Overview of the Goethe A1 German exam pattern, timing, marks distribution, and section-wise question types explained.
Key Takeaways
- The Goethe A1 exam tests all four language skills equally with 15 marks each.
- Time management is crucial, especially for the combined reading and writing booklet.
- Listening recordings vary in repetition and question format across three parts.
- Passing requires a minimum of 60% overall, not necessarily in each section.
- Familiarity with the exam format and sample questions can improve performance.
What the video covers
- The Goethe A1 exam consists of four parts: Listening (Hören), Reading (Lesen), Writing (Schreiben), and Speaking (Sprechen).
- Listening section takes about 20 minutes, Reading and Writing together take 45 minutes (25 for Reading, 20 for Writing), and Speaking takes around 15 minutes.
- Each section carries 15 marks, totaling 60 marks, with a passing score of 36 marks (60%).
- Listening section has three parts: multiple-choice questions with recordings played twice, true/false questions with recordings played once, and multiple-choice questions again with recordings played twice.
- Answers for the Listening section are marked on a separate answer sheet called Antwortbogen.
- Reading section includes true/false questions based on emails, letters, and advertisements.
- Writing section requires answering questions and writing short texts, with specific instructions on content and length.
- Speaking section is conducted in groups and happens after the written parts.
- The video provides sample exam excerpts and practical tips on how to allocate time during the exam.
- Detailed explanation of the exam booklet layout, question types, and answer marking procedures.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Exam Overview
- 00:56Exam Timing and Section Order
- 01:52Marks Distribution and Passing Criteria
- 02:52Listening Section Overview and Part 1
- 03:41Listening Section Part 2: True or False Questions
- 04:31Listening Section Part 3 and Answer Sheet Explanation
- 06:25Reading Section Overview and Part 1
- 08:07Reading Section Part 2 and Writing Section Introduction
- 10:04Writing Section Details and Speaking Section Preview
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Hello everyone, and welcome to the 5-minute German A1 exam preparation series. In this video, we will take a look at the exam pattern for the Goethe A1 exam. I will tell you what the different parts in
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the A1 exam are, what different kinds of questions you will come across, and how you can answer them. So let's not waste any time and let's get started. The Goethe A1 exam consists of four parts. The
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first one is Hören, which is listening. The second is Lesen, which is reading. Then we have Schreiben, which is writing, and the fourth is Sprechen, which is speaking. So in the exam, these are the four parts of language in which you will
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be tested. Now, how much time do you have for each of these sections? Usually, what happens in the exam is that when you go to the exam hall or the exam center, they start with the Hören
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or the listening part, and this usually takes around 20 minutes. Once you are finished with the Hören part, then they will give you a booklet which contains the Lesen, which is reading, and the Schreiben, which is the writing part. For
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the listening or reading part, you have around 25 minutes, and for the Schreiben part, you have 20 minutes. But since you get the booklet for both of these parts together, that's why you have 45 minutes in total, and it is up to you whether you
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take more time in Lesen or more time in Schreiben. So my suggestion is that you start with the Lesen part and complete it, and then with the time that you have left, you do the Schreiben part. And then at
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the end, you have the Sprechen part, which takes around 15 minutes, and this happens in groups, so you might have to wait after your exam until your turn comes and you give the speaking part. Now, how many marks do each of these sections
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have? So each of these sections has 15 marks. So you have 15 marks for Hören, 15 for Lesen, 15 for Schreiben, and 15 for Sprechen. So all four parts have equal weightage, and we have 60 marks in total. And to
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pass, you need 36 marks or 60% marks to pass. So you can get more marks in one section and maybe fewer marks in the other section, but if the total is 36 or more, then you will pass the exam. Now,
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let's take a look at what is included in each one of these sections. So the first section is the Hören or listening section, and in this, you have three parts. In the first part, you have six questions, and you have to answer them after
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listening to different recordings or conversations. These conversations or recordings are played twice, so they will play it once, and then it will be repeated once again. And in these questions, you will have three options: A, B, and C, and you have to select the
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correct option. Now, let's take a look at how it will be in the exam. So I have an A1 sample exam over here, so let's go to the Hören part. So this is the Hören part, and over here, there's some text which
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explains the same thing which I told you, that this has three parts, and you will hear some small conversations or statements, and then you have to give the answers. So let's take a look at the first part. So over here, they have an
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example. So you will hear a conversation, and then there's the question over here related to the conversation. So it is asked that which room number does Herr Schneider have, and in the conversation, they will tell you the room number, and
