telc German B2 Oral Exam: Format, Parts, Assessment

The oral exam of telc Deutsch B2 is a pair exam with three parts: you talk about your own experiences, discuss a newspaper text and plan something together. According to telc, the conversation takes about 15 to 16 minutes, preceded by 20 minutes of preparation time. This article explains the format, the parts and the assessment based on the official telc materials.

How does the telc German B2 oral exam work?

The oral exam is the fifth and last subtest, called "Mündlicher Ausdruck" (oral expression). In the overview it comes after the written part with reading comprehension, language elements, listening comprehension and written expression. According to the telc exam page, telc Deutsch B2 is offered in digital, hybrid and paper-based formats and can also be taken as a partial examination. The overview in the telc preparation tips describes it as an examination conversation with two or three candidates.

The sequence as you will experience it:

1. Preparation time: According to the tips, you receive a sheet with the tasks and stamped paper for notes (this may differ in the digital or hybrid format). You have 20 minutes to get familiar with the tasks.
2. Getting to know each other: Before the actual exam you are asked to introduce yourself to your partner. This takes about one minute and, according to telc, is not assessed. It helps you settle into the situation.
3. Parts 1 to 3: The three assessed parts take about five minutes each.

Who you talk to matters: according to the telc preparation tips, you should communicate primarily with the other candidate, not with the examiners. The point is not to answer the examiners' questions but to have a lively conversation to which both of you contribute about equally.

Is the telc B2 oral exam a pair or an individual exam?

It is a pair exam. According to the telc tips, you are examined together with a partner. If the number of candidates is odd, three candidates form an examination group. The telc materials describe only the exam for two or three people. For special cases, ask the exam centre when you register.

This affects how you behave. The tips advise looking at your partner, addressing them directly, reacting to what they say and listening actively during longer contributions. According to telc, do not try to do as much of the talking as possible on your own. If your partner does not let you speak, telc says you should interrupt and insist on being able to say something too. Conversely, it is positive to help your partner if they get stuck and to give them time to think.

How long does the oral exam take?

The overviews in the handbook and the tips list "ca. 15 bzw. 25 Min." (about 15 or 25 minutes). In the tips, this sits next to "Prüfungsgespräch mit zwei oder drei Teilnehmenden" (an exam conversation with two or three candidates), so the 25 minutes refer to a group of three. The telc exam page also gives about 15 minutes for the pair exam. The running text of the tips speaks of about 16 minutes, correspondingly longer for three candidates. The extra minute is most likely the roughly one-minute getting-to-know-each-other phase before the three parts of about five minutes each. As a pair, plan for a little over a quarter of an hour of actual conversation; as a group of three, for considerably more.

On top of that come the 20 minutes of preparation time. It is part of the exam procedure, and you use it for Part 2 and Part 3.

What are the three parts of the oral exam?

Part 1: Talking about experiences

You receive a list of seven topics. According to the handbook, you prepare one of them at home and talk about it in the exam. You may make notes and use them during the exam. As a guideline, the telc tips mention about one and a half minutes for your contribution, after which you answer one or two questions from your partner. Then you swap roles. The topics come from your own experience, such as a book, a film or a trip.

The tips advise writing down keywords only, not full sentences, because that gets in the way of speaking freely.

Part 2: Discussion

You both receive the same text, according to the handbook an authentic newspaper article on a controversial topic of general interest. You read it during the preparation time. In the exam, you first reproduce the main points and then discuss the topic. According to telc, the goal is not to convince the other person but to hold an argued discussion, make your own opinion clear and respond to your partner's views.

For preparation, the tips recommend noting arguments for and against the issue in the text, plus your own experiences as examples. Of the 20 minutes of preparation time, about ten could go to this part.

Part 3: Planning something together

Here you receive a short description of a situation or task, for example an outing, a party or a trip. According to the handbook, you contribute your own ideas, make suggestions, respond appropriately to your partner's suggestions and try to work out a plan together. The tips list guiding questions that almost always fit: what, who, when, where, food and drink, costs.

The parts at a glance:

How is the oral exam assessed?

Licensed telc examiners assess each part using the telc assessment guidelines for oral expression. The handbook lists the same four criteria for each of the three parts:

• Range of expression (Ausdrucksfähigkeit)
• Task completion (Aufgabenbewältigung)
• Formal accuracy (Formale Richtigkeit)
• Pronunciation and intonation (Aussprache und Intonation)

Up to 25 points are possible per part, so 75 points for the whole oral exam. According to the tips, that is 75 out of 300 points in total, and the handbook puts the share of the "Sprechen" subtest at 25 percent. The oral exam therefore makes up a quarter of the overall result.

On the level expected, the tips say: at B2 you should shape conversations, not throughout but still, with some complex sentence structures. Short pauses to look for words or structures are allowed. Mistakes and simplifications are permitted "to a certain extent", but using only simple constructions with simple vocabulary is no longer acceptable at B2. The tips name subordinate clauses, the passive and the subjunctive as examples you should try now and then, provided they fit the context and are spoken fluently.

The handbook and the tips do not state how many points you need to pass. You will find that in the exam regulations from telc or at your exam centre.

What is allowed and what is not?

Two things are explicitly stated in the materials: you may use your notes from the preparation in the exam. A dictionary is not allowed during the entire exam, including the preparation phase for the oral part. Further details, such as technical aids or the procedure at a particular exam centre, cannot be derived from this article.

How do you prepare for the three parts?

The telc materials give several concrete hints that can be put into an order:

• Read the practice test: Then you already know Part 1, because according to the tips the seven topics come from the practice test.
• Choose a topic for Part 1 where your vocabulary is good, and note only keywords.
• Collect phrases: For Part 2, to reproduce a text ("In dem Text geht es um ...") and to introduce an opinion, ideally more than "Meiner Meinung nach ..." and "Ich meine, dass ...". For Part 3, for making suggestions and for agreeing or declining.

One obvious piece of advice follows from this, though it does not come from telc: practise with a partner, because the exam is a conversation, not a presentation.

If you also want to practise on your own, LearnCastAI lets you hold an exam conversation with an AI examiner and get feedback (Speaking exam practice with AI). It is a practice format: it does not replace the conversation with a real partner that telc expects in the exam, and it is not official telc material.

What should you check before you register?

All information in this article comes from the telc Deutsch B2 handbook (2019 edition) and the telc tips for exam preparation, German B2. Exam regulations change from time to time, so it is worth checking the current information from telc and your exam centre. This applies above all to dates, fees and the form of the exam, which this article does not cover. LearnCastAI is not affiliated with telc gGmbH; this article is not official telc information.

If you want to compare the oral exam format of the level below, you will find the counterpart in the article German B1 oral exam. General thoughts on how oral exams work, also outside language exams, are in How does an oral exam work?. If nerves are your main concern, the post How to overcome test anxiety helps. More articles are in the category Exam preparation.

Conclusion

The telc B2 oral exam is a conversation for two of about a quarter of an hour: report experiences, discuss a text, plan together. Range of expression, task completion, formal accuracy and pronunciation are assessed, with up to 25 points per part. If you know the parts and the expectation of a lively conversation, you go in calmer. Read the official materials yourself; they are the binding source.