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The German language is the most important component for your successful admission to German universities or successful employment in Germany. It is one of the main criteria that people have to meet when they want to study or work in Germany. So learning the German language is very important for everyone, but learning alone is not enough, you have to prove it in the end with some valid certificate to prove that you speak German. So there are various German language exams in India and abroad. Now let’s understand what exactly the German language proficiency test is. The German level A1 exam measures an individual’s knowledge of the German language corresponding to level A1 according to the CEFR standards. People who pass the German A1 exam are considered to be able to handle a basic conversation in German.
What is German Language proficiency test?
The German Language Proficiency Test is an internationally recognized test that assesses the knowledge of German by an individual who is not a native German speaker. There are no specific criteria for passing these tests and they are open to anyone who wants to check their level of knowledge of the German language or who wants to get certified in it.
In general, people take German language exams in India for various reasons, such as admission to German universities, employment or meeting certain German visa requirements. However, it is not always necessary for everyone to take the test unless mandated. For example, some people may learn German simply to get involved or as a hobby, and some universities or employers in Germany may not require any German language certification, so people may choose to learn simply to survive in Germany or to manage basic conversations with peers, friends and work clients, etc. So one thing is clear, having a German language certification is not mandatory or not always necessary, it depends on the individual’s interest and purpose.
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German A2 Exercises – Download Free PDF |
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German A1 Exam
1: How do you say "Good Morning" in German?
In India, the Goethe Zertifikat is the most frequently chosen German language exam because it is recognized by the Federal Government of Germany and accepted by all German universities. So you can choose Goethe Institute to take your German A1 exam in India, but still there are many exams like TestDaF, DSH, TELC etc. You are completely free to choose the one that best suits your situation.
German A1 Exam Pattern
The Goethe German A1 exam consists of 4 modules or parts Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Usually the oral exam takes place in groups.
In each section, students are given or asked to complete a set of tasks or exercises against which their skills will be assessed.
Skills will be measured out of 60 points (15 points for each module), in which the candidate must obtain at least 36 points, i.e. at least 60% to pass the exam.
- Reading
You will be given some texts such as notes, Advertisements, Signposts and posters to read, you have to read them and complete exercises on those texts.
Duration:25 minutes
- Writing
You will be asked to fill out simple forms and write a simple text about yourself on an everyday topic.
Duration: 20 minutes
- Listening
You will be asked to listen to the audios of everyday conversations, telephone messages, public announcements, etc., and complete exercises on what you heard.
Duration: Approx.20 minutes
- Speaking
You will be asked to introduce yourself to the group before starting with question and answer session on everyday matters and ask someone in the group for something
Duration: 15 minutes
Eligibility criteria for German A1 exam?
- The Goethe-Zertifikat A1 is intended for adults who are over 16 years old and under 16 can use the Goethe-Zertifikat Fit in German.
- In order to take the Goethe German A1 exam, the applicant should have German language skills corresponding to at least level A1 of the CEFR standard.
- To successfully pass the Goethe German A1 exam, the candidate must complete at least 80 hours of training in accordance with the standard german a1 level syllabus.
How to Pass the A1 German Exam
1. Get to Know the A1 German Exam Structure
Before we dive into all the different tips, it’s important to know the structure of the test so you know what to expect. There are four sections and they correspond to the four parts of language learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
You need to hit 60% across the four sections to pass, so if you’re bad in one area, you can show it in another part of the test.
The speaking section is based on a picture and you will have to talk about it. There are three images to choose from, so there’s a good chance you’ll recognize at least one of them.
They’re all about professions, so brush up on jobs and roles as well as conversational courtesies before entering.
A quick word about reading and writing, these are your basic comprehension style tests. So, when we say that you need to be good at tests rather than German, this is basically what we mean.
You are given a piece of text to look at and then given a series of questions to answer based on what you have read.
Similarly, in the writing section, you receive a letter or email from a friend who wants to learn German and has some questions.
You will need to respond with specific details and answers to their questions. It’s pretty simple, but it always helps to know what you’re dealing with.
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2. Work Out What Your Weaknesses Are
If the passing score is 60% in the entire combined score, you need to find out what your weaknesses and strengths are and allocate more time to revise your weaknesses.
