Goethe-Zertifikat B1 (Zertifikat B1): the exam parts

Schreiben

Three tasks in 60 minutes, in any order: an email to friends (approx. 80 words), a discussion post giving your opinion (approx. 80 words) and a short message to someone you address as Sie (approx. 40 words). Each text is marked against four criteria: task fulfilment, coherence, vocabulary and structures. If task fulfilment gets the lowest band — because the text misses the topic, for example — the whole task scores zero. What the three texts should look like, with sample tasks and model answers: Schreiben B1 at Goethe and ÖSD.

Duration, points, passing

Each module gives a maximum of 100 points; you pass it with 60. The exam is modular: you can take all four modules together or separately — and retake on its own a module that fell short.

One exam, two exam boards

The Zertifikat B1 was developed jointly by the Goethe-Institut, ÖSD and the University of Fribourg. Tasks, timings and marking are the same at Goethe and for the ÖSD Zertifikat B1; what differs is only the institution that runs the exam and its test centres.

What this exam asks of you

B1 means you can manage familiar situations in everyday life and at work, understand the main points when people speak clearly, and talk about experiences, give your opinion and briefly justify it. That is exactly what the tasks test — from the discussion post in Schreiben to the presentation in Sprechen.

• Lesen: the tasks give a time for each of the five parts — 10, 20, 10, 15 and 10 minutes; stick to it. In Teil 3, one of the situations has no matching advert; the right answer is then 0.
• Hören: in Teil 1 each of the five short texts comes with two items, one true/false and one multiple choice. Teil 3 is a conversation with true/false items; in Teil 4 you match statements from a discussion to the speakers. You hear Teil 1 and Teil 4 twice, Teil 2 and Teil 3 only once — more in the guide Hören in the exam.
• Sprechen: in pairs you plan something with four guiding points, then you present a topic using five given slides, and finally you give feedback on your partner's presentation — explained step by step in Sprechen B1.

What you need the certificate for

Level B1 is often required for residence and work — in Germany, for example, for naturalisation. Which certificates are accepted as proof is decided by the office that asks for it. Check with them before you register for the exam.