TestDaF

What is the TestDaF?

The TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache) proves your German for admission to a German university. Every German university accepts it for every degree. The digital TestDaF tests four skills separately and reports each one as a level: TDN 3, 4 or 5. Most degrees ask for TDN 4 in all four sections.

The four sections

	Tasks	Time
Reading	7 tasks, 34 items	about 55 min
Listening	7 tasks, 30 items, every recording played once	about 40 min
Writing	2 texts: an argument (min. 200 words) and a summary of a text and a graph	about 60 min
Speaking	7 recorded answers in university situations	about 35 min

Source: testdaf.de: the digital TestDaF

TDN 3, 4 and 5

Each section is scored on a scale of 0 to 20 and reported as a TestDaF level. TDN 3 corresponds to about B2, TDN 4 to B2/C1 and TDN 5 to C1. The certificate shows each section separately, so one weak section can block an admission even with high scores elsewhere.

Every task type, in exam order

Reading

Gap text
Ordering text sections
Multiple choice on a long text
Matching speech acts
Sorting statements into categories
Statements under a pair of headings
Finding false sentences in a summary

Listening

Completing an overview
Noting demands and arguments
Checking a summary of a lecture
Matching statements to people
Completing a lecture outline
Multiple choice
Comparing sound and spelling

Writing

Argumentative text
Summary of a text and a graph

Speaking

Giving advice
Weighing options
Summarising a text
Commenting on a statement and a graph
Presenting a topic
Restating arguments and taking a position
Criticising a measure

How Kollego prepares you

Every task type works like in the exam: select in the gap, place sections, mark sentences, type short answers.
Listening tasks play once, with different voices, and the mock runs each task on its own clock.
Writing and speaking come with checklists and model answers at TDN 4 and TDN 5.
With Prep+: AI feedback on your texts and recorded answers, as an estimate of your level.

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