If you know you’re nervous during conversation but your reading comprehension is pretty good, then you’ll need to focus less on that and more on practicing speaking tests.
What you don’t want to do is try to rely on one aspect you’re really good at to get the rest of your score.
Even if we practice, there is still a chance that a topic that we don’t know comes up or that we have a brain block on the day of the exam.
Go prepared through four different sections and it gives you the best chance of breaking that 60% success rate.
3. Try Practice Tests
So practice tests. There are plenty online, I’ve used german.net for most of mine, especially the reading ones as it’s about picking out odd details rather than understanding a whole piece of text.
If you can get used to the test formats and the style of the tests, you will be much more comfortable when you get down to the real thing.
What a lot of language tests look at is that they don’t really care how much you understand or speak, they want to know if you can meet the criteria in the mark scheme.
By taking lots of practice tests, you can get an idea of what the examiners are looking for and what things and topics are likely to come up.
4. Analyze your Practice Results
After you pass all these practice tests, don’t forget about the results. Whether you overcome them or fail, take a look and see what tripped you up.
It’s likely to come up again and it’s a really useful way to see where your weaknesses are.
If you took a test at the end of your session, use the questions you got wrong as the start of your next revision session. When you repeat the things you got wrong, you are more likely to remember the correct answer.
It’s a great way to really turn those weaknesses into strengths and increase your overall percentage, ready for the exam itself.
5. Review as a Group
If you can, try to get several language learners together in a revision group. It doesn’t have to be in person, you can do it via video chat or even in a language learning forum.
This way you can share useful tips and resources and help each other before the big A1 exams.
It helps that everyone is in the same boat and you can reassure each other if something keeps tripping you up.
To be honest, it can be difficult to motivate yourself to ever revise or take a test, even if you have a strict deadline, but if you work in a group, there is a sense of accountability that really helps keep that momentum going until exam day.
Even if you’re not all complete beginners, tests can be scary, so having this support system is a great way to keep your language learning schedule on track!
6. Don’t Cram!
Okay, this may sound crazy coming from someone who passed the German A1 exam in just two weeks, but if you have more time than I do, try not to cram right before the exam.
It will just stress your brain and it will be broken by the time you step in there.
Take the night before and the morning off to calm down and focus. If you don’t know by then, you probably won’t get it before class.
Test mentality is a real thing and you have to get in the zone a bit before you enter it. That’s why lots of practice tests can be super beneficial.
You know what to expect and have run the simulation a dozen times or so. You’ve done the hard work, just get out there and smash it!
How much do I need to know for A1 German?
For the German CEFR A1 level, you will need to acquire a basic knowledge of the German language. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy! In the German A1 exam you will be tested on all aspects of the language including listening, speaking, reading and writing. Therefore, you will need to learn a lot of information to pass this level, you will need to know approximately 700 German words, you will need to be able to form and understand basic questions, sentences and common expressions. I will need to know how to introduce myself and communicate in a simple way when the other person is speaking slowly and clearly.
How long does it take to study for the A1 German exam?
Studying for the German A1 exam is expected to take 60-120 hours. Let’s take 90 hours as an average time, this would mean that if you studied 1 hour a day, it would take around 3 months to study the A1 course.
However, with that being said, this is really a subjective question and depends a lot on each individual. There are many factors that can affect the answer to this question. For example, studying for the German A1 exam will take less time if you already know parts of the German language, or if you already know another language, or if you’re generally pretty good at learning new languages. However, if you can’t relate to any of this, then it will probably take you longer to study for the A1 German exam. So you need to take all these factors into consideration and figure out how long you think it would take you to get through.
How many hours per day should I study?
It suggests dedicating an hour of study each day. It strikes the perfect balance between learning a decent amount of German without overdoing it and burning yourself out. An hour of daily study is also ideal for exams lasting more than 3 months. If you have less time, you’ll need to increase your daily study hours. Enrolling in a German language training course will surely help utilize study time effectively and achieve a good score on the Goethe exams.
Study Plan for A1 exam
Day 1 and 2
In the next 60 days, you will master the German A1 level and be able to say simple phrases, understand the basic speech and have a solid grammar foundation.
