———————- A little bit about me and my german level:

-In March 2022, I took the B1 Goethe exam and passed, barely studied because i only wanted to pass for the certificate, which is pretty easy with Goethe B2 and under exams as long as you learn the Redemittel and feel your way through the reading/listening

-In March 2023, I took the B2 exam, same as above. I was barely B2.1 when I passed basically.

-In September of 2023, I signed up for my first Testdaf exam( papierbasiert)in March 2024 and started studying for it. I learned the structure of the exam and kept practicing on practice tests

-In March 2024, I took the exam and.. I failed as stated above. ———————————————- What went wrong?

• I did every single exercise from each book
• I took notes of all new vocab from the reading texts
• I learned all the Redemittel very well

And, frankly, I definitely now know it wasn’t enough. especially for the level I started with, which would partially explain why I couldn’t even get a 3 in Schreiben.

I had 6~ months to prepare, but I also was doing 2 A-levels, so that explains it. After I got my results in April I signed up for the exam on the 17th of July. I couldn’t actually get started on studying again until around the end of May(when I finished school), so that gave me a little less than 2 months to prepare. I’ll now get into every single thing I did. ———————— Before I list anything, I still wanna mention that even though I had a little less than 2 months, I used them fully and learned intensively. No, I wasn’t studying 24 hours a day, but it was still intensive AND I was already VERY familiar with the structure of the test. I am not getting into explaining anything about the structure because it’d be very repetitive and all books/lots of videos explain it.

Also, if you have ANY question, I’d be very very happy to help. I understand how stressful the exam can be. ————————- Resources for Practice exams:

THE GOOGLE DRIVE LINK: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wOzTdeifVPjJgi6M5gDUhZGLDV8r12MX?usp=sharing

-Prüfungstraining Testdaf -Modelltest 1 & 2 (TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache)https://www.testdaf.deModelltests für den papierbasierten TestDaF) -Modelltest 3 -Mit erfolg zum Testdaf -Musterprüfung 1,2,3,4,5 -Fit für den Testdaf -Testdaf-Training 20.15

Listed from most difficult practice tests to easiest (imo) *google drive link for is all these resources and the ones i’m going to list later on (yes i didnt buy anything SUE ME! Do you know how expensive the Euro is? Yeah.) —————————— 1.Reading & Listening

Other than the obvious of doing practice tests, your best bet is to just better your vocabulary and listen to videos/read articles, which I’ll talk about in a separate section later in this post. I will however list some of my tips for both.

Aufgabe 1 Lesen: So I actually have never finished this in exactly 10 min, I usually take 12-14 min and take less than 20 min for each aufgabe 4 & 5, so that explains how I finish on time.

My strategy here is that I read all the statements, then I read each paragraph and for each paragraph, I’d list every possible statement for the paragraph next to the letter. At the end, I go paragraph by paragraph and choose one of the numbers/statements I listed using elimination for that pargraph. I eventually end up with 3 statements that couldn’t match to any and there you go that’s your I. this could be more efficient for some or maybe not. I’d suggest you try different strategies and see what works best.

Aufgabe 2 & 3:

The great thing about these exercises is that the questions go in chronological order, I usually read a paragraph then find the corresponding 1 or two questions and answer it. It keeps more focused rather than reading the whole thing then answering.

For aufgabe 3, I understand it’s really difficult with the whole TSDN and sometimes the texts are just about stupid stuff, but you get used to it eventually and you get a feel for it. I used to mix up a Nein and TSDN answer all the time, that’s if I even understood the sentence. It sucks but good it’s TDN 5 for a reason.

**tip is to always time yourself. maybe not the first time while you’re getting a feel for the test but you HAVE to be used to a timer next to you. also recording your grades over time would be nice too.

Aufgabe 1&3 Hören:

Ok I have nothing to say here except always answer on paper, if your book is on a laptop or something. I was lazy enough to TYPE my answers so when I was in the exam I wasn’t used to writing fast enough. yeah stupid i know.

Nothing much to say except that it’s normal if you and you actually should write half the word because they’re sometimes too fast. then right when they stop talking you complete your words.

nothing much to say about aufgabe 2 here either.

