Sprachtests Deutsch en[1]

Laura Wittwer © MuMiS-Projekt Zuletzt aktualisiert: Juli 2010

Information on language tests as application requirement

The most common language tests requested as admission requirement at German universities are TestDaF and DSH. The following pages provide further

information on those and other German tests. Moreover the single tests will be classified referring to the Common European Framework of Reference for

Languages (CEFR) to be more comparable to one another.

Table 1 gives an overview of the single tests and shows a categorization of those.


Overview: German language tests

TestDaF

(Test Deutsch als

Fremdsprache)

DSH

(Deutsche Sprachprüfung für

den Hochschulzugang)1

DSD

(Deutsches Sprachdiplom der

KMK)

DS

(Deutsches Sprachdiplom)

Zentrale Mittelstufen- bzw.

Oberstufenprüfung

(Goethe-Zertifikate)

version A2/DSD I DSD II Kleines

(KDS)

Großes

(GDS)

C1 (ZMP) C2 (ZOP)

time 3 h 10 min 2 days (3 h 20 min written, ca. 30 min oral)

3 h 10 min 2 days (3h 55 min written, ca.20 min oral)

2 days (5 h written, ca. 20 min oral)

several days (10 h 30 min written, ca. 25 min oral)

2 days (3 h 10 min written, ca. 15 min oral)

2 days (5 h written, ca. 20 min oral)

cost ca. 175 € depending at the university (0-

150 €)

non 250-300 € 300-350 € 150-220 € 190-265 €

duration of validity of the results

lifelong lifelong lifelong lifelong lifelong lifelong lifelong

parts of the exam

reading

listening

written expression

speaking

reading

listening

structure/ written expression

speaking

reading

listening

written expression

speaking

written expression

speaking

reading

written expression

speaking

subject related test

reading

listening

written expression

speaking

reading

listening

written expression

speaking

1 The German part of the assessment at Studienkollegs (3 h) is almost equivalent to DSH.


grading proficiency level (TDN) 3-5

DSH 1-3 A2-B1 B2-C1 excellent, good, satisfactory

excellent, good, satisfactory



highest score

20 (x5) depending on the university 96 (4x24) 96 (4x24) 120 156 75 (4x25) 310

CEFR B2-C1 B2-C1 A2-B1 B2 -C1 C2 C2+ C1 C2

Additionally, the following certificates are accepted as proof of sufficient language competence for studying at German universities:

France: „Diplôme du Baccalauréat“

Belgium: diploma of secondary schools of the „German speaking community of the Belgium kingdom”

Luxemburg: diploma of secondary schools

Italy: diploma from schools with German as language of instruction (Bozen-Südtirol), diploma of the Liceo Gimnasiale „Luigi Galvani“ (Bologna), diploma

of Liceo Ginnasio Statale „Romagnosi“ (Parma) and Liceo Classico Statale Socrate (Bari)

Irland: bilingual leaving certificate of the German School in Dublin, St. Kilian’s

USA: Advanced Placement (AP)- test in German


1. Test German as a foreign language (TestDaF)

TestDaF is a standardised test, divided into four parts with different kinds of tasks. It assesses the proficiency level and awards grades from TestDaF-level 3

(TDN 3) to TestDaF-level 5 (TDN 5) for every part.

Reading comprehension: 60 minutes

TDN 5 academic specialist text (550 – 650 words), 10 questions

TDN 4 journalistic texts (450 – 550 words), 10 multiple-choice questions

TDN 3 a short text (e.g. booklet/flyer; 300 – 450 words), 10 questions to match

Listening comprehension: 40 minutes

TDN 5 presentation or interview with experts (5 minutes), 7 questions (short answers)

TDN 4 a radio interview, discussion (3 – 4 minutes), 10 true-or-false questions

TDN 3 dialogue, every day conversation (2 – 3 minutes), 8 questions (answers must be given in keywords)

Written expression: 60 minutes

TDN 5

TDN 4

TDN 3

writing a structured text

using key elements of academic writing (describing diagrammatic form, main argument)

Oral expression: 30-35 minutes

TDN 5

TDN 4

TDN 3

seven oral tasks, every task will be played from an audio device and presented in writing; answers will be

recorded; different situations will be simulated, requiring to use different registers (informal, half formal,

formal)

Levels for university access: The requested levels can vary, depending on the regulations of the university

TestDaF-level 5 (TDN 5) & TestDaF-level 4 (TDN 4) - pass

TestDaF-level 3 (TDN 3) - a pass for some technical colleges but not universities

TestDaF 5 (TDN 5) is the highest level. A level of TDN 4 shows that you are linguistically qualified to study at any German university.