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then you have to cross the correct answer. Let's take a look at some other questions that are included in the sample exam. So here is a question about how much does the sweater or pullover cost, and there are different options
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over here. So you have to listen to the statements and select the correct answer. So you see there are three questions on this page, and then we have three more questions over here, so six questions in total, and each question has one mark. So
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this was part one of the Hören section. Then in the second part, you will have four questions, but this time the recording or conversation will only be played once, so it will not be repeated. However, in this case, you just
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have to mark whether the statement was true or false. So let's take a look at how these questions look like in the exam. So here I am in the second part or Teil Zwei, and you see it is also written on
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the exam that you have to select R or F. R is true, and F is false, and that you will hear each text only once. "Soal" means once. So here the first one is an example. So the
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R is in "Sagekommen." So the travelers should come for information in the hall C. So depending on the recording that you hear, this statement was true, so that's why it is marked R over here. And similarly, you have questions 7 to 10
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over here, so four questions where you will hear a recording, and then you have to mark true or false. So this was part two of the Hören section. Then we have the last part, which is part three, and over
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here, you have five questions, and these recordings or conversations will also be played twice. And similar to part one, you will have three options, which are A, B, and C, and you have to select the correct one. Now, let's also take a look at these
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questions. So here is part three, and you see over here that there are no pictures as we saw in part one. You just have a statement, and then you have to hear the conversation and select the correct answer. So
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these are five questions in total. So you see 11, 12, and 13 on this page, and then 14 and 15 on the second page. One more important point over here, as you see at the end, is that you don't have to mark
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the answers on this page. Rather, you will get an Antwortbogen or an answer sheet on which you have to mark the answers. Let's take a look at that as well. So if you also have this sample exam, then you will
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find this Antwortbogen at the end. So here is the Antwortbogen, and this is what you will get in the exam as well. So at the top, you have to give your last name and first name. So "Name" is last name or
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surname, and "Vorname" is your first name. Then you have to give your institution or Ort, the location where you are giving the exam, also your Geburtsdatum or date of birth. So this is day, then month, and then year over here, and the rest
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the exam center or invigilator will tell you what you have to fill in the Prüfungsnummer and PS. And now you see over here at the Hören part that you have the questions 1 to 6 under Teil Eins or
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part one, then 7 to 10 under Teil Zwei, which is part two, and then 11 to 15 under Teil Drei or part three. So you have to cross the correct one. So this was the Hören or listening section of the exam. Now,
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let's take a look at the Lesen or reading section, which is the second part of the exam. So this also has three parts. In the first part, you will read an email or a letter, and you will have five questions
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related to the text that you read, and you will have to answer them as true or false. So let's see how this looks like in the exam. So here I am in the Lesen and Schreiben section, as I told you that you
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get the booklet for both of them together, so you have 45 minutes for them, and they have divided it into 25 minutes for the reading part and 20 minutes for the writing part. So let's take a look at
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the reading part first of all. So this is Teil Eins of the reading part, and as I said, you have to mark it R or F. So over here, they have an example which has been marked as false,
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so this statement is not true. Then you have this email over here where there's some information about the arrival of somebody, and then you have some questions related to the email. So you have to read this information at the
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top, and then you have to mark these questions as true or false. Then as we go to the second page, then over here, we have this text, and questions 3, 4, and 5 are related to the text that you
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see over here. So you have to read this text and then answer these questions as true or false. So this was part one. In part two, you have to read some different advertisements, and this part also contains five questions, and you have to
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select the correct option. So you will only have two options, A or B, and you have to select the correct one. So let's take a look at this part as well. So here we are in part two of the reading
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section A.
