Honestly, I did not do the A1 Goethe-Zertifikat exam before I started my A2 course, neither do I think it is necessary at this level. However, my opinion is that it is always good to have some kind of measure and to continuously test your knowledge rather than assuming them. This post hopefully is not only helpful for those who are going for the exams, but also for the ones who are not going for exams but want to test their knowledge.
My aim of writing this post is not primarily to help you to score in the speaking exam, but rather for you to use and practice these sample questions so that you are able to make daily conversations in German more easily. In my previous post, I have mentioned that I will focus on improving my speaking skills by getting back to basics; making sure that I can actually use these simple phrases in my daily life, before I even jump on the more difficult and complex phrases, or words that I find difficult to pronounce on its own. Use the list below as a guide, not a rule, and don't limit yourself to just learning what's coming up in exam.
The test is about 15 minutes, with three parts to complete. It is conducted in a group of maximum 4 person.
Part 1 : Sich vorstellen (Introduce Yourself)
This part can be broken down into three sections:
a. Sich vorstellen (Introduce yourself) - 1 mark
You will see a paper with a list of the following words to help you with your introduction:
- Name
- Alter
- Land
- Wohnort
- Sprachen
- Beruf
- Hobby
You need to be able to introduce yourself on a basic level with at least 5 full sentences:
- Name : Ich heiβe ... / Mein Name ist … / Ich bin ... ( I am called... / My name is… / I am… )
- Alter : Ich bin … Jahre alt ( I am ... years old )
- Land : Ich komme aus ... ( I come from… )
- Wohnort : Ich wohne in ... ( I live in… )
- Sprachen : Meine Muttersprache ist … Ich spreche auch … und jetzt lerne ich Deutsch. ( My mother tongue is ... I also speak ... and now I am learning German. )
- Beruf : Ich bin ... von Beruf. / Ich bin Student(in) ( I am ... by profession / I am a student. )
- Hobby : Mein Hobby ist … / Meine Hobbys sind ... ( My hobby is ... / My hobbies are… )
b. Buchstabieren (to spell) - 1 mark
After introducing yourself, you will need to be ready to spell alphabets when asked by examiners. This is to test your ABC pronunciation in German.
The examiners might ask questions like below:
Wie ist Ihr Vorname/Nachname/Familienname? Können Sie das bitte buchstabieren.
Sie wohnen in der XYZ-Straße. Können Sie das bitte buchstabieren?
Woher kommen Sie? Können Sie das bitte buchstabieren?
Wo wohnen Sie? Können Sie das bitte buchstabieren?
Example:
Examiner: Wie ist Ihr Vorname?
Me: Mein Vorname ist Sharon
Examiner: Können Sie das bitte buchstabieren?
Me: S-H-A-R-O-N
How I practiced my alphabet pronunciation was by listening multiple times to children's ABC song in German. I find that very helpful. There are also many Youtube videos on this like Learn German, Learn German with Anja and Lingoni German.
Once you know how to pronounce them correctly, practice by opening any random books, newspapers or online articles etc (with Roman alphabets) and start spelling the alphabets that you see. After practicing several times, you should be able to spell alphabets out a lot more naturally instead of pausing and having to think for too long.
c. Zahlen (numbers) - 1 mark
After alphabet spelling, you will need to be prepared to say out numbers in German when asked by examiners. This is to test your knowledge of numbers in German.
The examiners might ask questions like below:
Haben Sie Telefon? Wie ist bitte Ihre Telefonnummer?
Haben Sie ein Handy? Wie ist bitte Ihre Nummer?
Wie ist Ihre Postleitzahl/Hausnummer?
Wie ist die Telefonnummer von XYZ?
Example:
Examiner: Wie ist Ihre Hausnummer?
Me: Meine Hausnummer ist null-null-acht (008).
Just like alphabets, numbers can be easily remembered with practice. You can write down random numbers on a piece of blank paper, and then test yourself in German. You can test yourself with the same paper again and again until you are familiar with it. Do this several times until the numbers in German comes more naturally to you without much thinking. If you would like to first learn on numbers, here are some videos which are helpful by Learn German, Lingoni German and Learn German with Anja. I have also posted some useful notes on numbers on my Instagram .
That's the end of A1 Part 1 Speaking/Oral exam.
I would also encourage you to practice introducing other people as well, as this will help you to get used to changing the personal pronouns and verb conjugation to the correct form. For example, instead of "Ich komme aus…", you will say "Er kommt aus….". This is very important even though it is not tested in the exam. By learning to introduce yourself and other people, the following important verbs would be easier for you : heiβen, sein, haben, kommen, wohnen, sprechen, and lernen.
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