Topic of the days – German pronunciation
The German language has some sound and sound combinations that are unique. Before we jump into learning new vocabulary, you must know how to read those words correctly.
Memorizing vocabulary with the wrong pronunciation is a very bad practice – it’ll be tough to correct it down the road. Bad habits die hard. Learning a new way of pronouncing words takes the same mental effort as learning a new word.
Day 3
Verb conjugation in the present tense (Verbkonjugation im Präsens)
The present tense is your first touchpoint with German grammar! It’s the most basic construction to express your thoughts.
Day 4
W-questions (W-Fragen)
W-questions are the question words such as what, why or where. In German, most of these question words also start with W
Day 5
Topic of the day: Introduce yourself
The first topic you’ll master is how to introduce yourself and meet new people:
Day 6: rest day
You deserve a break!
Day 7
Personal pronouns (Personalpronomen)
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun in a sentence. Let’s look at an example.
“Max learns German. He watches youtube videos in German.”
“He” is a personal pronoun. It replaces or refers to “Max” without mentioning him.
It’s time to learn personal pronouns such as “I”, “you”, “we”, and others in German!
Day 8
Sentence Construction (word order)
You wouldn’t say in English, “Works Max today” (unless you’re Yoda). You’d rather say “Max works today” (noun > verb > adverb). German has similar sentence structure rules, albeit more flexible. There are a few ways you can twist and formulate sentences. Let’s learn the rules!
Day 9
Possessive pronouns in nominative (Possessivartikel)
Possessive articles are words that help you express or indicate ownership. Let’s look at the example: ‘This book belongs to me. This is my book’. The word “my’ is a possessive pronoun that indicates that the book belongs to me. Other possessive pronouns in English are ‘your’, ‘her’, ‘our’, etc. Let’s dive deeper to learn about such pronouns in German.
Day 10
Vocabulary topic of the day: Germany’s geography and culture (Deutschlands Geographie und Kultur)
One secret to making progress is not to try to understand everything! Try to get the gist of it from the context and learn the most important words in those sentences – if you learn 5-8 new words related to the topic, consider it a success!
Day 10: rest day
You worked hard, now, you should take some time off to let your brain sort things out. Feel free to watch some youtube videos or review your vocabulary, but doing nothing is just fine.
Day 11
Grammar topic of the day: Bestimmter und unbestimmter Artikel
Just like English has the definite article “the” and an indefinite article “a/an”, German has articles that do the same job – they define the subject in the sentence (nouns). Each noun in the German language has its own gender and its own article. Today we will learn about these articles
Day 12
Grammar topic of the day: Negation in German (nicht and kein)
If we want to negate something in English, we usually use the particles ‘not’ or ‘no’. In German, we have a similar particle ‘nicht’, but we also have a special word for nouns only – ‘kein or keine’. Today you will learn how to say things like “I don’t know” or “I don’t have a car” or “I don’t have a sister”.
Vocabulary topic of the day: shopping – Einkaufen
Day 13: rest day
You worked hard, now, you should take some time off to let your brain sort things out. Feel free to watch some youtube videos or review your vocabulary, but doing nothing is just fine.
Day 14
Grammar topic of the day: Verben mit Vokalwechsel
Some verbs in German change their vowel in certain situations. Today we will learn about such verbs.
Day 15
Vocabulary topic of the day: visiting the post office and a doctor (Post und Arzt)
Day 16: rest day
You worked hard, now, you should take some time off to let your brain sort things out. Feel free to watch some youtube videos or review your vocabulary, but doing nothing is just fine.
Day 17
Grammar topic of the day: Sentence structures in the German language
Let’s learn how to formulate different types of sentences – declarative (just a normal sentence), question, and imperative (giving instructions, telling someone to do something) sentences.
Day 18
Vocabulary topic of the day: Uhrzeiten und Wochentagen
Today we will learn to speak about time and weekdays in German.
Day 19: rest day
You worked hard, now, you should take some time off to let your brain sort things out. Feel free to watch some youtube videos or review your vocabulary, but doing nothing is just fine.