** Sometimes TDN 3 is actually harder than others. Don’t take it as a rule of thumb that the exam is always gradual in difficulty. At the end of the day, you’re aiming to get at-least the upper threshold in TDN 4 ——————— 2.Schreiben

I went from U3 to 5 in less than 2 months, so a lot of it was changing my technique (and obviously some of it was correcting my grammar and bettering my vocabulary)

Oh boy. Alright so first off, here’s some ground rules.

1. you need to read all the criteria they grade you on. I didn’t do this the first time, but it helped a LOT the second time. For this: use Hinweise und Tipps. DO NOT SKIP THIS.
2. Fix yo grammar. I was for some reason unknowingly frequently making A2 mistakes. stuff like Adjektivendungen I had to work on. (embarrassing but whatever) Make sure you’re using the correct case (dat, gen, akk), for the most part do your best to use correct artikel, obviously sentence order and verb am ende when required is important. It’s obvious but it’s overlooked.
3. The structure is VERY important. Intro, Übergang from intro to grafik, general grafik description(title, source, prozent or anzahl?, Zeitraum), Zusammenfassung of Grafik using only the most important details, briefly mentioning the tendenz, Übergang to Argumentation, Umformulieren of the statements/opinions, stating your opinion and WHY!!, Positives and negatives (at least 2 each I would recommend and always add a reasoning to each dont just list them), the situation in your country and finally a conclusion)

0.5.Structure: perfect structure I followed is in a pdf by the name Beispiel for SA modelltest 3 in the folder Schreiben in the google drive link.

1.Intro: I’d really recommend Dr Deutsch video on this (https://youtu.be/f9_bsjUrT1k?si=z0Uy1LHRLrPOCApk) You can formulate the given introduction in another way. you can write your own. In my last test I did a mix of both. A strong introduction makes a great impression.

1.5.Übergang just any Redemittel will suffice. Used at the end of the Einleitung so the flow of the text is not so abrupt and yes it’s important.

2.Grafikbeschreibung This is sort of eventually straightforward and should come with a lot of practice. Read what the practice books say about it and your should be good. My tip for you is to vary how you address the data. for example if data includes abitur graduates, if I’m going to mention them more than once, id directly addressing them or comparing them to another group, I would say: Abiturabsolventen, Schüler mit Abiturabschluss, Abiturienten, etc. In Grafikbeschreibung. You first list general information about the graph (title, source, Wert, Zeitraum) then only the main aspects of the data then the general tendency/pattern of the graph. tendancy can also be stated before getting into the main aspects.

2.5.Übergang again any redemittel will suffice. used at the beginning of the argumentation paragraph.

3.Argumentation This is an important part of your writing. first you paraphrase the statements given. I recommend this video if you’re struggling with this: https://youtu.be/5OEDmPJ3LkI?si=ZTdfMoChi0uENi-- you shouldn’t be cheap with your reasoning when stating pros and cons and your opinion. after finishing all writing tests from your books here’s an extra resource to practice your arguments and explore more topics, hence expanding your knowledge and vocabulary. Redemittel is important here.

https://deutschlernen-blog.de/themen-zum-uben-des-argumentierens/

4.Situation in Heimatland. Straightforward and I used the example they used in hinweise and tipps modelltest 01 (will list below) as a template to follow

5.conclusion this is pretty important even if they dont ask you it. you can add a personal experience, maybe extra thoughts, sum the topic up, etc just start a paragraph with Im Fazit and write 2 or 3 sentences.

expand your vocabulary as much as possible. it’s really important to be use verbs and nouns in correct contexts, otherwise this can affect your grade. *use natural nomen-verb-verbindungen. everything related to bettering your vocabulary, I will discuss in a later section. ***make sure you understand the topic so you don’t write things off point. I recommend reading through the whole task before starting.

****Read through the Hinweise and Tipps from the testdaf website for the Schreiben and Sprechen section. It will help you A LOT. trust.

Hinweise und Tipps Modelltest 1

Hinweise und Tipps Modelltest 2

Last tips:

-The writing tasks repeat themselves sometimes every few exams. I actually found out later on that my last writing task was repeated and I could’ve practiced it but I didn’t know. Here’s a facebook post outlining past topics: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/dMH6AQgaKxi75XoF/?

-Chatgbt is really good at german surprisingly what I did was I would copy paste my text and tell it to correct my text and highlight any changes made in bold, so you can clearly see your mistakes.

