TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache): the exam parts

Schreiben

Two tasks in 60 minutes, typed on the computer with the word count on screen. In the first (30 minutes) you take part in a discussion on a learning platform with your lecturer and fellow students: a short post that explains and justifies the advantages and disadvantages of a question — at least 200 words. In the second (30 minutes) you write a section of a seminar paper: you summarise what a text and a chart say about one question, in your own words — copying passages is not allowed — in about 100–150 words. The raters ask whether your text keeps to the topic and covers every point of the task, whether it does what is asked (arguing; summarising a text and a chart), whether the information from the sources is right and in your own words, whether your German is appropriate, precise and varied — and whether it stays clear despite some mistakes. How a well-built argument flows: connectors.

Points and TDN levels

The TestDaF has no pass or fail. Each of its four parts is scored on the same scale from 0 to 20 points and reported as a level — the TestDaF-Niveaustufe (TDN):

TDN 3 corresponds roughly to B2, TDN 4 to the step from B2 to C1, and TDN 5 to C1. In Lesen and Hören the number of right answers is converted to the 0–20 scale; in Schreiben and Sprechen trained raters judge your text and your answers against fixed criteria first. Rilke shows your practice results the same way, as TDN 3, TDN 4, TDN 5 or below TDN 3 — an estimate, because the institute does not publish its conversion.

What you need the TestDaF for

The TestDaF is the German test for admission to study at a German university. A TestDaF with at least TDN 4 in all four parts is accepted as proof of the German you need to study. Some degree programmes accept TDN 3 in a part; others ask for TDN 5. Which result your programme needs is decided by your university, so check its admission rules.

What makes the digital TestDaF different

• On a computer, at a test centre: the tasks come in a fixed order, each with its own time, and move on by themselves — you cannot go back to a finished task.
• Academic topics: texts and talks from university life — the humanities, natural and social sciences, engineering, economics, medicine. Technical terms are explained where they appear.
• Every recording once: Hören plays each text a single time, two of them as videos (a panel discussion and a lecture). Notes on paper are allowed. In Rilke you hear the sound of these parts. How to prepare for one hearing: Listening in the exam.
• New task types: in Lesen you put sections of a text in order, match passages to what the writer does (criticises, warns, recommends …), sort statements into categories and find the wrong sentences in a summary of a text and a chart; in Hören you complete an overview, note demands and arguments, and spot the four words of a text you read along that differ from what you hear.
• Speaking alone, to a fictional partner: seven tasks over a headset, each with its own preparation and speaking time — from advising a friend in the canteen and weighing options to summarising a text that disappears after four minutes, presenting a slide and taking a stand on a chart and on a fellow student's statement that you hear.
• About 3 hours 15 minutes of exam time: Lesen about 55 minutes, Hören about 40, Schreiben 60, Sprechen about 35 — with breaks in between.

The paper-based TestDaF

There is also a paper-based TestDaF — in China it is the only form. It counts the same and reports the same TDN levels, but its tasks are different: three reading texts, three listening texts (the last one played twice) and one handwritten writing task with a chart. Rilke prepares you for the digital TestDaF.

Rilke is independent and not affiliated with g.a.s.t. or the TestDaF-Institut, which develop and run the TestDaF. Start practising in your browser.