Goethe B2 Experience

[Soclydeza]

I took the Goethe Zertifikat B2 exam a little over a month ago and I found out that I passed! I'd like to give thanks to this and the former HTLAL community. I gained a lot of inspiration, knowledge and help from here that really carried my German over the past couple of years. Without knowing that there are other fellow language nerds out there, I might have given up at some point.

With that said, while I was preparing for the exam I searched all ends of the online world for experiences of others who took the B2 exam and really didn't find much other than a couple of accounts, so I wanted to write about my own experience and preparation that I feel would benefit future HTLALs/LLs or Google searchers.

EXAM FORMAT:
There are 2 main parts to this exam (4 parts in total):

Schriftlicher Teil (75 pts total): reading, writing, listening
Reading = 25 pts
Writing = 25 pts
Listening = 25 pts

Mündlicher Teil (25 pts total): speaking

For the Schriftlicher Teil, you need 45/75 to pass. This can be any combination of the reading/writing/listening parts (for example, you could get 25 on reading, 20 on writing and totally bomb the listening and still pass). Each part is further subdivided:
-Reading = 4 parts, 80mins total
-Writing = 2 parts, 80mins total
-Listening = 2 parts, depends on the duration of what you're listening to but I think it's 5 minutes for the "fill in the information" part and maybe 15-20mins of the "listen to an interview/conversation" part (for the second part, don't let the time scare you too much; it's the same ~8 minute recording that you listen to 2 times, once all the way through and a second time broken down into parts).

For the Mündlicher Teil, you need 15/25 to pass.
The time frame for this depends on if you are alone or have a partner (which was my case), but it's usually 3-4mins of your own personal monologue (you have to talk about something you read) and I think 6 or so mins of a discussion with your partner on choosing a photo for a newspaper). They're flexible with the times (you can go over/under), they mainly care that you hit all points.

EXAM TIME SCHEME: For me (and it may be different for others), the entire exam lasted about 4 hours, about a 15 minute break between between each of the 4 parts. I have read someone else's account that there was an hour lunch break during their exam but this probably depends on when the exam was taken (mine ran from 1-5pm, no traditional meals during that period).

The time for each part is absolute, meaning if you finish, say, the reading part in 40mins, you still have to wait until the full 80mins is up (plus the break) before you move on to the next part. This might be different if you are the only one taking the exam, but there were maybe 4 other people when I took it.

GENERAL PREPARATION:
It really depends on how confident you are, but I would suggest beginning preparation AT LEAST one month in advance. During this period, I would suggest you focus mainly on the exam (using native materials or your own programs should be supplementary), I'll explain in a minute.

I used a book called Station B2, which contains 10 practice exams that are laid out pretty much exactly like the actual exam. There are other similar books but they don't have as many practice exams (usually 4 or so); 10 is more than I needed but it was always nice to have extra (I think I went through 6 or 7). When I suggested "focus mainly on the exam", I mean any vocabulary acquisition should be from these practice exams, focus mainly on grammatical points stressed on these exams, etc. You don't want to spend all your time practicing articulating yourself in the passive voice when you can get by just fine with only being able to recognize it, for example. I did, however, listen to a lot of German radio while driving which helped, but any focused studying was based on what was in the practice exams.

My basic study plan went like this (all while trying to simulate the actual exam experience; no breaks within parts, setting a timer, no dictionaries/translators, etc.):
Day A:
- Do the entire reading portion (80mins) front to back
- Check the answers and grade myself
- Glance over everything again and make note of anything that I need to improve on (important vocab, grammar, etc.)
- Study these things (could be the same day or at a later point)

Day B: Same thing but with the writing portion (will elaborate in a minute)

Day C: Same thing but with the listening portion

Day D: Do the entire exam, all parts (that I can do alone)

I would then maybe take a day to go over stuff and then repeat that process

All of the above can be done alone, since you will have the answers and can grade yourself. However, for the writing (the essay part) and speaking, you will need the help of a tutor/native, though you can practice alone.