-WriteStreakGerman is a great subreddit where natives will correct your texts for free. Please read the community’s rules and guidelines: https://www.reddit.com/r/WriteStreakGerman/s/WEmL4kYezR

-You can find some samples of my texts on my profile and in the comments you’ll see the correction of them.

-just write as much as you can. I must’ve written close 50 texts (not all is posted here and obviously not all are full length essays) —————— 3.Sprechen

So I know Sprechen can be really scary. and it took me quite a bit to get the hang of it.

Again you need to read through the criteria of how they grade you https://www.testdaf.de/captivate/allgemein/index.html

And luckily for all of us, they’re VERY forgiving when it comes to this section.

My experience with Sprechen(I passed with a 4 both times) First time: It made me very nervous and my test was OK. I definitely did NOT have the best vocabulary at the time but I used my Redemittel and spoke about all points required. I couldn’t finish Aufgabe 3 because it was 2 graphs. I didn’t do the best at Aufgabe 7 and 2. Second time: I had much better vocabulary but the test was significantly harder. I didn’t finish Aufgabe 4, I didn’t do very well on Aufgabe 5. I did OK on Aufgabe 6 but I realized halfway through I had understood the task wrong so was stuttering through trying to shift the sentences so it fits more to the specifics of the topic. the whole thing I was stuttering and for some reason my time management was worse here but I passed.

Hopefully this experience should calm you a bit. They typically need you to 1. speak clearly (I didn’t do that that well the second time because I was so nervous) 2. Finish all points 3. Stay on topic. 4. Use Redmittel and connectors

It’s possible that you already know that the exam is taken with other people in the room. My first time we were 5 and we were spaced apart generously. My second time we were 7 and were in a small room which is why I think I did so badly. I actually couldn’t hear myself.

The best approach to Speaking is to play the audio and just start. If you want to go the extra mile you can play a video on another device of background noise of people talking so you can get used to it. The good thing about speaking is that they give you the paper and you start the audio and the audio has like a good 4 minutes of instructions, so you get an early start. You need to stay focused for ten seconds though because it asks you for your candidate number and todays date at the beginning but other than that just grind at the paper and read through the tasks

Again when at home play the audio and just start. This is the best way to get used to it. It’s annoying and scary and nervewracking but they’re MUCH more forgiving than in Schreiben.

A solid advice is that you SHOULD 100% record yourself. It may be iffy hearing your own voice and mistakes but it’s very helpful and I would argue non negotiable. You can record a simple audio, upload it on google drive and use this website to transcribe speechnotes.cohttps://speechnotes.coFree Speech to Text Online, Voice Typing & Transcription

then put the transcription on chatgbt so it can correct you. ———————— 4.Vocabulary

My quizlet links:

https://quizlet.com/eg/928747821/testdaf-flash-cards/?i=5v9z1z&x=1jqY

https://quizlet.com/eg/930216487/vocab-2-flash-cards/?i=5v9z1z&x=1jqY

Books will be added to the google drive under additional resources folder. solving their reading and listening wont be much help because it’s a different structure , but you can read the texts and note vocab and use the writing tasks to practice argumentation. I highly recommend starting with Sprechen Schreiben Mitreden. It’s fantastic.

Youtube channels:

For testdaf: Dr deutsch (just watch a video of his a day, can’t recommend him enough

General/casual listening: Unbubble (great because they literally follow that pro/cons or argumentation structure and they discuss Die Spur Simplicissimus Breaking lab visualeconominik DE Kurz gesagt

For reading, I recommend joining subreddits like BIDA, De, Ratschlag, Studium

** my tip when learning vocab is asking Chatgbt in which contexts a word is used in and let it give you examples. you do NOT want to use a word in the wrong context. Sometimes words with similar meaning can be confusing. I usually just write X vs Y, used and examples in Chatgbt and it clears that up for me. ———————- 5.Grammar

will list 2 resources in the folder ‘Additional resources) I recommend starting with C Grammatik ————————

Last words: I know people who passed on their first time, others on their second and some actually third. The exam is not easy, BUT it’s doable. final advice? write and speak every single day. and alternate between practicing lesen and hören. if you can practice all 4 sections everyday, then great! Most importantly, don’t let fear paralyze you!

Funfact is that I actually had already applied for a third exam after I came out of my second one because I genuinely was so sure I wasn’t passing. Believe in yourself and stop comparing yourself to others.

I am open to ANY question and will be happy to help.