I need to pass the German A1 level spoken exam in order to renew my residence permit (B).
Has anyone done this and knows what kind of questions are asked in this exam?
Thank you
Hello!
I just passed the A2 exam. It’s a walk in the park. Search online for the format of the exam; for example, Telc or Goethe. This way you know what to expect. It will be very basic introduction and most likely you will have a partner with whom you take it in turns to ask a question, give an answer etc. I found the examiners to be extremely friendly. They do not expect perfect answers. Most important is that you demonstrate that you can understand and express simple phrases. Frankly, if you’re here long enough to be renewing a B permit then you should have nothing to worry about.
Thank you!
I'll check out these resources you've mentioned.
Its good to know that I may be asking questions too, not just answering them.
Check out DW or TELC or Goethe videos online/Youtube. They have good materials.
Still taking my A1 courses in. Migros school...hope I pass. Anyone got experience studying in migros
??
Yes, A2 to B1. Made great progress, did not sit for the exam though.
In general a very good experience for me, but I understand that it could be different depending on specific teachers and groups.
It depends on the teacher and the group. When we first came to Switzerland 21 years ago I joined a basic level class - really the teacher was collecting a cheque and not really engaged. I switched over to Volkshochschule in Basel and there was a very enthuastic teacher, lots of games and activities rather than just going through the book page after page.
I only took my B1 exam in 2016 as part of the naturalisation process. For that I did the B1 8 week crammer course at MKS - well worth doing, and again a decent teacher. Most recently I took the C1 parts 1 and 2 last year. I was planning to do B2, but scored highly enough on the assessment test to be put in C1. In the end I found that a bit much, though I learned a lot and the teacher was good and organised well around the limitations of pandemic and online teaching.
I would have preferred in the end to do the B2 course as the grammar elements which are taught in-depth and at dummies' pace in B2 were gone a bit too quickly in C1 for my poor brain to handle.
For the A1, if you can handle reading the 20min and things like childrens' books you are in a good way.
Cheers,
Nick