Zertifikat Deutsch exam jitters

Hi there TT'ers

I have registered to take the ZD exam in December and the nerves are already getting the better of me. I have done all the example tests I could find with good results. I was just wondering if anyone has taken the exam lately and how they found it. What was the topic of your letter and the Thema of your Müdlich? Seems that there are a few different variations when it comes to the topic of the letters and with the Müdliche Prüfung: Gespräch über ein Thema and the Lösen einer Aufgabe. Does the topics always stay the same as the example tests or do they change? And one last question, can you expect the same level of difficulty with the actual ZD as the example tests?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as I'm having sleepless nights

Checking on your spelling might be a good thing!

i don't really remember the theme of the oral but it was crap...i remember it being really vague..something about the future but I wasn't sure if it was supposed to related to the picture on the paper we got or to our future or what...and it turned out i interpretted it in a totally different way than my partner who was pretty bad in the first place..so it sucked (or atleast I thought it did...turns out the 'judges' gave me a pretty good score)...the rest was easy though.

The Mündliche Prüfung is probably the most nerve - wracking. When I took the test I was paired with somebody that I hadn't met, and then we had to speak to each other for about ten - fifteen minutes about some topic - asking each other questions, responding, etc.

I remember that I didn't do well in the letter writing bit, but mainly because my teacher didn't think that business-style letters would be the test topic, so we really didn't cover them in too much detail.

EDIT: By the way - in the Mündliche Prüfung you're usually paired with another student, not the teacher/judge!! They have too many people taking the test to have it one-on-one.

If every student is paired with another for the oral exam, how are the students graded? Is there an observer? Now I am getting the jitters, too.

There are typically two judges for the oral exam, each student is graded separately.

So, it's VERY useful if you tend to jabber a bit. The more that you can show off what you can speak, the better your grade, in general.

we had 2 observers who scared the crap outta me. typically stern looking german ladies who just stared at us with that evil german 'you are doing something wrong' face

This can be tricky!! What if the partner has a horrible, impossible-to-understand sort of accent? Can I swear in English or my mother tongue or does it have to be only in German?

Yes, that is an issue.

However, the judges, I believe, will deduct more from your partner if they have serious trouble pronouncing the words. As long as you keep asking questions: "Könntest du das bitte wiederholen? Ich habe nicht verstanden." you should be ok.

EDIT: Of course, if you haven't asked the question "Sollen/Könnten wir duzen?" the question might be phrased a bit differently.

By force of habit, I often use the respectful Sie. How can I ask in German, if I can Siezen? I mean, should I ask "sollen wir einfach Siezen?".

TIA

I was just playing with words, when I asked the earlier question about siezen. Siezen actually does mean addressing someone formally. Learned something.

Don't be nervous! I took the ZDP at the Goethe-Institut in Munich in July. For the oral exam we seemed to be paired up with someone whose mother tongue was different from our own. I was paired up with someone from Italy, who had travelled to Munich that day to take the ZDP, and it worked fine. Do remember to arrive early to prepare for the oral exam in the specified room. There's an allotted amount of time to prepare for the questions/themes. You should write notes about points you would like to bring up in the conversation. The examiners, both teachers at the Goethe-Institut, were nice, hoping both of us would do our best. About 15 minutes after the oral exam we received the results. I found it to be a good experience, learning and remembering much while studying for the exam. Best of luck!

It is nice to see such encouraging posts from those who have been there. It is even better to know that the pairing is not completely at random, and that there is a little bit of time to prepare for the topic. If I know the topic beforehand (can I choose it or am I just given a topic?), I cd think of the words I do not know in German and look them up in the dictionary.

For now, my challenge is to get a place to take the exam. It is always full.

James, thanks for the post.

S

The topics are assigned. For the first two parts, the two students have the same information. For the other, there's a part "A" and a part "B" based on a concrete situation (e.g., teacher-student), and the two people have to spontaneously create a dialogue based on the provided information. At the Munich Goethe-Institut there are excellent resources for preparing for the exam. Have you seen the Mediathek on the 5th floor?

If you have done all your example tests with good results, don't worry!

Here

http://telc.net/index.php?id=463&L=4&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=80&tx_ttnews[backPid]=129&cHash=f2b103f870

you can download some sample examinations, but I would not worry so much, it's not so difficult!

here is the link

http://telc.net/index.php?id=129&L=4

I wasn't given any time to prepare for the topic. Neither was I paired with another person because I was the only one taking the exam that day. I had 2 Goethe Institute teachers coming into the room to chat with me, and that was the exam.

I'm also taking this test in December... and I'm not confident at all on passing it. I don't think four years of high school German is good enough... *sigh*

So is the writing part always writing a letter?

And the oral section T^T... according to this one sample test I have, there's one section where you talk to your partner and ask questions, there's another part where you explain the article you read in the reading section, and then the last part where you need to do some presentation about your country that your from??

