How To Pass German Language Exams Goethe etc

Are you preparing for German language exam like Goethe, TestDaF or DSH? In today's video, I'm going to break down exactly how to prepare for and pass these exams. Trust me, it's not as scary as it seems once you know the system behind it. So first, let's get one thing clear. Exams like Goethe or TestDaF are standardized tests. So basically, they not only test your German skills, but it's more about how well you understand the test format. And this is great thing because it makes them really predictable and you can learn specific test taking strategies. It's similar to SATs and GMATs. They are also standardized and you can get lot of test prep books. And the good thing is, you don't need perfect score to pass German language exam. For example, in the Goethe exam, you only need 60% per module to pass. Even if you miss couple of questions in the reading or listening sections, this won't destroy your chances. And spelling and grammar mistakes are also okay as long as they're not too frequent. In most cases, you just need to get the certificate. And after that, most people honestly don't care if you got 75 or 92 out of 100. So with the expectation set, let's look at the exam structure. This is the most important thing you can do before you tackle any German language exam. Understanding the exam structure. This is very important. There are usually four parts. Reading, listening, writing and speaking. And this is similar to other exams like IELTS or TOEFL. In the reading part, you will see different kinds of texts like ads, news stories or essays on the higher levels. And the questions could be multiple choice, true or false, or you might need to explain something. The key skill you need to develop here is to skim and scan. And that means reading quickly to find the information you need. Don't spend too much time on one question. In the listening section, you're going to hear short conversations, announcements or lectures and answer questions based on what you hear. The people in the audio speak normal German, so you might not understand every word they say. But that's absolutely okay. It's all about being able to filter out the key details. That's enough. Now in the listening section, sometimes there are really tricky questions that involve lot of nuance. But again, it's okay if you don't have all the questions right. And in the writing section, you might have to write an essay, formal letter or short report. As you might know, each type of writing has its own structure and style. And I'm going to talk about the section specifically later in the video. And in the fourth part, the speaking section, you could be asked to describe picture, share your opinion or act out conversation. And you will usually sit with other students and instructors at table and get enough guidance for all the tasks. So don't worry, you don't have to do everything on your own. So the structure is not too crazy. But when you want to tackle these four sections, you somehow need to learn the language. You need to learn German beforehand, right? So to do this, you need good study plan that is specifically made for passing language exams. The thing is, learning German for fun and learning it to pass language test are two different things. If you're learning just for fun, you can take your time and enjoy things like talking to people, listening to songs or watching movies. It's all about using the language in real life and enjoying it. But if you're studying for test, you need to focus little bit more on things like grammar rules, learning specific words and practicing how to answer test questions. So the first step is to understand where you struggle the most, whether it's listening, writing, grammar or vocabulary. Being honest about your weaknesses is the most important thing. We don't want to fool ourselves. Once you know what you need to work on, plan extra time to practice those things. And when learning German, more is usually better. For example, if grammar is hard for you, spend extra time doing exercises on tenses, sentence structure and prepositions. Just pick the topic you're not good at and do it bunch of times. Practicing every day is the best way to get better here. Try to spend 15 to 30 minutes day on the main skills. Reading, listening, writing and speaking. If you want to pass language exam, it's all about consistently training your German language muscle. If you're serious about learning German and want to do it effectively, check out my favorite video on the best way to learn German after watching this video. You'll find link to it in the video description. So after helping lot of students to learn German, saw that there are two sections in German language exams that cause the most problems, speaking and writing. lot of students write me messages telling me that they struggle with these two. And can absolutely understand. Speaking and writing feel the most intimidating. So let me give you specific strategies you can implement. So for writing, the thing that's going to make your life 10 times better is templates. Templates for everything. Essays, letters, emails and so on. Because they usually follow predictable formats. You have the introduction, main body and conclusion. Nothing too crazy. And since the exams are standardized, you kind of know which text type is coming. And one more thing is memorizing useful phrases. For example, "Meiner Meinung nach" in my opinion. If you write an argumentative essay or in the case of formal letter or email, you can memorize the greeting "Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren" for life. Get it in your head once and you will impress the person who is grading the exam forever. What also often see is that students try to form two complex sentences. Maybe you want to use every single word that you studied or want to impress with difficult vocabulary. Well, if you manage to do this correctly, fantastic. But there's also the possibility that stuff goes terribly wrong. And there's nothing more embarrassing than trying to look cool and then failing to deliver. Short, precise sentences. Germans really like this one. Especially on the lower levels, don't worry too much about perfect grammar. For example, if you look at the sample answers, Goethe provides for writing in the A1 exam. Even the ones that got full points, they still have minor mistakes in them. But that's absolutely okay. The content of the text is more important there. And they just want you to understand what the required text type is. Of course, if you get to the higher level, C1 and C2, you shouldn't make beginner mistakes. But overall, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Now speaking is probably the part students are intimidated by the most. And preparing for it is also not that easy. But luckily, exams are standardized. And you kind of know what you need to talk about. There are always common questions that the examiners ask. For example, in the Goethe A1 exam, part 1 of the speaking section always stays the same. No matter what. And by the way, if you want to see specific video about how to pass the Goethe A1 exam, let me know in the comments down below. But yeah, for speaking, practice common topics like introducing yourself, hobbies, travel, education or current events. And you can always ask the examiner to repeat the question. There is no shame in doing that. They are also humans and they understand that German is foreign language to you. And when it comes to speaking, it's again all about volume. For example, recording yourself answering questions or describing images really helps. At the end of the day, the main focus is on communication instead of perfection. And the cool thing is, on YouTube, you can find recordings of the Goethe exam speaking sessions. They are videos for all levels straight from A2 to even C2. So many students told me that watching these videos over and over again gave them more confidence. And the interesting thing is that in the C2 exam, the student also made minor grammar mistakes. Yes, on the C2 level of German. This should be the stage where you can basically speak like native. But the person still made mistakes and it was absolutely okay. Nobody is going to punish you if you picked the wrong article "der, die, das". But would say practice tests are one of the best ways to get ready for German exams because they show you what the real test will be like. They help you learn the format, the kinds of questions and how much time you'll have. always recommend everybody to take two or three practice tests before the real exam. And for more standardized tests, the more practice exercises you do, the better your exam score will be. This is actually something that has been proven in multiple studies. Thousands of people have passed these exams and with the right practice, you can absolutely do it. Check out the video on the best way to learn German and good luck with your exam. Love you and stay focused.