Day 20
Grammar topic of the day: trennbare Verben
Some verbs in German are separable! Yes, you heard that right – some verbs in some sentences break into 2 pieces. And there are specific rules about where to place each of those pieces.
Day 21
Vocabulary topic of the day: everyday life and daily routine
Day 22: rest day
You worked hard, now, you should take some time off to let your brain sort things out. Feel free to watch some youtube videos or review your vocabulary, but doing nothing is just fine.
Day 22
Grammar topic of the day: Modalverben
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that express necessity or possibility. English modal verbs include must, shall, will, should, and others.
Day 23
Vocabulary topic of the day: giving and asking for directions
Day 24: rest day
You worked hard, now, you should take some time off to let your brain sort things out. Feel free to watch some youtube videos or review your vocabulary, but doing nothing is just fine.
Day 25
Grammar topic of the day: Akkusativ (accusative case)
Day 27: rest day
You worked hard, now, you should take some time off to let your brain sort things out. Feel free to watch some youtube videos or review your vocabulary, but doing nothing is just fine.
Day 28
Grammar topic of the day: Dative case
Day 29
Vocabulary topic of the day: weather
Day 30: rest day
You worked hard, now, you should take some time off to let your brain sort things out. Feel free to watch some youtube videos or review your vocabulary, but doing nothing is just fine.
Day 31
Grammar topic of the day: German prepositions
Here is a definition of preposition by Lingoda: “a preposition will typically describe a movement or direction, a location or position, or some other relationship between the object and the rest of the sentence.” Examples of prepositions in English include with, at, from, by, on, in, etc.
Day 32
Vocabulary topic of the day: Meine Wohnung – my apartment
Day 33
Grammar topic of the day: German prepositions
Here is a definition of preposition by Lingoda: “a preposition will typically describe a movement or direction, a location or position, or some other relationship between the object and the rest of the sentence.” Examples of prepositions in English include with, at, from, by, on, in, etc.
Tips for studying and passing the A1 German exam
- Create an immersive German environment. Even if you’re not studying for a German exam, play a German podcast or video in the background. This is so you can start getting used to the sound of the German language and it will really help you in the listening part of the exam. You’ll start to notice that you can pick out words, even if it’s just one word, which shows progress!
- Vocabulary is so important! As mentioned, you need to learn about 700 words. You can’t skip this part, even if you’ve learned sentence structure and grammar, it won’t do any good if you don’t know what each word means. I made flashcards of the full A1 German word list and just went through them and went through them.
- Practice, practice, practice! There are no two ways about it. You will need to make sure that you commit to studying the German language. You will also need to use different methods to ensure that you study for each part of the exam. For example, I really liked the textbook I was using, but it didn’t help me with the speaking part, so I needed to get a tutor to speak German with and help me practice it. Also take practice exams and practice your speaking introduction too!!
- Make sure you know the format of the exam, especially how long you will have for each part of the exam and how many times you will hear each sound in the listening section, as you don’t want to be caught off guard in the exam.
- Every noun in German has a gender. Make sure that you learn these words with their corresponding genders (‘der’, ‘die’, ‘das’). This will be so useful in the future when you progress to A2 German and so on.
What is Next…?
If you failed your A1 German exam…
- Try not be disheartened, the A1 German exam is far from easy. Just rebook it for when you’re ready!
If you passed the A1 German exam…
- If you want to continue your German learning journey, why not enroll for the A2 exam? This is what I’ve done!
- Maybe you just needed your A1 German qualification to support your VISA application and you won’t continue sitting the formal Goethe-Institut exams and if that is the case, congratulations on passing this exam!
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FAQs
What is the passing mark for German A1 exam?
A student has to score a minimum of 60% to pass the Goethe German A1 exam.
What is the validity of Goethe German A1 certificate?
This certificate comes with lifetime validity.
How much does the German A1 exam cost in India?
Goethe Zertifikat exam costs 7,600/- (Subject to change)
Is it easy to pass the Goethe German A1 Exam?
It depends on the individual’s proficiency level, but Goethe German A1 exam format is very simple without too much complexity. If you have done the German A1 course from a recognized training institute who follow the standard syllabus and training methodology.
