How to learn German fast part 8
Prepare for the examination if you are taking one - part one: choosing an examination to take, or, what are the German examination options available?
There are many German examinations if you intend to take one, and there are many good reasons for you to consider doing any one of the German examinations actually. First, it will be a good guage of your ability; you may wish to work and live in Germany, and then again the most common reason is that you might want to study at a German university or a German institution, whatever the case may be. Nonetheless, the very first step that you should have done already, if you've read my blog up to this point, is that you will have decided what you wanted and what you intend to pursue, especially with regards to time, standards and which German examination you wish to complete.
The really important and necessary German examinations that you need to be aware of are listed below:
Zertifikat Deutsch (ZD)
TestDaF
TELC
and for business German examinations here are the really important and necessary ones that you need to be aware of:
Zertificat Deutsch fuer den Beruf (ZDfB)
Pruefung Wirtschaftsdeutsch (PWD)
I will be ignoring the rest of the German examinations because they are not important for the case of this blog and my course on how to learn German fast, but they are all freely available on the Internet, so do look around. Remember to always look around for more information and be sure that you know what you are doing, and so on.
I myself did the Testdaf, which is spelt TestDaF but I am too lazy to do so, and this is one of the better tests and I would recommend it. It is basically a German language examination that grades you based on oral skills, listening skills, writing skills, reading and comprehension skills in four different components. You can see my German testdaf result in an earlier post.
Here in this post I will be looking at the various language examination possibilities and what you can do and what you can take, and the choice and ideas are all up to you. Here goes the evaluation:
The Zertifikat Deutsch is rather good as a German examination, and consists of one written expression section, one reading comprehension section, one listening comprehension section, structures and vocabulary sections and a oral examination. It can be used to apply for German citizenship indirectly and hence is rather useful, because it is accepted as proof of German language ability when applying for citizenship. It is good for everday situations and is one of the more common German language tests. I would suggest it as one of your key choices, as many other German teachers would do also.
The testdaf is a very good German examination and lasts for hours with many sections, testing verbal oral skills, hearing and listening skills, writing skills and reading and comprehension skills. It is one of the best German examinations to take and I strongly recommend it. It is a standardised test and is implemented worldwide and is very stable, and provides highly academic testing that ensures quality. It lasts for life and can be used to apply to any German university.
The TELC is also like the testdaf and based on the Common European Framework of Reference for languages by the Council of Europe. I would say that this one would be something to consider if you don't intend to take the Zertifikat or the Testdaf, although it is my own personal preference to choose the Testdaf. Note that the TELC is more general because it offers all sorts of languages for the German language test, meaning that you can do this if you're from Portugal, France, and so on. I will honestly say that I don't see any difference between this and the Testdaf, except that this TELC intends to make different language examinations to teach and examine German, whereas the Testdaf seems to me to be entirely German, and German only. You can make your own mind up once you have done the research into the reach of the particular examination.
Don't take my word on any of the German examinations, but also do some research into them and look around, in terms of German examinations and German online courses that help you to prepare for them, because these here on the various exam options are only my own opinions. I had already intended to take the Testdaf last time when I was doing it, and in any case, my system is to teach you how to learn a language fast and efficiently, in particular, how to learn German fast, and I am not an expert in German examinations, but only contributing some ideas that might help you in your research. So please stand warned. It's sometimes as important to know what information is useful and what is not as useful, what is positive and factual, and what is normative and opiniated, and what test to take is definitely not my field, but your own personal choice.
That said...
For the business German examinations I am unable to provide much knowledge in the way of writing about them, but they are similar to the testdaf and only focused on business situations and commerce fields. There are structures and grammar sections as well, but not as much as in other German examinations and for obvious reasons. I hardly need to say that if you're considering doing business in Germany or learning professional business German, the two German examinations of ZDfB and PWD will prove invaluable to you - just choose one good one.
Having chosen an examination, there will be examination tips on how to study for German exams in the next post. Stay tuned!
PS ADDITIONAL NOTE: Some people have written to me to ask about O and A level German (GCE, UCLES, Singapore/Cambridge A levels, H2 German). The advice I give can also be applied to other examinations so do take what you can and apply those accordingly :)
HOW TO LEARN GERMAN FAST
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