My experience with

the new Goethe-Zertifikat B2

Hello all! I've thought about making this post in German, but I don't want to make too many mistakes and I
want this to be read by anyone from any level so I thought I'll go with good ol English.
So let me jump right into it. I'll explain everything for every section separately, what I did, didn't do,
should've done and what you shouldn't and should do. I'll also leave some helpful links that you may find
useful for exam prep.

Lesen 87/100
So I'm not too sad or proud of my score. 87 essentially means I got around 26/30. Since Lesen and Hören
are both 30 questions each. So 4 questions are totally possible if I missed something or missread something
or maybe I just understood something wrong. Lesen has 5 sections.
Teil 1 has a bunch of Aussagen that you're supposed to tie to 4 people who say their opinion or experience
with something. These 4 people have 4 different texts (and a photo and name alongside it). It's pretty easy
as long as you know your synonyms/understand the texts and the sentences, and don't fall for the 'oh I saw
this same word here, it must be the right answer!'. I'm pretty sure if you're actually B2 you wouldn't fall for
that. To solve the questions easily, underline the main points and go underline them in the text as well. You
will pretty much do this a lot. But don't ever rely on keywords, but rather key sayings.
Teil 2 is actually kind of difficult. I imagine I got at least one thing wrong here. I practiced it A LOT till I
got the hang of it. Basically again you get Aussagen, but this time you're supposed to use it to either start a
sentence or finish a sentence. Pretty much like fill in the blanks but with a statement rather than just a word.
This requires you pay attention to context, the sentence before and after what you're supposed to fill in,
grammar, and in general practice.
Teil 3 is an MCQ section. It's pretty easy expect it's almost always like the last question is confusing, but
hey maybe that's just me. If you know enough vocab about different topics and you pay attention when
you're solving the questions you won't have an issue. Read the questions first, underline the key parts of the
questions and answers, and read paragraph by paragraph. To be on the safe side though, read enough till
you feel like you found the answer in the text. But usually the questions and paragraphs are sectioned
perfectly like each other so you can find the questions easily.
Teil 4 was pretty easy. You get a few texts, and a bunch of Aussagen and you're supposed to put them
together. Most of the time it's opinions. I think 1 of the texts doesn't fit with anything. Honestly it's very
straightforward and after a few practice questions you won't have an issue with it at all.
Teil 5 is a bit tricky but very easy. You get a bunch of titles and you get some sort of description of
something. Either an instruction manual, something concerning a course or maybe even something to do
with college admissions etc. Pretty much just information about something, and you get a lot of titles. I'm
not sure how many but maybe 6. You get three texts and for every single one only one title fits. As long as
you don't get tricked by some of the similar words/complicated unhelpful crap in the texts you'll be good.

Hören 80/100
So this means I got around 6 questions wrong. Admittedly I changed a few of my answers at the end as I
was copying my answers to the answer sheet. Honestly, MCQs in Hören are NOT easy. Practice a shit ton.
As much as you can. Always always always evaluate your mistakes and look at the transcript. In this
section you're supposed to practice how you can skim out the junk you don't need to hear and focus on the
important tidbits you need so you can answer the question correctly.
Teil 1 was a mishmash of MCQS along with richtig and falsch. It wasn't easy, this was kind of difficult
honestly. Kind of confusing and I changed a few of my answers as I really scratched my head and thought
of what I heard. You'll hear a lot of tricks and you'll only hear the text once. So pay attention. And during
practice make sure you look out for the tricks and if you got something wrong, go to the transcript and look
at what the trick was or what you heard wrong. You can also use the underlining strategy in all of the
Hören questions just so you can focus on the main points.
Teil 2 was an interview. You hear this twice so that's good. There are a few tricks but it's not too hard and
you should pretty much answer this with ease. After a few practice questions you'll get the hang of it.
Teil 3 is a discussion between a moderator and 2 others. It's exactly like the last section of the B1 Hören.
But you only hear it once. Tho that's not an issue at all, it's pretty easy. Sometimes there are tricks but
they're not difficult at all, they're pretty straightforward. I didn't really have a strategy for this section, I just
kind of payed attention to who was talking, what they said exactly and how they said it.
Teil 4 is a long Vortrag that you hear twice. Very boring lol. And the amount of blah blah things you hear
that you don't need is so much and very annoying. This part of Hören wasn't easy for me as the last few
questions were a mess and I heard some words I didn't understand AT ALL. This is probably where I
messed up the most. I'd say pay a lot of attention to this section. Make sure you understand most of the
words and all of the questions or at least what they're about. From practice I've noticed either the Vortrag
will be very fast but filled with a lot more tricks, or very very slow but it'll start picking up the pace/getting
kind of difficult in the last few questions. I guess I got the latter case haha.