GET A TUTOR/NATIVE:
You can easily find someone who you can practice the speaking portion and who can correct your essay. Italki is a great place to find a tutor. I used my usual tutor since she knows my speaking (I've had her for a while) and she didn't cost $50 per lesson (tutors who specialize in exam preparation tend to be expensive). She knew next to nothing about the exam itself, but I had done enough research that I knew what was expected, time limits, etc. and essentially lead the practice sessions while she corrected me.

For the essay writing part, I did it just like the exam (65mins, no dictionary/translator, etc). I would then send it over to her and have her correct it at some point, then study the corrections.

Here is my advice for practicing the speaking portion: when I first started doing this I had no idea what I was doing, then I developed a strategy which I found to be very successful and modeled circumstances during the exam.

They give you a short paragraph to read, this is for your monologue. You get 10mins (I've heard some get 15mins) to prepare your monologue, use this time wisely and the live monologue will be a breeze. There are three main tasks that they want you to perform:
1) Briefly summarize what you read
2) Give a personal example/experience that relates to this
3) Give your own opinion

They don't care about your actual opinion or experience. Lie if it makes it easier for you.

They are somewhat lenient on the speaking part; it would be better to make a lot of mistakes and hit all three of these points than to speak perfectly and not hit all of them. Always remind yourself: this is the B2 exam, they expect you to be able to use the language but they don't expect you to speak like a native, mistakes are expected.

Expressions: memorize common, useful expressions that you can use in any situation
- Es geht im diesen Text um...
- Einerseits ... andererseits...
- Ich habe erlebt, dass...

A little cheat: find something that sounds like you are speaking off the top of your head but memorize it. For example: they never indicate if it is a man or a woman who wrote the text, so I would say (in a conversational tone):
"Der Autor - oder DIE Autorin, ich bin nicht sicher, wer diesen Text geschrieben hat - berichtet..."

MY PERSONAL IMPRESSION + TIPS:
READING: As I said, there were 4 parts. The first part is by far (to me) the easiest part of the exam (read what people are looking for and match them to online/newspaper ads).

The next 2 parts are basically "read, answer the questions" (all multiple choice), not bad

The 4th part entails filling in missing parts of a letter with the correct word, preposition, etc. I found this to be tough, mainly because there are so many things you could write but you have to find the correct one, but it's not too bad.

WRITING: The first part is similar to the 4th part of the Reading portion, except you have to correct someone's letter. I thought this part was pretty easy, if you are good with reading you should be able to pick up on the majority of mistakes.

The 2nd part is the essay. This part was OKAY (I hate writing these kinds of things, even in English). You don't have to go crazy, the most important thing is to hit all points on what they are asking (there are 5 or 6). And don't worry too much about the word minimum; you should be able to hit it as long as you hit all of these main points.

Practice Tip: When I practiced the Schriftlicher Teil, my goal was to get the minimum 45 pts WITHOUT the essay; if I could make that (which I was always able to), then anything I write in the essay is extra.

SPEAKING: I pretty much covered this above but I'll add in some stuff for the 2nd part. You'll have to have a dialogue with your partner (if you have one) about which photo to choose for a newspaper article. Don't worry about being logical, there is no right photo. Memorize some phrases like:
- "Das stimme ich zu"
- "Das finde ich nicht passend"
- "Was schlägst du vor?"
- (to the judge) "Wir entscheiden uns für Foto ___."

Tip: take control, be assertive, try to be the dominant one in the dialogue

This was the part I was most nervous about, but I got 22.5/25 on it. Funny story: I took this exam in New York City (about a 45 minute drive normally, I live in the country in New Jersey). It was pouring rain and the traffic was HORRIBLE and I get really impatient in traffic, it took me about 3 hours until I could park. Lucky for me, my topic for the first part was traffic so I had both an experience and an opinion to give.

Anyway, like I said, don't try to be perfect (doing so will probably screw you up). Focus on hitting all points that they are looking for. They have a practice exam on Goethe's website; at the end of it, it shows you what they will be judging you on. Look this over so you know what you need to focus on.

