DTZ B1 Picture Description: Describe a Photo and Talk About You

What happens in DTZ Sprechen Teil 2?

In the practice set, Teil 2 is called "Über Erfahrungen sprechen" (talking about experiences). It follows straight after the introduction in Teil 1 and takes about 6 minutes for both candidates together. You usually take the whole oral exam in pairs with two examiners; it takes about 16 minutes.

Each candidate gets their own task sheet with a photo. Both photos belong to the same topic, but each candidate has a different photo. The task starts with an everyday situation: you have found a photo in a magazine. You say what you see in the photo and what kind of situation it is, and then you talk about your own experiences with the topic. After that, the examiners ask questions. You may also talk with your partner about the photos, but you are not explicitly asked to.

The official Übungssatz 1 by g.a.s.t. (practice set) does not mention any preparation time. Our tip: expect to see the photo for the first time in the exam. That is why a fixed order in your head helps more than texts learned by heart.

What topics do the photos show?

There is no official list of topics. Our tip: expect everyday scenes that you know from your own life. Prepare for these areas and collect ten words and a short story of your own for each one.

• Housing (Wohnen): moving house, neighbours, looking for a flat, keeping the building tidy
• Work (Arbeit): workplace, colleagues, working from home, working hours
• Family and children (Familie und Kinder): nursery (Kita), school, family celebrations, homework
• Shopping (Einkaufen): supermarket, weekly market, ordering online
• Health (Gesundheit): doctor's surgery, sport, healthy eating
• Leisure and transport (Freizeit und Verkehr): park, day trip, bus and train, bicycle
• Learning (Lernen): German course, further training, learning on your phone

In what order do I describe the photo?

Our tip is an order in five steps: from the general to the specific, and then to you. One to three sentences per step are enough. This way you have described the photo after about one minute and still have enough time for the most important part – your own experiences.

1. Topic (Thema): What is the photo about? „Auf dem Bild geht es um das Thema Einkaufen.“ ("The photo is about shopping.")
2. People (Personen): Who can you see? How many, how old, what do they look like? „Ich sehe eine Frau und ein Kind, vielleicht Mutter und Tochter.“ ("I see a woman and a child, maybe mother and daughter.")
3. Place (Ort): Where is it? Inside or outside, town or countryside? „Sie sind auf einem Wochenmarkt, im Hintergrund sieht man Stände mit Obst.“ ("They are at a weekly market; in the background you can see fruit stalls.")
4. Action (Handlung): What are the people doing, how do they feel? „Die Frau bezahlt gerade, das Kind hält eine Tüte mit Äpfeln. Beide lächeln, sie haben wohl gute Laune.“ ("The woman is paying, the child is holding a bag of apples. Both are smiling; they seem to be in a good mood.")
5. Your own experience (eigene Erfahrung): What have you experienced yourself, what is it like in your home country? „Ich gehe auch gern auf den Markt, meistens samstags …“ ("I like going to the market too, usually on Saturdays …")

If you cannot see something in the photo clearly, just say so: „Ich bin nicht sicher, aber ich glaube …“ ("I am not sure, but I think …"). Guesses with „vielleicht“ (maybe), „wahrscheinlich“ (probably) or „es sieht so aus, als ob …“ (it looks as if …) are very useful at B1.

Useful phrases (Redemittel) for the picture description

How do I talk about my own experiences?

There is a reason why Teil 2 is called "Über Erfahrungen sprechen" (talking about experiences). Describing the photo is the way in; your own story is the core. Our tip: tell a specific experience, not a general opinion. „Einkaufen ist wichtig“ ("Shopping is important") says little; „Letzten Samstag habe ich auf dem Markt zum ersten Mal Spargel gekauft“ ("Last Saturday I bought asparagus at the market for the first time") is a story.

• The past in the perfect tense (Perfekt): „Ich habe … gekauft“ ("I bought …"), „Wir sind … gefahren“ ("We went to …"), plus „war“ and „hatte“ (was, had) in the simple past (Präteritum).
• Comparing past and present: „Früher habe ich …, heute …“ ("I used to …, today …")
• Comparing your home country and Germany: „In meinem Heimatland …, in Deutschland …“ ("In my home country …, in Germany …")
• Giving reasons: „…, weil …“ ("… because …"), „deshalb …“ ("so …"), „trotzdem …“ ("still …")
• Ending with an opinion: „Deshalb finde ich …“ ("That is why I think …"), „Am liebsten …“ ("Best of all I like …")

These five tools are enough for a one-minute answer. The questions in Teil 2B can pick up exactly there, for example: „Warum?“ ("Why?"), „Wie war das in Ihrem Heimatland?“ ("What was it like in your home country?"), „Was machen Sie lieber?“ ("What do you prefer to do?"). Then answer again with two or three sentences.

Three sample answers at B1

The three answers are LexDeutsch's own examples about made-up photos, not material from the exam. Each one follows the five steps and takes about one to one and a half minutes when spoken.

Photo 1: A family moving house. „Auf dem Bild geht es um das Thema Wohnen, genauer gesagt um einen Umzug. Ich sehe einen Mann und eine Frau, sie tragen zusammen eine große Kiste. Sie stehen vor einem Haus, daneben parkt ein Transporter. Der Mann sieht ein bisschen müde aus, die Frau lacht. Ich glaube, sie ziehen gerade in eine neue Wohnung. Das kenne ich gut: Vor zwei Jahren sind wir von Hamm nach Dortmund umgezogen. Wir hatten kein Geld für eine Umzugsfirma, deshalb haben uns Freunde aus dem Kurs geholfen. Das war anstrengend, aber am Abend haben wir zusammen in der leeren Küche Pizza gegessen. In meinem Heimatland hilft bei einem Umzug meistens die ganze Familie, hier sind es oft Freunde.“ – "The photo is about housing, or more precisely about moving house. I see a man and a woman carrying a big box together. They are standing in front of a house, and a van is parked next to it. The man looks a bit tired, the woman is laughing. I think they are moving into a new flat. I know that well: two years ago we moved from Hamm to Dortmund. We had no money for a removal company, so friends from the course helped us. It was hard work, but in the evening we ate pizza together in the empty kitchen. In my home country the whole family usually helps with a move; here it is often friends."