Can someone post a few hints on the Hörverständnis? I am most nervous about this.

Is the tape played just once for all to hear or is everyone given headphones and given 30 min to hear it all and answer the questions?

Thanks to everyone for all the great tips and encouraging posts. I'm starting a preparation course for two Saturdays before the actual exam at the school where I did the orientation course. They strongly advised this, so hopefully there will be some more hints and tips

@ seeking: I've done the Hörverständnis part of the Goethe Institut model test and I can't say, but I doubt the school that I'm doing the ZD through (Prisma) have headphones, but you can listen to the Hörverstehen part of the exam here: http://www.goethe.de/lrn/prj/pba/zdt/mat/enindex.htm they go nice and slow and I found that there was plenty of time to read the statements before they started.

Hope this helps a little

When I did it two years ago I was given no headphones.
There was only a CD player.

Yeah, I'm a bit worried about the CD player bit, not the understanding but apparently we are a huge group doing the exam (28 ppl), so if they have this tiny CD player the ppl at the back of the class cannot hear a damn thing or ppl coughing or moving about... they said today that we will be split into two groups, so I hope it's better.

Btw, I did my first part of the preparation course for the exam today, and wow, lots of great tips, we did the letter and spoken part. If your school offers this, I advise you to take this, it cleared up a lot of things and now I feel a lot more confident about the exam.

So, what happens if one does not pass the test? And how soon do you have to take the test?My fiance is American, and we are planning to move to Germany in 2008. He is busy learning German, but we are still unclear about the language requirements. Seems like everybody and every website tells you a little different. Thanks for your answer!

Are you referring to any language requirements for him to get an Aufenthaltserlaubnis (AFAIK, there are none for a Niederlassungserlaubnis issued upon initial entry for the highly skilled) or are you just asking about the ZD requirements? There are no language requirements for US citizens to get an Aufenthaltserlaubnis on the basis of marriage to a German citizen; however, if he doesn't want to take the now-manadatory Integration Courses having the ZD would probably exempt him.

MissKay, why don't you download some sample test from the site and try to do the listening test at home?
You will see, it's not so difficult!

Clebo, like I said in my last post, I’m not worried about understanding, but being able to actually hear what is being said in a huge classroom with a small CD player.

You can always tell them that it's not loud enough (usually they ask ).

Can someone please explain to me how the second part of the Oral part is going to be like? Do we just talk about the theme? Do I get to see my picture/text when I'm talking?

It was explained to us that in the 20min preparation time you get before the oral part of the exam, you will be given your theme. In the preparation time you can see what you have to talk about and make notes of what you want to say, the same as with the third part where you have to solve/plan something with your partner.

Doing the exam this Friday and Saturday, hope all goes well.

^ OMG How come I didn't know about that?
So should I come a bit early than the time they gave me for the oral part?

[quote name='MissKay' date='Dec 12 2007, 9:19 pm' post='1148027']
It was explained to us that in the 20min preparation time you get before the oral part of the exam, you will be given your theme. In the preparation time you can see what you have to talk about and make notes of what you want to say, the same as with the third part where you have to solve/plan something with your partner.

Now I am confused. What is the 'third part'? I thought the mündliche Prüfung was just one part. Can you please elaborate? I have been told that my exam tomorrow is at 11:40 and was advised to be present 30 min before. What are these 2 parts now? Am I ever going to get to the end of this?

Seeking (peace).

Goethe Institut Exam Description - Zertifikat Deutsch

The three parts of the oral exam are;

1. 'dialogisch' - a warm up scenario where you ask your partner the usual basic questions. What is your name, where do you come from etc.
The important thing is to establish whether you are going to use 'du' or 'sie' and stick to it.

2. 'zum Teil monologisch' this is where you describe your picture / chart / random statistic and 'chat' about similarities and differences that should come up (each partner has a slight variant on a theme - e.g commuting by train v's commuting by car pie chart random numbers).
The important thing is to get any sort of dialogue up and running, even if it slightly goes off at a tangent. Be prepared to rephrase questions over and over again. It is highly unlikely that you and your partner have remembered exactly the same words so far. There is no point in making detailed notes beforehand as they will be of no use once the conversation starts to flow. Just jot down keywords that will help you along.

3. 'dialogisch' - you have to arrange an appointment between the two of you by looking at your respective diaries.
Obviously you will not be 'free' at the same time but if you manage to find a time between you quite quickly then you are done.

^
^I think the first part is introducing yourself to your partner, asking questions, etc.
The second part is when they give you a theme and you guys have to talk about it.
The third part is when they give some kind of problem/situation and you guys solve it.

One more question. Is it okay if I bring my dictionary for the 20 minute preparation time?