Almost forgot: make sure to youtube videos of people doing this part (just search "Goethe B2" or "B2 Mündlicher Prüfung", there are a couple of videos. Also don't be afraid to look up videos for C1 and B1 or A2. Don't use other levels as models, but they will give you more context.

LISTENING: The first part isn't bad (you are given a schedule and you have to fill in incorrect/missing information; they give good indication of what this information is when you hear it). The second part was the worst for me, mainly because you have to listen, read and decide all at once (again, it's multiple choice). My listening comprehension in general is good (I think), but the way they test for it in this part is difficult and straining. Not to mention, this was the last part I had to do, so I had about 4 hours of reading, writing and speaking straight German and my brain was shot. Funny story (again): after the exam, when everything was done, I went to go ask the lady when and how we should expect our results. Halfway through, my mind was so shot that I forgot how to say it in German and was about to say it in French!

Tip: listening is one of those things that there are no quick fixes for, it's something that has to be developed over a long period of time. If you are worried about this part, I would suggest focusing on the reading/writing parts and try your best on the listening. I did poorly on this part but still did well overall.

OTHER TIPS/COMMENTS:
- A lot of what I said will be clear after you do a few practice exams
- Youtube "Deutsch mit Marija" (I think that's the name, she's a red-haired lady). She has great videos on all different things that can help you for the speaking portion; she knows a lot about German certification exams
- Make it your mission to study for the exam. Don't just study for a half hour here and there, really focus on it and spend time on it
- Most importantly, it's not the end of the world if you don't pass, and you can always retake it. Be confident but don't beat yourself up if you don't pass, use it as a learning experience, regroup and go back again.

If I think of anything else, I post it down. I'm sure I'll be active in this community for a while, so if you're reading this somewhere down the line and have questions, don't be afraid to PM me. Tschüss!

[indigo]

This is so informative -- thanks for typing it up for us.

Regarding Station B2, on Amazon they list a text, a workbook, and a Testheft. Did you use all three or just the Testheft?

Also, you mention that you listen to German radio in the car. Are you referring to podcasts that you've previously downloaded or is there really a German radio station where you live? I live "in the country" as well (although on the west coast) and there is NOTHING on the radio around here as far as foreign languages are concerned.

[Soclydeza]

This is so informative -- thanks for typing it up for us.

Regarding Station B2, on Amazon they list a text, a workbook, and a Testheft. Did you use all three or just the Testheft?

Also, you mention that you listen to German radio in the car. Are you referring to podcasts that you've previously downloaded or is there really a German radio station where you live? I live "in the country" as well (although on the west coast) and there is NOTHING on the radio around here as far as foreign languages are concerned.

I have the coursebook (Kursbuch) which contains the actual exams and teachers manual (Lehrerhandreichungungen) which contains the answers and examples of the written/spoken portions. I also have a workbook (Arbeitsbuch) but I never used it; I think it have exercises and stuff, which seems useful. I'm not sure if there are different series of this, but the subtitle of the ones I have is "Vorbereitung zur Prüfung Zertifikat B2".

Yeah, I would be surprised if a German station exists at all in the US haha, the most I've heard around me is Spanish (I'm on the east coast). I was able to listen to German radio through an app on my phone (an actual news radio station in Germany streamed), I think the one I have is called "Deutsche Radio", but there are many apps that do the same thing. I also used some of the C1 podcasts they have at dw.de.

[leosmith]

I took the Goethe Zertifikat B2 exam a little over a month ago and I found out that I passed!

Congratulations!

[neofight78]

Congratulations and great post! Perhaps this could become a post on our blog here? Let me know if you would be happy for this to happen and I can get it uploaded for you.

[smallwhite]

And don't worry too much about the word minimum; you should be able to hit it as long as you hit all of these main points (and it's written by hand, I doubt they sit there counting how many words you've written, so don't worry about being 5 words or so under the limit).

Thank you for the write-up!

I suggest you don't give advice like that quote above, though, as while it may - or may not - be true both in the past and in your case, who knows if it would still be true next time.