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something about an open air concert and on the right side it tells about the German Weather Service so which of these two options is the correct one there's some other text that you should also read and and then select the correct
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option so in this case option b is the correct one which is the German Weather Service because from here you will get information about whether it will rain or not so in this way you have some other questions over here as well and in
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each of these questions you just have to read both the advertisements and select the correct option then in the last part you will read some information and answer some questions this part also has five questions and you have to answer
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them as true true or false so similar to part one so here we are in part three and you see the example over here the statement is Le in to learn German you will go toon swanes so then you have to read
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this information over here and it says sh Centrum so Language Center and it is at bethan 23 so this means that this statement is correct but will not mark it over here rather in the an for ban which I showed you earlier so you have
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some other questions similar questions over here and in each of the questions you have to mark it right or wrong so this was the reading section then we go to the third part which is the writing section or
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Shan and this has only two parts so in the first part you have to fill out a form so there will be some information or text given to you so you will read that text and then you have to fill five
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blanks in a form and each blank is of one Mark so five marks in total so let's see an example of this so here is the first part of the writing section and over here you have some information that
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you have to read and then you have to fill out these five missing informations on the form so you have unsal their personal number of persons that is one you have to fill out then the phone Kinder how many children are there this
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you have to fill out and number three is the Oort or the location then you have over here one question which is about the payment method and then the rise terine or the date of travel so you have
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to read the information at the top and then fill in these blanks then in part two you have to write a letter or an email and this has to be around 30 words or four to five sentences and this has
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10 marks now let's take an example of this so this is the second part and it is written over here Z in AUST Dr B you want to visit Dron in August so Dron is a city in Germany and
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you have to write a letter or an email to the tourist information and it must contain these three informations so first is why are you writing them so you have to give them the reason why you are writing then you have to ask them about
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information about films or museums Etc and you also have to ask them about the hotel address and over here it is written please write to each point one to two sentences on the an ban so this is around 30 words and you also have to
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write so you also have to write a starting such as Dear Sir or Madam and also a ending such as best regards as we write it in English so this was the Shan part or the writing part then the last
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part is the expression or speaking part and this also has three subp parts so in the first first part you have to introduce yourself and there are some different things that you have to say in this introduction so if we take a look
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at the special part from the exam then you see over here that in part one it is written zish forellen introduce yourself and in the introduction you have to give this information such as Nam your name alter how old are you land where are you
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from one art where do you live shaan which are the languages that you speak beru what is your profession and hobby what are your hobbies or hobby so this is the information that you have to give in your introduction so I have already
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made a full video on how you can introduce yourself in German which covers all these different points I will link it in the description below you can go and check it out and prepare yourself for the exam then the second part of the
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speaking exam is to ask questions and give answers so you will use ve fragen or yanine fragen to make questions and if somebody else asks you a question then you also have to give an answer now on what topics will you ask these
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questions so for that you will get some different cards which have some topic on it such as the ones that you see over here so you have a topic which is Essen onink so eating and drinking and you
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have a word over here which is Fook or breakfast so you have to ask a question related to this topic so for example you can say one FR do or one fren Z and if somebody asks you this question then you
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can say so there will be some other questions over here as well so depending on what the word is you have to make a question and it is good that you use this word in the question or answer as
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well and the last part of the speaking exam will be to make requests and react to them and for this you will use the imperative which we also learned in one of the lessons if you don't know what
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the imperative is I will also link the video in the description below you can go and check it out now let's see some example questions of how you have to make these requests or what are the topics so here we are at TI dry or part
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three so in this case you will not have words rather you will have some different images so over here you have a book then you have a pencil over here over here you have a clock so depending on what kind of image or object you are
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given you have to make a request and the other person will have to answer it so I will give you some tips of how you can make these requests which will make it easier for you in the exam so you don't
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have to worry we will take a look at this in the lesson where we will go into detail about preparing for this part so this was an overview of the different sections that you have in the a exam in
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which you will be tested so as I mentioned earlier we will go into detail on each of these parts and I will give you some tips and tricks on how you can prepare for them so that you get good
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marks in the exam and you pass it without any problem so I hope that this video was helpful for you if you have any questions or feedback please let me know in the comments below thank you very much for your time and continuous
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support and we will see each other in the next video
Topics:Goethe A1 examGerman A1 exam patternGerman language testA1 German listeningA1 German readingA1 German writingA1 German speakingGerman exam preparationGoethe InstitutGerman language exam tips











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