Schreiben 90/100
Wow, okay. I practice writing a lot, and I get a lot of feedback from my italki teachers and from Reddit.
But I didn't expect this score at all! I crossed out soooo many sentences. I'm generally a messy person so
oops lol. But I'd say I really structured everything very well, especially in the first question.
Teil 1 is an opinion piece type of text. Not sure if it has a name? But you'll mostly get asked about your
opinion, the reasons for why this topic is current/important etc(depends on the topic and the question of
course), the advantages and disadvantages of whatever the topic is, and the alternatives(or difficulties if you
were only asked about the advantages). You're supposed to also write a fitting introduction and conclusion.
Lmao it isn't cheating or anything but I just write '... ist ein aktuelles/hitzig debattiertes Thema, über das
heutzutage oft diskutiert wird(if you said aktuell). Unter diesem Thema versteht man....' . I mean that's
fitting for pretty much any topic. It depends though, if you get something about Musik you can't just say
that. But you'll most likely get a question about a current issue. I got Schönheitsoperationen. Do the same
for the Schluss, 'Zusammengefasst lässt sich sagen...' 'Zusammenfassend würde ich sagen...' 'alles in allem..'
You should write out notes for the questions and then write accordingly. You should have already
memorized Redemittel for each one of these questions so you don't waste too much time making stuff up in
the exam. You should also use adverbs, Konnektoren, and flexibility (not starting your sentence everytime
with 'ich' or 'man' or so. Change it up!).
Teil 2 is usually either a Bitte email for something or an Entschuldigungsbrief. Again, memorize some
phrases and sayings for this part. I wrote this email pretty badly, but I guess the first part was worth more
so that saved me a bit. But this part shouldn't be too difficult. The questions sometimes have difficult words
but you should get around them. I'll leave helpful links I've used for this section at the end of the post.

Sprechen 78/100 🤪
I didn't expect this at all. This is what makes me the most depressed about my result. I think it's because I
ended my Vortrag pretty early as well as the discussion, as I thought my partner was going to say
something(I felt I spoke too much and waited for them to say something. Awkward silence prevailed and I
felt I had to do something. Idk why but I just said a Zusammenfassung) and I just ended the discussion too
early. Obviously that messed up my grade pretty badly as everything else was fine. The Redemittel I used
in both sections was okay. But I guess I didn't speak enough. Also the questions for the first section are
very very vague. So be careful and try to get clues from the little questions they ask you. And don't use
anything you're not sure of, don't be edgy. Try and stick with what you know, an exam isn't where you're
supposed to be taking risks.
Teil 1 is a Kurzvortrag that is around 4 mins, but you should try and aim for 5 or 6 mins and talk till they
you feel like they're about to tell you to wrap it up. Don't make my mistake. Also mention concrete and
trivial examples for the topic, don't say anything too complicated unless you know the topic well and you
feel you can contribute with something creative, then go ahead. Also if the name of the topic is too vague
but you get examples in the little questions about it, you may actually get a clue for what they want you to
talk about. But if they don't then I guess it's a bit more open.
Teil 2 is a Debatte/Diskussion between you and your partner. They give you example arguments to help
you out, but you can also make up your own. Choose a side, either you're for whatever the topic is or
against it. You can also either agree or disagree with your partner, depends on what they're saying. But try
and stick with 1 side. I was a bit vague here and at some point agreed with my partner. Also in my
conclusion I didn't come to a Kompromiss with my partner, which people told me I'm supposed to do. But
that I'm not sure of, you'll have to ask the people who put the exam/your teacher etc. I just did a general
conclusion. I think my vagueness + ending the discussion too early may have affected my grade here.
Choose a stance, argue well and make sure you make logical arguments, and don't stop debating with your
partner till the examiners tell you to stop.
So that was my experience. As for general questions/things you may be wondering, I'll try and mention
some.

What did I use for practice?

