Many learners need confirmation of their language knowledge and skills in the form of an internationally recognized certificate (e.g. Goethe-Zertifikat order ÖSD-Zertifikat from A1 to C2, Großes Deutsche Sprachdiplom (GDS), Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer (DTZ), TestDaF).

There can be various circumstances: admission to study, work permit, and participation in a project impose fairly strict time frames. When preparing for such a certification exam, there are many details to consider to make the best use of your time. That’s why I decided to describe in this blog post tricks and tips that I think help avoid surprises and pitfalls.

This blog post was written by Tamara Darajeva.

In this blog post, I decided to describe tricks and tips that I think are helpful in avoiding surprises and pitfalls when preparing learners for the certification exam.

This blog post is about the speaking module. In my opinion, the role of the teacher in preparing for this module is particularly important. And the course of preparation is very much influenced by the personality of the learner.

Tip 1 — Study forms of the tasks for the exam carefully

In different exams, the forms of the tasks are also different. For example, the Goethe Certificate B2 tests speaking in front of an audience in the form of a lecture. In addition, it tests the ability to discuss arguments for and against — in the form of a discussion. The task of these speaking skills in the B1 DTZ exam is to describe a picture and plan something together.

That’s why it’s important not only to know the topic of “Food”, but also to speak on this topic in the focus of a given situation. For example: The food in the canteen is bad. Where else could you eat for lunch?

Tip 2 — Consider the social experience

To fulfill the tasks of the Speaking module, it is important not only to have language knowledge and skills but also certain social experiences. If we need to add this or more sufficient in certain areas, it makes sense to work on it during the preparation course. For instance, for the learner who has no experience as a parent, I suggest answering the following questions:

• Do you remember why you didn’t feel like going to kindergarten?
• Imagine you are 5 years old. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., you must do everything with other children. Also, to eat what you don’t like, play with toys you don’t like, etc.
• What did your friends tell you when their child didn’t want to go to kindergarten?

Of course, the questions must be formulated at the level of the planned examination.

After such question-answer exercises, learners know what they can say. For example, if the task asks you to guess something because the child will soon be attending daycare and is excited about it.

Tip 3 — Consider the professional experience

It is no less important to have certain professional experience in certification exams. The tasks in the form of problem-solving concern specific professional areas.

I had a learner who had been working for a few years but had nothing to do with office life. That’s why he had no idea about office life in a company. For this reason, it was problematic for him to carry out tasks such as organizing a team event together or discussing the possibility of catering in the office.

Here it makes sense to use the episodes of the films or targeted texts and to organize the preparation in the form of role plays.

Tip 4 — World Knowledge

The learners’ level of world knowledge influences their preparation for the exam. The higher this level is, the more confident the learner feels during the exam. World knowledge brings contextual clarity. This is good support when you need arguments in dialogue. It is particularly helpful if you do not have enough personal experience in a particular area. In addition, world knowledge is a rich source of examples for lectures and presentations. Of course, I’m not asking you to turn your students into polyhistors in no time. But to discuss the topic of globalization, you need basic knowledge in areas such as economics, industry, and law.

We should pay particular attention to regional studies and the associated vocabulary during preparation. There are such tasks in which Matura, Wende, or Realschule, are mentioned. To complete this task, one needs to know what these words mean in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Tip 5 — Under the pressure of time

It may sound obvious, but I recommend checking your learners’ current level. If you know this, you can correctly plan the scope and content of the teaching material to be repeated. Then, you have the opportunity to choose the forms of repetition that are associated with task types in the exam.

You make a preparation plan (together with the learner if s/he is a reflective learner). Also, you should take into account the learner’s current language level, the given study hours and standards, and individual problems. Nevertheless, the circumstances are often such that they are under time pressure. Then you should decide what to “sacrifice”.

5.1 — Be very attentive to study the criteria

If you are very attentive to the criteria, it will help the learners to develop the right strategies for completing the tasks. It is very important to distribute the time correctly during the exam under time pressure. If you don’t have enough time, it makes sense to pay more attention to tasks that earn more points.

5.2 — Find compromises

It is also worth limiting the number of structures to be practiced, choosing those that the learner can “handle” confidently. These can also be such “universal” expressions:
“… hat sowohl Vorteile, als Nachteile”,
“… wird heute viel diskutiert”, as well as all the cliché sentences.

For example, in order to give a correct answer, one must look at the problem from different sides.

To find a solution, you must consider various aspects.

Taking into consideration, the learner’s strengths, you can decide what could be neglected.

Tip 6 — “I don’t understand every single word”

How should you react if your learners don’t understand the person they’re talking to 100%? Don’t panic. If they really understand all words then that probably means they signed up for the wrong level. Such people need to sign up for a higher level. One cannot understand 100%, but the essence of what has been understood gives the opportunity to continue the conversation. The main thing is that a person doesn’t fall silent after not understanding one or two words from the interlocutor.

The other person might use the wrong word or not pronounce the word correctly. The question “What did you mean by that?” can save communication in such situations.

It is important to discuss this with the learners and to simulate and practice such situations during preparation.

Tip 7 — Lehrer als “Sparringspartner”

Be prepared to play the role of “sparring partner” during the lessons.

In the oral exam, it is very rare that the exam partners are equally prepared. Also, if they do not have the same communication skills. Therefore, it is important during the preparation course to train learners

• to respond correctly to silent partners, to “stupid” questions, and
• to answers that are not related to the question.

It is no less important to avoid dominating conversations. We should also practice this. Empathy, one of the most important “soft skills” in the teaching profession, allows you to play different roles and simulate different situations.

In the examples, I have given most of the tasks at level B1 or B2. But even for simple level A 1 tasks, such as formulating requests, requests, or questions regarding the picture on the card, simulation is important in the preparation. The point here is to train immediate reaction to the image, ingenuity, and association.

Tip 8 — How Google Translate can be helpful when preparing for the Speaking module

Google Translate is a free tool that helps learners practice language comprehensibility. Learners can dictate something and check whether Google Translate understands it. In order for Google Translate to understand you, you not only have to speak correctly but also clearly. Learners should pay attention to intonation, too. It will help them to distinguish whether it is a declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory sentence. It is also important to pronounce the sentences so that it is clear whether they are one sentence or several.

Tip 9 — How to encourage the learner to leave the comfort zone of speaking

An important question is how to encourage the learners to use the structures and vocabulary when speaking that correspond to the existing examination level.

Most learners like to stay at the level where they feel confident. For example, they might say “Ich will das Wochenende auf dem Lande verbringen” even though the level at which they plan to take the exam requires “Ich habe vor, das Wochenende auf dem Lande zu verbringen.” They have problems actively using passive vocabulary because they are afraid of making mistakes.

I had a learner who communicated pretty well in German. She could also understand quite complicated texts. However, during speaking, she used simple structures and vocabulary that were two levels lower than her reading vocabulary and structures. Then I asked her to record her talk. After that, she could listen to that recording, keep notes, and do a self-analysis based on those notes. In class, we replaced the simple structures with complicated ones and practiced in mini-dialogues.

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Of course, it’s a lot of work and it’s impossible to plan and take everything into account. But it’s worth it so that your preparation course can be tailored to your learner. Then you minimize the risks of having a snag in your plan for preparing for the certification exam.

I hope my tips can help you avoid surprises and pitfalls.