Description of the TestDaF-levels (TDN)

Reading comprehension

TDN 5 can understand the overall meaning and specific details of complex written texts on general as well as study-related academic topics, can

extract implicit information from those texts

TDN 4 can understand the overall meaning and specific details of written texts on general as well as study-related academic topics, which are

mainly written in non-specialised language

TDN 3 can understand the overall meaning and the main details of written texts on general academic topics, can partly understand texts on

general academic topics

Listening comprehension

TDN 5 can understand the overall meaning and specific details of linguistically and structurally complex spoken texts on general as well as study-

related academic topics

TDN 4 can understand the overall meaning and specific details of spoken texts on general as well as study-related academic topics, which

contain mainly non-specialised language

TDN 3 can understand the overall meaning and the main details of spoken texts on general academic topics, can partly understand texts on

general academic topics

Written Expression

TDN 5 can write well-structured and cohesive texts in an appropriate style in a general academic context as well as in study-related situations,

using a differentiated vocabulary

TDN 4 can write generally structured and cohesive texts in an all in all appropriate style in a general academic context as well as in study-related

situations; linguistic deficiencies do not impair understanding

TDN 3 can write generally structured and comprehensible texts in common study-related situations, can write simply structured texts in a

general academic context; linguistic and structural deficiencies may impair understanding

Oral expression

TDN 5 can communicate clearly in an appropriate style in a general academic context as well as in study-related situations, using a differentiated

vocabulary

TDN 4 can communicate in an generally appropriate style in a general academic context as well as in study-related situations, linguistic

deficiencies do not impair understanding

TDN 3 can communicate in common study-related situations; linguistic deficiencies may impair understanding can partly realise the

communicative intention in a general academic context


2. German Language Examination for Admission of Foreign Students (DSH)

Since 2004 there is a framework examination regulation for the DSH for all German universities. The examination consists of four parts concerning reading,

listening, writing and speaking. The kind of tasks differs because within the framework every university sets the exam itself. DSH assesses the proficiency level

and awards grades from DSH-1 to DSH-3.

The following information is about the examination regulation.

Written parts (70%)

Listening comprehension (20%): 50 minutes after listening possible tasks are: answering questions, a sketch,

summary, sum up the “red line” of the spoken text

Reading comprehension (20%):

90 minutes

text (4000-5500 char.): answering questions, explaining the

structure of the text/argumentation, explaining parts of the text,

finding headings for parts of the text, summary

Understanding of academic

structures (10%):

understanding of and dealing with academic structures: noticing

characteristics of the text (syntactically, lexically, idiomatically and

concerning the kind of text ), answer questions to complex parts,

fill the gap tasks, paraphrasing

Writing (20%): 60 minutes

writing a text (about 200 words) on given details (e.g. pictures,

charts, key words, hypotheses); the text should contain at least

one of the following linguistic actions: explaining or comparing or

giving examples on the given details and arguing or commenting

or evaluating

Oral part (30%): Presentation (30%): 15 minutes + 20 minutes for preparation a five minutes presentation and about 15 minutes dialogue on a

text or chart/picture


Levels for university access: The requested levels can vary, depending on the regulations of the university. Usually DSH-2 is enough to proof sufficient

proficiency in the German language as a prerequisite for admission/enrolment at a German university.

Grading

The requirements for every single part are similar to those of TestDaF above. DSH-1 is equivalent to TDN 3, DSH-2 to TDN 4 and DSH-3 to TDN 5.

grade proficiency

DSH 3 effective proficiency (in written and oral parts)

DSH-2 independent user - differentiated use of language in written and oral parts

DSH-1 independent user - independent use of basis knowledge in written and oral parts


3. Deutsches Sprachdiplom der KMK (DSD)

Since 1974 students outside Germany can take the DSD. The exam is set and corrected by Zentralstelle für Auslandsschulwesen (ZfA). There are two stages,

DSD stage 1 is a prerequisite for Studienkolleg and stage 2 is required for entrance to German universities.

How it is assessed: Every part is awarded with up to 24 points. The lowest level to pass is 8 points for every part.

3.1. Stage 1 (consisting of four parts with different kinds of tasks)

Reading comprehension: 60 minutes short texts, about 5 tasks (e.g. multiple-choice, cloze test, matching)

Listening comprehension: 40 minutes about 5 tasks with audio samples (e.g. multiple-choice, matching)

Written expression: 75 minutes writing texts on given details (e.g. four non-fictional texts, each about 20 words, giving opinion on s.th.)

Oral expression: 15 minutes part 1: questions taken from a given list of topics

part 2: short presentation on a self chosen topic, questions to that presentation

Levels for university access: DSD stage 1 is not sufficient for university entrance in Germany but for Studienkollegs.


3.2. Stage 2

The structure of stage 2 is similar to the structure of stage 1 of the DSD but the tasks are more complex and therefore more time given.

Reading comprehension: 75 minutes

global understanding - short texts (about 55 words); matching

selective understanding – longer text (about 600 words); multiple-choice

detailed understanding (specialised text about 750 words); multiple-choice

Listening comprehension: 40 minutes

global understanding - short audio samples (about 55 words); matching

selective understanding – longer audio sample (about 600 words); multiple-choice

detailed understanding (specialised audio sample about 700 words); multiple-choice

Written expression: 120 minutes writing a text on given details and a given structure (e.g. to argue about s.th. or explain main points of a

chart and write an opinion on the topic); it is recommended to write at least 300 words

Oral expression: 20 minutes part 1: presentation with opinion and interview to a given text (keywords)

part 2: presentation on a beforehand prepared topic; focus on free and spontaneous speech

Levels for university access: With at least a level of B2 of the CEFR in all four parts the DSD II is awarded, which is enough to proof sufficient proficiency in the

German language as a prerequisite for admission/enrolment at a German university.