Photo 2: Working from home with a child. „Das Foto zeigt eine Situation aus dem Arbeitsleben. Eine Frau sitzt am Küchentisch vor einem Laptop, neben ihr malt ein kleiner Junge. Es sieht so aus, als ob sie gerade eine Videokonferenz hat und gleichzeitig auf das Kind aufpasst. Sie wirkt konzentriert, aber auch ein bisschen gestresst. Ich arbeite selbst zwei Tage pro Woche von zu Hause. Am Anfang fand ich das sehr praktisch, weil ich nicht mehr eine Stunde mit dem Bus fahren musste. Aber wenn meine Tochter krank ist, ist es schwierig, ruhig zu arbeiten. In meinem Heimatland arbeiten nur wenige Leute im Homeoffice, das ist dort noch neu.“ – "The photo shows a situation from working life. A woman is sitting at the kitchen table in front of a laptop, and next to her a little boy is drawing. It looks as if she is in a video meeting and looking after the child at the same time. She seems focused, but also a bit stressed. I work from home two days a week myself. At first I found it very practical, because I no longer had to spend an hour on the bus. But when my daughter is ill, it is hard to work in peace. In my home country only a few people work from home; it is still new there."

Photo 3: At the doctor's. „Auf diesem Bild geht es um Gesundheit. Ich sehe ein Wartezimmer in einer Arztpraxis. Drei Personen sitzen auf Stühlen, ein älterer Mann liest eine Zeitschrift, eine junge Frau schaut auf ihr Handy. Wahrscheinlich warten sie schon lange. Über Arzttermine habe ich in Deutschland viel gelernt. Beim ersten Mal wusste ich nicht, dass man vorher anrufen muss, und bin einfach in die Praxis gegangen. Die Arzthelferin war aber sehr freundlich und hat mir einen Termin für den nächsten Tag gegeben. Heute mache ich Termine oft online. In meiner Heimat geht man eher direkt ins Krankenhaus, wenn man krank ist.“ – "This photo is about health. I see a waiting room in a doctor's surgery. Three people are sitting on chairs; an older man is reading a magazine, a young woman is looking at her phone. They have probably been waiting for a long time. I have learned a lot about doctor's appointments in Germany. The first time, I did not know that you have to call first, and I just walked into the surgery. But the receptionist was very friendly and gave me an appointment for the next day. Today I often book appointments online. In my home country people tend to go straight to the hospital when they are ill."

Which mistakes often happen in the picture description?

1. Only listing objects. „Ein Tisch, ein Laptop, eine Tasse.“ ("A table, a laptop, a cup.") Describe people and action instead – that gives you sentences with verbs.
2. Staying too long on the photo. If you describe every detail for two minutes, you have no time left for your own experiences. Our rule of thumb: after about one minute, switch to yourself.
3. Not telling an experience of your own. The part is called "Über Erfahrungen sprechen" (talking about experiences). Without an experience of your own, the core of the task is missing.
4. General sentences instead of a story. „Sport ist gesund“ ("Sport is healthy") is true, but empty. Say when, where and with whom you experienced something.
5. Staying silent when a word is missing. Paraphrase: „Ich weiß das Wort nicht, aber man braucht es, wenn man …“ ("I do not know the word, but you need it when you …") or use a simpler word.
6. Only saying "ja" or "nein" to follow-up questions. In 2B the answers get their own points. Always add a reason or an example.

How is Teil 2 scored?

Speaking has a total of 100 points. For task completion (Aufgabenbewältigung) in Teil 2, the examiners give up to 10 points in 2A and up to 10 points in 2B – together 20 of the 50 points for task completion. The other 50 points apply to the whole conversation: pronunciation/intonation (Aussprache/Intonation) 10, fluency (Flüssigkeit) 10, accuracy (Korrektheit) 15 and vocabulary (Wortschatz) 15.

The two examiners mark independently of each other; the result is the average. With 75–100 points in speaking you reach B1, with 35–74.5 points A2. For the B1 certificate you need B1 in speaking and B1 in "Hören und Lesen" (listening and reading) or in writing. DTZ B1 exam explains how the part results come together.

How do I practise Teil 2 without a practice page?

To be honest: at the moment LexDeutsch has no practice page of its own for DTZ Sprechen Teil 2. There is the practice page for Sprechen Teil 1 with sentence building blocks you also need here (where you live, work, family). You can practise Teil 2 well on your own or with a partner:

1. Find photos in magazines, leaflets or on your own phone that show people doing something.
2. Describe each photo out loud using the five steps: topic, people, place, action, your own experience. Record yourself.
3. Listen to the recording: did you switch to yourself after about one minute? Did you tell a specific experience?
4. Practise in pairs: one person describes, the other then asks two questions, like the examiners in 2B.
5. You can find the official sample task sheet for Teil 2 in Übungssatz 1 and Übungssatz 2 by g.a.s.t. (PDF).

In the exam, Teil 3 comes next, where you plan something together. You will find useful phrases and a sample dialogue in DTZ Sprechen Teil 3, and the introduction in DTZ Sprechen Teil 1.