The recommended route
Good preparation is less a matter of hours than of order: first find out where you stand, then learn the exam, then practise it under the real conditions. Nine steps, each one built on what the one before showed you. This route is written for Goethe B2; for B1 the order is the same, but the Teile and their rules differ — the format details below are B2’s.
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Prepare in this order: (1) take a level test to see how far you are from B2; (2) learn the format of all four modules — Lesen, Hören, Schreiben and Sprechen, each marked on its own and passed at 60 of 100 points; (3) practise Teil by Teil and read the explanation behind every wrong answer; (4) write Forumsbeiträge and Nachrichten regularly and have them marked on the exam's criteria; (5) practise Sprechen out loud, giving your Vortrag from notes rather than a script; (6) decide which modules to book — all four or only some; (7) in the final weeks, sit full Modellprüfungen (mock exams) under the real time limits; (8) learn nothing new in the last week; (9) know exactly how the exam day runs.
New to the exam itself? First read how the Goethe B2 exam day runs — the four modules, their timings and how each is scored.
Step 1
Take the free level test first: Lesen and Hören in the real formats of the Goethe-Zertifikat B2, no account needed. It tells you honestly where you stand — including when the answer is B1 — and so whether your exam date is realistic or too close. Schreiben and Sprechen are not part of it; steps 4 and 5 give you a marked picture of those.
Step 2
The Goethe-Zertifikat B2 is four separate exams: Lesen (65 minutes, five Teile, 30 items), Hören (about 40 minutes, four Teile, 30 items), Schreiben (75 minutes, a Forumsbeitrag and a Nachricht) and Sprechen (about 15 minutes in pairs, after 15 minutes of preparation). Each module is out of 100 points and passed on its own at 60 — a strong Lesen does not make up for a weak Hören. Every Teil has its own rules; learn them before you practise, and you will not lose points to the instructions.
Step 3
Work on one Teil at a time and read the explanation behind every answer you get wrong — the pattern behind your mistakes matters more than the number of exercises. Some points are lost not to your German but to the rules of a Teil: in Lesen Teil 1 one person can be the answer several times, and in Hören Teil 1 and Teil 3 there is no second play. The typical mistakes of each module are listed below. Move on when a Teil stops costing you points.
Step 4
Schreiben is the module you cannot check on your own: a Lesen answer has a key, your own text does not. Write Forumsbeiträge and Nachrichten regularly from the start, not only in the last week — the criteria (Erfüllung, Kohärenz, Wortschatz and Strukturen, each graded A to E) reward habits, and habits take weeks to change. Cover all four Inhaltspunkte every time: a text under half the required length, or one that misses the topic, gets an E in Erfüllung — and then the whole task scores 0. Felix, our AI examiner, marks your texts on these criteria — an estimate, not an official result — with Exam Prep and Complete Prep; without a pass, a free account gets you one preview of the marking.
Step 5
Answer out loud, never only in your head, and give your Vortrag from notes, not from a script — the task asks you to speak freely. Practise the structure (introduction, main part, conclusion), the question you ask your partner after their talk — it is marked — and the summary at the end of the Diskussion. You can answer into a microphone or, where you cannot speak, type. Felix marks what you say from the transcript; Aussprache, 16 of the 100 points, needs your voice, so record yourself and listen back.
Step 6
The four modules are separate: you can take all four on one date, only some of them, or one at a time — and a module you pass stays passed. Before you register, ask whoever wants the certificate (an authority, an employer, a university) which modules they need. Then look at your results so far: one Modellprüfung per module is free here and shows which modules are already close to 60 points. Dates, fees and registration deadlines are set by each exam centre, and places can be limited — find out early.
Step 7
In the last weeks, put the Teile back together: sit each module you have booked as a complete Modellprüfung, at full length, under the real time limit, without pausing. That trains what single Teile cannot — pacing across 65 minutes of Lesen or 75 of Schreiben, and concentration for Lesen, Hören and Schreiben back to back. Hören plays as in the exam: Teil 1 and 3 once, Teil 2 and 4 twice, no rewinding. Go through every mistake afterwards; a mock you do not review is half a mock.
Step 8
No new material in the last days: repeat what you know, sit at most one timed module early in the week, and sleep at your usual times. Settle the practical details now — the invitation from your exam centre (start time, address, and whether Sprechen is on the same day), your photo ID, the route. Between the written modules there is a break of at least 15 minutes; plan something to eat and drink for it.
Step 9
On the day, nothing should be new. Lesen, Hören and Schreiben usually run one after another, with a break of at least 15 minutes between modules; Sprechen follows on the same day or on a date of its own. In Lesen you may start with any Teil, and in Lesen and Hören a wrong answer costs nothing — so never leave a blank. In Schreiben both tasks are compulsory: about 50 minutes for the Forumsbeitrag and 25 for the Nachricht.
Not every lost point is a gap in your German. These are exam mistakes — habits that cost points in one particular Teil and disappear once you know them.
Nobody can honestly promise you a number of weeks. How long the step from B1 to B2 takes depends on where you start, how regularly you practise and how much German you use outside your practice — which is why this plan starts with a level test, not a calendar. The Modellprüfungen then show when a module is ready: when you reach 60 points in it reliably, under the real time limit.
Whatever your timeline, spread the work out: short sessions on most days are easier to keep up than one long session a week, and an hour spent in the exam's own format trains the language and the exam at the same time.
DeutschCertPrep is an independent preparation service. We are not affiliated with, authorised by or endorsed by the Goethe-Institut, telc gGmbH, ÖSD or the BAMF, and we do not issue certificates. “Goethe-Zertifikat”, “telc” and “ÖSD” are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to name the exams our material prepares for. Felix’s marking is a practice estimate, not an official exam result.