[aokoye]

As others have said, congratulations on passing the Goethe B2! I really appreciate all of the tips you gave and was actually just searching for people's experience with the TestDaF yesterday. Obviously it's a different test with different format for some of the sections, but there are a number of tips that you gave that I think will still apply.

Unfortunately there isn't a book with more than one practice exam in it for TestDaF but I have one preparation book currently with one exam and TestDaF has two of them on their website for free. Hueber also has 5 of them but for 12.99 euros each...I may as well spend seven more euros and get Fit für den TestDaF (which also includes one practice test).

I also agree with your suggestion of the Youtube channel Deutsch mit Marija. I really enjoy her channel.

One question for you - how did you work on correcting your essays? I know you said that you would get corrections, but how did you study those corrections?

[aokoye]

And don't worry too much about the word minimum; you should be able to hit it as long as you hit all of these main points (and it's written by hand, I doubt they sit there counting how many words you've written, so don't worry about being 5 words or so under the limit).

Thank you for the write-up!

I suggest you don't give advice like that quote above, though, as while it may - or may not - be true both in the past and in your case, who knows if it would still be true next time.

I understand and appreciate what you're saying but one could argue that for any test specific advice. It isn't at all unheard of or unusual for the formats and requirements of tests to change. At least one of the TestDaF prep books that is still currently published is not the same format as the current test - or so say a number of amazon.de reviews. Never mind that that book is currently in the recommended test prep books list on testdaf's website.

Honestly I think what the most important thing is is for people to be responsible for their own learning and, in this case, test preparation. Yes that can, of course, mean getting advice, but it also means that one probably shouldn't take that, or any, advice as the gospel. Rather, it's just one more tool to work with. There a few recent very interesting and videos on the Deutsch mit Marija channel in which people more or less took what she was saying - not so much too seriously, but forgot that she was saying "you can say something like this", as opposed to "say this." I also just found one of my old assignments from a German class last year and 180 words (I think that's the minimum for the writing section Soclydeza was talking about but someone correct me if I'm wrong) is pretty short. Just about half a page typed, single spaced, 12 point font.

[smallwhite]

one could argue that for any test specific advice.

I reword, then:

I would personally never give advice like that quote above, though, as while it may - or may not - be true both in the past and in my case, who knows if it would still be true next time.

[Soclydeza]

Congratulations and great post! Perhaps this could become a post on our blog here? Let me know if you would be happy for this to happen and I can get it uploaded for you.

Yeah sure! Let me know if you want me to rewrite anything or organize it better.

I suggest you don't give advice like that quote above, though, as while it may - or may not - be true both in the past and in your case, who knows if it would still be true next time.

Of course, I would never recommend half-assing the essay part (or any part or any thing); what I mean is to focus on the content and meeting all given points. Depending on how one writes, the 65mins can be a squeeze and constantly counting words can eat up precious time. I'm not sure how much I wrote during the actual essay, but when I'd practice I would sometimes have double the minimum by the time I would have all points met, so I made it a point for myself to not focus on word minimum, since I was confident I would meet it by default. But you're right, this could give readers the wrong impression, perhaps I should reword it.

One question for you - how did you work on correcting your essays? I know you said that you would get corrections, but how did you study those corrections?

A lot of my mistakes were very stupid and stuff I already know (wrong conjugation, wrong word order, etc., simple stuff that made it through the cracks while in the heat of writing) which were mainly the result of me just not paying attention. Having someone else go over it made me very aware of this so I could be more conscious of it the next time I would write.

The other thing is that, while writing, I would sometimes have to guess how something would be expressed (i.e., something that makes sense in English but might not make sense when literally translated into German), so it helped me with that as well. Since we all have our own writing styles, this helped me become more comfortable with my German writing persona (phrases and expressions that I myself would commonly say).

Basically, having someone correct my essays helped make me aware of common mistakes so when I would go and write it on the actual exam, it would be like my mother was in my head saying "now don't forget that you are writing a subordinate clause, pay attention to the word order!"

People use corrections many different ways, this is just how I used them for this exam.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!