The Sprechen (Speaking) Exam: What Examiners Reward

Speaking is the section people fear most and prepare for least. You sit across from examiners, often with a partner, and produce German in real time. But the Sprechen exam is not a test of perfect German or the "right" opinions. It is a test of whether you can communicate: fluently, with range, reasonably accurately, and by actually interacting. Once you know what is being scored, you can prepare for it directly. This guide covers the speaking exam from A1 to C2 and what examiners reward.

Exam formats last verified July 2026 against the Goethe-Institut Durchführungsbestimmungen (Stand 1 September 2025).

What the speaking exam looks like at each level

Level	Format	Tasks
A1	~15 min, group (max 4, no prep)	Introduce yourself, ask and answer, make requests
A2	~15 min, pair	Ask about each other, a short talk about your life, plan together
B1	~15 min, pair (15 min prep)	Plan together, present a topic, discuss it
B2	~15 min, pair (15 min prep)	A prepared talk, then a discussion
C1	~20 min, pair (20 min prep)	A presentation, then a discussion
C2	~15 min, individual (15 min prep)	A presentation, then a pro-and-contra discussion

A1 and A2: short turns, everyday functions

At A1 you speak in a group of up to four candidates with no preparation time. You introduce yourself and spell or give numbers, then work with cards: you ask and answer simple questions, and you make and respond to requests. The turns are short. Examiners want to hear that you can handle basic social exchanges. A2 moves to a pair format. You ask each other questions from cards, give a short talk about your own life, then plan something together, such as an outing or a shared task. Note the A2 rule: you need at least 45 points on the written part and at least 15 on the oral, so speaking is not optional weight.

B1: plan, present, discuss

B1 is a pair exam with 15 minutes of preparation. Teil 1 asks the two of you to plan something together and reach an agreement. Teil 2 is a short presentation on a topic. Teil 3 is a discussion of that topic. The B1 guide covers the full module in detail.

B2 and C1: a solo talk plus discussion

B2 and C1 share the same shape: a solo Vortrag followed by a discussion, with preparation time (15 minutes at B2, 20 at C1). At C1 the presentation runs about seven minutes including questions, so you must sustain a structured argument. See the B2 guide for how the talk and discussion are weighted.

C2: individual, and a pro-and-contra debate

C2 is taken individually. You give a presentation of about five minutes with questions, then hold a pro-and-contra discussion. You get 15 minutes of preparation. This is the most demanding format because there is no partner to share the floor, and you are expected to argue both structure and nuance.

What examiners actually reward

Across every level, Goethe scores speaking on the same underlying criteria. The pass mark is 60 percent, and no single slip decides your result. Examiners look for:

• Fluency. Keeping going with reasonable pace and few long silences, even when you self-correct.
• Range. Varied vocabulary and structures suited to the level, not the same three connectors on repeat.
• Accuracy. Control of grammar appropriate to your level. Perfection is not required, and one error rarely sinks you.
• Interaction. Responding to your partner and the examiner, asking questions, and building on what is said. This is scored, so a monologue in a discussion task loses marks.
• Task fulfilment. Doing what the task asked: covering the points, reaching a decision in a planning task, arguing a side in a discussion.

The two criteria candidates neglect most are interaction and task fulfilment. Strong grammar with no engagement scores worse than modest grammar used to actually communicate. Answer the task in front of you, not the essay you rehearsed at home.

Use your preparation time as a plan, not a script

From B1 upward you get preparation time. Do not write out sentences to read aloud, because reading from notes kills fluency and interaction, and examiners hear it immediately. Instead sketch a structure: your opening line, two or three points with a reason or example each, and a closing line. Notes should be keywords, not paragraphs.

A worked example of planning a short talk

Suppose the topic is "Should students take a gap year before university?" With 15 minutes, do not draft prose. Build a skeleton on your note sheet:

1. Opening: "Ich möchte über das Thema Auszeit sprechen." One line, no more.
2. Point 1 (for): keyword "Erfahrung" plus a two-word example, "Ausland / Reisen."
3. Point 2 (against): keyword "Motivation verlieren" plus "später studieren."
4. Point 3 (my view): keyword "kommt darauf an" plus a condition, "wenn Plan da ist."
5. Closing: "Zusammenfassend denke ich, dass..." with your position in half a sentence.

That is five lines and maybe a dozen keywords. It fits on one card, you can glance at it without reading, and it leaves room to react to your partner. In the exam you speak from the keywords and build the sentences live. This is what fluency looks like under time: a clear route through the topic, not a memorised paragraph you rush to recite before you forget it.

Learn a bank of speaking phrases

The learners who sound fluent are usually reusing a small set of functional phrases: opening a presentation, giving an opinion, agreeing and disagreeing politely, asking your partner a question, and wrapping up. Memorise a handful for your level and they carry you through the pauses where others freeze. Build your bank around these functions:

Opening and structuring

• "Ich möchte heute über ... sprechen." (I would like to talk about ...)
• "Zuerst ..., dann ..., und zum Schluss ..." (First ..., then ..., and finally ...)
• "Ich komme jetzt zum nächsten Punkt." (I now move to the next point.)

Giving and supporting an opinion

• "Meiner Meinung nach ..." (In my opinion ...)
• "Ich bin der Ansicht, dass ..." (I take the view that ...)
• "Ein gutes Beispiel dafür ist ..." (A good example of this is ...)
• "Das liegt daran, dass ..." (This is because ...)

Agreeing and disagreeing politely

• "Da stimme ich dir zu." (I agree with you there.)
• "Das sehe ich anders, weil ..." (I see it differently, because ...)
• "Einerseits ..., andererseits ..." (On one hand ..., on the other hand ...)
• "Das ist ein guter Punkt, aber ..." (That is a good point, but ...)

Interacting and moving toward the goal

• "Was hältst du davon?" (What do you think of that?)
• "Wie wäre es, wenn wir ...?" (How about we ...?)
• "Sollen wir uns auf ... einigen?" (Shall we agree on ...?)
• "Könntest du das genauer erklären?" (Could you explain that in more detail?)

Closing

• "Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass ..." (In summary, one can say that ...)
• "Aus diesen Gründen bin ich der Meinung, dass ..." (For these reasons I believe that ...)

Choose phrases that match your level. At A2, "Ich finde ..." and "Wie findest du ...?" are plenty. At C1 and C2, examiners expect the more nuanced connectors above and will notice if you never leave the beginner set.

Interaction is half the exam

In paired tasks, talking over your partner or ignoring them costs you. Listen, react, ask a follow-up, and move the conversation toward the goal, whether that is a plan agreed or a topic discussed. Examiners are watching whether you can hold a conversation, not just deliver lines. Concretely: pick up a word your partner used and respond to it, invite them in when they go quiet, and in a planning task push gently toward a decision rather than leaving it open. If your partner makes a claim, react to the claim before adding your own. That single habit, responding before extending, is exactly what the interaction criterion measures.

How to practise speaking

Speaking improves only by speaking. Record yourself answering real prompts under time, then listen back for pace, filler, and whether you covered the task. Practise with a partner or tutor if you can, and rehearse the functional phrases until they are automatic. Time your talks: if the format gives you a five to seven minute Vortrag, practise hitting that length without notes-in-full. If you are preparing for the writing side alongside speaking, working through model answers and prompts in the requirement pages keeps your production sharp across both sections. Structured practice with prompts and recorded feedback, which you can set up when you create an account, turns "I hope I remember something" into a routine you can repeat.