reach a decision, whether you are for or against the given topic. The time Frame for this question is appropriately 5 minutes for both the candidates.
Note: You get 15 minutes of preparation time before the exam and use this time for both the questions. One must prepare alone and don’t get to discuss the debate topic with your partner. One can make a note of important points and your ideas. However, in the exam one must speak freely.
By now you must have accustomed yourself to the fact that it’s an everyday process and not an overnight thing. Your understanding of words and vocabulary takes you a long way. Do not neglect that. Learning just the words will increase the passive knowledge, you must also try to actively use the words and grammar learnt.
For me, reading is the easiest way to get the vocabulary, which further leads to listening and identifying the words. Once that’s done, I compel myself to use these new words and expressions in my write ups, which eventually leads to using the words in speaking.
And just like that you can add one more feather to your wings. Since the exam is so challenging and practically designed, it’ll help you attain the desired command over the language. A language exam is not something to stress about but to test what you’ve learnt.
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Here’s a link to a model test,
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