German language diploma, level I

The German language diploma first stage (short: DSD - Level 1 or DSD I ) of the Standing Conference is a language test , the foreign students of German as a foreign language allows proof of language proficiency level A2 or B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to gain. The examination covers competencies in the areas of reading comprehension, listening comprehension, written communication (writing) and oral communication (speaking).

The DSD I "serves as proof of the German language skills required for admission to a preparatory college in the Federal Republic of Germany" and thus certifies the language skills of foreign students whose university entrance qualifications are not recognized as equivalent to a German Abitur. The target group are young people between the ages of 14 and 16. The prerequisite for taking the exam is 600 - 800 hours of German lessons of 45 minutes each.

Test setup

The examination of level A2 / B1 can only be taken as a whole and consists of three written parts and an oral part. The examination parts reading comprehension (LV), listening comprehension (HV), written communication (SK) and oral communication (MK) are each weighted equally with 25%.

The texts used for the tasks of reading comprehension and listening comprehension are all in the "interest and experience area of the target group: leisure time, school, family, nature, student exchange, etc.". and have been edited for audit purposes. Work instructions are set at A2 level.

reading comprehension

The reading comprehension section consists of 24 tasks that are divided into 5 parts. The associated texts are linguistically different and should require the following skills:

Recognizing relationships
global understanding
selective understanding
detailed understanding

The examination time is 70 minutes, which is made up of 60 minutes of working time and 10 minutes of transmission time. The types of tasks differ from exam part to exam part and are sometimes mixed. The types of tasks used include text gaps, multiple choice (tripartite), assignment tasks (e.g. assignment of headings to text), as well as correct / incorrect selection options.

All tasks must be completed by hand. The texts in this part of the examination are taken from newspapers, magazines, brochures, the Internet and letters. The type of discourse of the texts varies, so that both informative, factual and reporting texts as well as descriptive and narrative texts are covered by the examination.

Listening comprehension

The listening comprehension competence area also comprises 24 tasks which are also divided into 5 parts of the examination. The same skills are required in the examination parts, only in the context of listening comprehension. The examination time is 50 minutes, of which 40 minutes are reserved for work and 10 minutes for broadcasts.

The type of discourse in the texts to be understood varies between dialogical, reporting, descriptive, informative and narrative. Everyday conversations, both private and public messages and announcements, radio and TV broadcasts, audio recordings on the Internet, interviews from magazines or newspapers and other types of conversation or excerpts thereof serve as sources.

Written communication

The aim of the written communication examination is to produce a coherent text and provides for a working time of 75 minutes. In addition to text production, the student must be able to read and understand short texts in order to work on the tasks.

The task of the students is to write freely based on a template and three key questions. This includes, for example, "writing a letter to a youth magazine or contribution to a discussion for a magazine / Internet forum"

In text production, four evaluation criteria with sub-criteria are observed:

Overall impression
- Reading fluency
- Text context
- Relation to the writing situation
content
- appropriateness
- Self-reliance
- own experiences
- own opinion
Linguistic means
- vocabulary
- Structures
correctness
- grammatical correctness
- orthographic correctness

Verbal communication

Oral communication has two objectives, which divides the exam into two parts with a total duration of 15 minutes.

In the first part of this oral exam, the ability to talk and general everyday situations are played through. The questions that are asked by the examiners guide the student and are taken from a given catalog.

For the second part of the oral exam, the student must first decide on a topic. The student must then give a "coherent monological lecture" on this topic and then be able to freely answer questions about their own presentation.

The criteria for this test are pronunciation, grammar, correctness, vocabulary but also the implementation of the task.

Correction and evaluation

The four areas of competence are also assessed differently due to their different orientation. A similar correction scheme is only available for the areas of reading comprehension and listening comprehension. Except in the competence area of oral communication, all assessments take place in Germany.

In the areas of reading and listening comprehension, the answer sheets of the students in Germany are "analyzed methodically and electronically evaluated". In the area of written communication (writing), on the other hand, the writing sheets are sent to Germany and there are rated by trained evaluators on the basis of predefined evaluation criteria using forms. These results are then adjusted using a test methodical adjustment procedure.

The oral communication (speaking) exam is the only exam that takes place directly at the school abroad by trained members of the examination board. Here, too, the evaluation takes place on the basis of predefined evaluation criteria using forms. The results must be confirmed by the examiner.

Taken from the implementation provisions of the examination regulations

The diploma

The certificate for the German language diploma is in turn a diploma. Since this exam is a level test, both the DSD I, which corresponds to level B1 of the GERS, and the DSD A2, which corresponds to level A2 of the GeR, can be obtained. The DSD I "serves as proof of German language skills required for admission to a preparatory college" and thus certifies the linguistic knowledge of foreign students whose university entrance qualification is not recognized as equivalent to a German Abitur.

The DSD is obtained at the respective level if the following performance has been achieved in the sub-competencies (see DSD implementation provisions):

Points required for level A2 / B1
Area of competence	Level A2	Level B1
reading comprehension	8 points	14 points
Listening comprehension	8 points	14 points
Written communication (writing)	8 points	12 points
Oral communication (speaking)	8 points	12 points

Regardless of which level has been reached, the levels reached in the four competence areas are individually documented on the diploma, so that reaching the B1 level in reading and listening comprehension is also possible, even if only level A2 was reached in oral and written communication. Even if a student does not achieve the DSD A2, the achievements are certified.

The result of the examinations is communicated to the students either directly by the examination committee after the oral examination or by receiving the diploma.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Kultusministerkonferenz: Examination regulations for the exams for the German language diploma of the KMK. Version of September 28, 2005, p. 2 ( PDF file; 39 KB ).
↑ ^a ^b ^c Kultusministerkonferenz: Implementation provisions for the examination regulations - levels A2, B1, B2 and C1. Version dated December 3, 2010 ( PDF file; 279 KB ).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Federal Office of Administration - Central Office for Schools Abroad: Test Specifications - Levels A2 / B1 and B2 / C1. 2009

↑ ^a ^b Federal Office of Administration - Central Office for Schools Abroad: Handouts for Written Communication - Levels A2 / B1 and B2 / C1. Pp. 4–32 ( PDF file; 772 KB ).

↑ ^a ^b ^c Federal Office of Administration - Central Office for Schools Abroad: Handouts for Oral Communication - Level A2 / B1. ( PDF file; 325 KB ).

[DSDPrüfungsordnung-1] Kultusministerkonferenz: Examination regulations for the exams for the German language diploma of the KMK. Version of September 28, 2005, p. 2 ( PDF file; 39 KB ).

[DSDAusführungsbestimmungen-2] Kultusministerkonferenz: Implementation provisions for the examination regulations - levels A2, B1, B2 and C1. Version dated December 3, 2010 ( PDF file; 279 KB ).

[DSDTestspezifikation-3] Federal Office of Administration - Central Office for Schools Abroad: Test Specifications - Levels A2 / B1 and B2 / C1. 2009

[HandreichungSK-4] Federal Office of Administration - Central Office for Schools Abroad: Handouts for Written Communication - Levels A2 / B1 and B2 / C1. Pp. 4–32 ( PDF file; 772 KB ).

[HandreichungMK-5] Federal Office of Administration - Central Office for Schools Abroad: Handouts for Oral Communication - Level A2 / B1. ( PDF file; 325 KB ).