4. Deutsches Sprachdiplom2

4.1. Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom (KDS)

A) Oral part: 40 minutes for preparation, plus 20 minutes talk presentation (convincing intonation and articulation)

short presentation on a self chosen topic and following discussion

B) Written part: 170 minutes

questions to a fictional text or newspaper article; rewriting parts of a text (about 90 minutes)

task with focus on grammatical variation in a text (about 60 minutes)

dictation as listening comprehension task (about 20 minutes)

C) Reading part: 120 minutes two tasks to different books (literature from a known list)

Grading

In part A at least 18 point are needed to pass, but if in phonetics less than 2,25 point are awarded the whole part

counts as fail. In part B at least 24 points are needed. In part C the test taker needs at least 9 point for content and 9

points for language use to pass the exam.

2 cf. http://www.goethe.de/lrn/prj/pba/bes/deindex.htm (19.07.10)

points grades

Max 120,00 – 100 excellent

99,99 – 80 good

Min 79,99 – 60 satisfactory

59,99 – 00 fail

http://www.goethe.de/lrn/prj/pba/bes/deindex.htm


4.2. Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom (GDS)

A) Oral part: 40 minutes for preparation, plus 25 minutes talk presentation (convincing intonation and articulation)

short presentation on a self chosen topic and following discussion

B) Essay writing: 210 minutes essay writing to a self chosen topic (500-700 words)

C) Written part: 200 minutes

questions to a fictional text or newspaper article; rewriting parts of a text (about 120

minutes)

task with focus on grammatical variation in a text (about 60 minutes)

dictation as listening comprehension task (about 20 minutes)

D) Subject related part: 210 minutes task to German literature, sciences or business administration

task concerning intercultural knowledge

Grading

In part A at least 18 point are needed to pass, but if in phonetics less than 2,25 point are awarded the whole part counts as

fail. In part B and C at least 18 points are needed. In part D the test taker needs at least 24 points to pass the exam.

Levels for university access: The Kleine Deutsche Sprachdiplom (KDS) and the Große Deutsche Sprachdiplom (GDS) are standardised tests, accepted to proof

sufficient proficiency in the German language to study at a German university.

points grades

Max 156,00 - 130 excellent

129,99 – 104 good

Min. 103,99 - 78 satisfactory

79,99 – 00 fail


5. Goethe-Zertifikat3

There are two levels of the Goethe-Certificate, first the “Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung“ and second the “Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung“. The “Zentrale

Oberstufenprüfung“ is accepted as proof of sufficient proficiency in the German language as a prerequisite for admission/enrolment at a German university.

5.1. Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung (C1)

Reading comprehension: 70 minutes different genre of texts (all in all about 1500 words); matching, cloze test, multiple-choice

Listening comprehension: 40 minutes talk; selective note taking

monologue; multiple-choice questions

Written expression: 80 minutes free writing on 5 given details

gap filling

Oral expression: 10 minutes for preparation; 15 minutes talk part 1: short presentation to a given topic with five keywords to use

part 2: discussion on advantages and disadvantages of a given topic

Grading

To pass the exam at least 60% of the possible score is needed in the parts reading, listening and writing, that means 45 points at minimum. In the oral part at

least 15 of 25 points are needed to pass.

3 cf. http://www.goethe.de/lrn/prj/pba/bes/deindex.htm (19.07.10)

points grade

100-90 excellent

89,5-80 good

79,5-70 satisfactory

69,5-60 pass

< 60 fail

http://www.goethe.de/lrn/prj/pba/bes/deindex.htm


5.2. C2 (Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung)

Reading comprehension: 90 minutes a non-fictional text (about 800-1000 words); questions to the content, explaining details of the text as well

as the meaning of single words and phrases

Use of German: 90 minutes gap filling, tasks on text or syntax variation, writing synonyms/antonyms, rewriting

Listening comprehension: 40 minutes authentic audio sample (e.g. radio talk); selective note taking and afterwards writing sentences on those

Essay writing: 90 minutes writing (min. 250 words) on a book related topic or to one of four other topics

Oral expression: 15 minutes for

preparation; 20 minutes talk

part 1: reading a text aloud, summarize the text, answer a text related question and talking about the text

with somebody

part 2: short presentation on a self chosen topic and talk about the presentation

Grading

Levels for university access: The “Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung“ is accepted as proof of sufficient proficiency in the German language as a prerequisite for

admission/enrolment at a German university.

results in % points grade

100% - 88% 310 - 273 excellent

87% - 74% 272 - 229 good

73% - 60% 228 - 186 satisfactory

59% - 50% 185 - 0

unsatisfactory, but can be compensated with at least “good” in reading comprehension, use of German, essay writing or listening comprehension

(if the oral part is awarded with less than 60% it means to fail all the exam)

< 50% fail

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