The Goethe-Zertifikat B2 Übungsmaterialien
https://www.goethe.de/en/m/spr/kup/prf/prf/gb2/ue9.html
Mit Erfolg zum Goethe-Zertifikat B2(as well as buying a sample exam from their website)
https://www.klett-sprachen.de/mit-erfolg-zum-goethe-zertifikat-b2/t-1/9783126751544 (I ordered this from
Amazon, you can find it there as well)
https://www.amazon.fr/Mit-Erfolg-zum-Goethe-Zertifikat-
B2/dp/3126751555https://www.amazon.de/dp/3126758304/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_A110DbS0AREXM
https://www.klett-sprachen.de/modellpruefung-1-goethe-zertifikat-b2-2019/t-2555/NP00810000180
Fit für Zertifikat B2
https://shop.hueber.de/de/fit-f-goethe-z-b2-neu-lb-m-cd-f-erw.html
https://www.amazon.de/Fit-f%C3%BCrs-Goethe-Zertifikat-Pr%C3%BCfungstraining-Deutsch-
Fremdsprache/dp/319001874X
Prüfungstraining DaF
https://www.amazon.de/Pr%C3%BCfungstraining-Goethe-Zertifikat-Neubearbeitung-L
%C3%B6sungsbeileger-Audio-Download/dp/3061217754/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Pr
%C3%BCfungstraining+b2&qid=1574133245&sr=8-1
How long have I been learning German?: I took the exam in October, so 13 month by that time.
How do I learn German?
I use a lot of diff resources. I used Aspekte neu B2, but there are also newer resources like Sicher! And the
topics are well structured and pretty much most of them you can find in the practice material/in the exam. I
also use DW and find it really helpful (especially Video Thema).
What are some of the recurring topics in the exam?
So I can't name them all but I'll try and name some.
Sport
Gesundheit
Ernährung
Konsum
Kommunikation
Umweltschutz
Reisen
Wohnformen
Soziale Medien
Kultur
Beziehungen
Musik
Freizeit
And there are others you should have some knowledge about like Kunst, Geschichte, Wissenschaft etc.
So as for just general tips, practice a lot. Use these practice materials(I'm sure there are also more I didn't
order. I only ordered the Testbuch for Mit Erfolg as Prüfungstraining already had Übung + Tests plus fit für
Zertifikat B2) and write many texts. Go over most topics(I wrote about 20 texts but I think 10+ would be
enough) and learn lots of Nomen-Verb Verbindungen, Verben mit Präpositionen, Konnektoren, Adverbien,
and words. If you don't have a teacher to correct your texts, write them here in Reddit! It's what I did with
my other account and I get a lot of helpful corrections. Without them + corrections from my online teachers
I'd have never improved at writing. And find a way to practice speaking! With a speaking partner, online,
using italki etc. But find a way.
The exam wasn't difficult. If anything when I saw the older format, I was relieved I'm taking the new one.
Cus this one is much much easier. With daily practice + concentration you will surely get much higher
grades than me. It's completely possible. I also didn't write this cus my grades were good, if anything I
scored kind of low and I'm not happy with my scores. I wrote this to help anyone taking the exam soon
since it's a new exam and I wanted to share my experience. I urge anyone who has also taken it to share
their experience to help others. I hope this was a helpful post and good luck to y'all!
Helpful links:
https://youtu.be/yVlPFYa6mkY
https://www.google.com/amp/s/gfarmak.wordpress.com/2019/07/10/redemittel-b2-neu-modul-
schreiben/amp/
https://gfarmak.wordpress.com/2019/07/12/redemittel-b2-neu-modul-sprechen/
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/lon/pro/meet-the-
germans/materialien/lerntipps/Lerntipp_Diskussion.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjp9d_3qfXlAhUo0uAKHZvyAIA
QFjADegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw3sq1aS7lQ7xISvbSVMg0dM
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/lon/pro/meet-the-
germans/materialien/lerntipps/Lerntipp_Praesentation.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjMoPGBqvXlAhUXA2MBHd1
RBCEQFjABegQIBxAI&usg=AOvVaw3S1A-1TghidzDPGJjmCNwq
https://deutschlernerblog.de/deutsch-b2-deutsch-lernen-b2-deutschkurs-b2/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCAI6jmeW5hWz2-jaLPqLUQ
https://m.dw.com/en/learn-german/level-b2/s-13230
https://www.zeitblueten.com/news/entschuldigungsschreiben-formulieren-entschuldigungsbrief/
https://www.briefeguru.de/entschuldigungsschreiben/komponenten-einer-guten-entschuldigung/