..I'm freaking out here because I thought the listening part would be easy (just choosing R or F)... but then I realized I couldn't understand.. like anything

Oh, the listening part was much easier than I had expected. After the part was spoken, we had to answer the question. I feared having to hear a looong passage and answer specific questions. It was much much easier. It did call for understanding what the speaker said, what he meat (that means, interpret what was said) and then answer the question.

In fact, the listening part was the easiest, I thought. But that was yesterday. I am now worried about tomorrow. The way I heard some of the guys spoke German yesterday, I wonder how well I can understand their accent, if I have one of them as the partner. I expect one of them will be (if they passed the written test). My vocabulary is limited but my accent is clear. I think.

If it is like you both described above, then it can't be that bad. Are we guided thru the 3 parts? Are there written instructions such as
- introduce yourself
- now ask about your partner
- now make an appointment for.. with the partner

?
Still seeking

^ yes I'm thinking there are instructions... and we are guided because the first part is only 3 minutes and the 2nd and 3rd are 6 minutes each.

We were told that we would not be allowed to use a dictionary in the preparation time.

And as far as I know, we will be guided through the different parts of the oral.

Good luck for tomorrow Seeking

@ Seeking, what did you have to write about in your letter?

I am a teacher. My students were going to a foreign country for a few months. I had to write about how they cd find accommodation, what precautions they should take, how they could find jobs to pay for their stay and one other point I forget now.

Why do you ask? Does it have to do with what the oral exam will involve? If it is a similar topic, then I can scrape thru.

Thanks for your good wishes.

Thanks for your posts.
Seeking

No nothing to do with the oral part, just wanted to see what the topic could possibly be, but it seems pretty simple.

A tip that we go on the preparation course for the oral was that don't get too hung up on the grammar, as long as you keep the conversation flowing. And, if you find it really hard to understand your partner you can maybe ask to go on your own or swopping out with someone else as our lecturer was fairly accomodating with swopping people around to suit their needs.

I noticed that my name is the longest among all the test-takers. I just found out how to say 'for convenience', so that I can explain why I introduce myself with my short name. But if I could learn to say der Einfachheitshalbe, surely others can learn to say my name:-))

Seeking

Hey Seeking, you said the hearing part was the easiest? What was the newspaper article about? I took some sample exams, and some articles turned out to be okay while others really hard.

What the newspaper article was about is probably not of any immediate consequence, seeing as you would still need to understand the contents of the article and the corresponding questions.

^ True, but I remember one of my sample test had an article about handicapped students, and I had no clue what "Behinderte" meant.

oh well..I don't think ZD is one of those national tests where all the tests are exactly the same everywhere?

I don't recall any newspaper article. There were a series of questions based on sentences or conversations about what to improve in the city. There were 5 questions on this in various voices.

Another part was about healthcare offered by an insurance company in Switzerland. This was an interview with the healthcare provider, his accent was distinctly Swiss but easy to understand.

I forget what the other parts were, but a few were with distinctly Swiss or Austrian accent, the rest were in German accent.

In the last part, we had to hear a telephone recorder, an announcement in the railway station and such.

If only the oral test is as simple then I am not worried. There were some test-takers who had repeated the test twice earlier, and his diction was rather not clear to me, but that may have to do with my own weakness:-))

I also noticed that candidate to my right completed all the parts before I did, but wrote very little in the 'essay' part.

I just hope the performance of my partner won't drag mine down tomorrow.

Still seeking

..telephone recorder

I meant telephone message:-))

^ ahh sorry for not being clear. I meant newspaper article from the reading part of the exam. But thanks for giving details... I was wondering why some speakers didn't sound like they were speaking German in my sample tests.. I guess it was the accents lol

I am just coming from Goether Institut. The 3rd part was rather unexpected (organizing a fundraiser for sick children). My partner was not difficult to understand. We were told to stop after 8 minutes. Either we were unbearable or we were good enough. Occasionally during the 8 minutes, one of the examiners was laughing, dunno why. Nor does it matter because I passed the oral exam, too.

Thanks and best wishes to all those who shared. Glad to help if anyone has questions.

Seeking

^ Good job! I'm glad you did well.
Ahh I have my whole exam tomorrow... I hope I at least pass.

Can I ask what the second part of the oral was about?

I hope this is not too late to answer.

The second part was about why Deutschland is good as a tourist destination. I explained what I actually do, that is, encourage friends from abroad to visit Germany for what it has to offer. They usually know about Neuschwannstein and Linderhof etc. There is much more to see here. We spoke for 3 or 4 minutes when we were told to go to the next topic, the last one about organizing a Veranstaltung for helping sick children. We did this exercise for another 4 minutes and we were told to stop again.

I scored 100% in this part of the exam.

My over score was 'sehr gut'.

Thank God for small mercies.
Seeking