DTZ Sprechen Teil 1: Talking About Yourself – Format and Examples

How does DTZ Sprechen Teil 1 work?

You take the oral exam of the Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer (DTZ, German test for immigrants) usually in pairs, with two licensed examiners. About 20 minutes are planned for one pair: about 16 minutes of conversation in three parts and about 4 minutes in which the examiners discuss the result. Teil 1 "Über sich sprechen" (talking about yourself) comes first and takes about 4 minutes – for both candidates together.

Both of you get the same task sheet with key words (Stichpunkte). In the official Übungssatz 1 by g.a.s.t. (practice set) they are: Name (name), Geburtsort (place of birth), Wohnort (place where you live), Arbeit/Beruf (work/job), Familie (family) and Sprachen (languages). You speak one after the other. After your introduction, the examiners ask you an additional question. The practice set does not mention any preparation time.

With roughly two minutes per person, you have about one minute for your introduction and about one minute for the follow-up questions. This is not an official split, but it is a good guide for practice: an introduction of 20 seconds is too short, and one of three minutes leaves no time for 1B.

What questions come up in Teil 1B?

The practice set says that the examiners ask an additional question after your introduction. Our tip: practise with questions that follow on from your key words and ask for more than one piece of information – questions about your everyday life, your reasons and your goals.

• About where you live: „Was kann man in Ihrer Stadt am Wochenende machen?“ ("What can you do in your town at the weekend?"), „Wie kommen Sie zum Kurs?“ ("How do you get to the course?")
• About work: „Wie sieht ein normaler Arbeitstag bei Ihnen aus?“ ("What does a normal working day look like for you?"), „Was ist an Ihrer Arbeit anstrengend?“ ("What is tiring about your work?")
• About family: „Wie verbringen Sie den Sonntag mit Ihrer Familie?“ ("How do you spend Sunday with your family?"), „Besuchen Sie Ihre Verwandten oft?“ ("Do you often visit your relatives?")
• About languages: „In welchen Situationen sprechen Sie Deutsch?“ ("In which situations do you speak German?"), „Welche Sprache sprechen Ihre Kinder am liebsten?“ ("Which language do your children like speaking best?")
• About goals: „Wo möchten Sie in fünf Jahren arbeiten?“ ("Where would you like to be working in five years?")

These are our own examples, not questions from the exam. But they show the principle: if you already have two or three sentences in mind for every key word, you will find a way to start even when a follow-up question is unexpected.

How do I build my introduction: A2 or B1?

A short sentence per key word gives a piece of information, but says little about you. Our tip is the W-extension (W-Erweiterung): for every key word, ask yourself two W-questions – „Seit wann?“ ("Since when?") or „Wie?“ ("How?") and „Warum?“ ("Why?") – and answer them in the same sentence or the next one. This almost automatically gives you time expressions, subordinate clauses and reasons.

Look at what the right-hand column adds: a time expression („seit drei Jahren“ – "for three years", „mit 25“ – "at 25"), a reason („weil meine Schwester …“ – "because my sister …") and a contrast („aber ich mag …“ – "but I like …"). Our tip: with these tools your introduction sounds more detailed, and none of them is difficult.

An example: introduction and follow-up question

This is what an introduction of about one minute can sound like (our own example, person: Ana, 41):

„Guten Tag, mein Name ist Ana Rusu. Ich komme aus Chișinău, der Hauptstadt der Republik Moldau. Seit zwei Jahren wohne ich in Erfurt, zusammen mit meinem Sohn. Er ist sechzehn und macht bald seinen Schulabschluss. Von Beruf bin ich Köchin. In Moldau habe ich in einem Restaurant gearbeitet, hier koche ich in der Kantine eines Krankenhauses. Dort beginnt mein Tag schon um sechs Uhr, dafür habe ich nachmittags frei. Meine Muttersprache ist Rumänisch, außerdem spreche ich Russisch. Deutsch lerne ich im Integrationskurs, und in der Küche übe ich jeden Tag mit meinen Kolleginnen.“ – "Hello, my name is Ana Rusu. I come from Chișinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova. I have lived in Erfurt for two years, together with my son. He is sixteen and will soon finish school. I am a cook by profession. In Moldova I worked in a restaurant; here I cook in a hospital canteen. My day there starts at six in the morning, but in return I have the afternoons off. My mother tongue is Romanian, and I also speak Russian. I am learning German in the integration course, and in the kitchen I practise every day with my colleagues."

A possible follow-up question and an answer that keeps the conversation going:

• Examiner: „Was kochen Sie in der Kantine?“ – "What do you cook in the canteen?"
• Ana: „Jeden Tag gibt es drei Gerichte, eins davon ist immer vegetarisch. Ich bin vor allem für die Suppen zuständig. Am Anfang kannte ich viele Gemüsesorten nur auf Rumänisch, inzwischen kenne ich die deutschen Namen.“ – "Every day there are three dishes, and one of them is always vegetarian. I am mainly responsible for the soups. At first I only knew many kinds of vegetables in Romanian; now I know the German names."
• Examiner: „Und was möchte Ihr Sohn nach der Schule machen?“ – "And what would your son like to do after school?"
• Ana: „Er möchte eine Ausbildung als Mechatroniker machen. Er hat schon ein Praktikum in einer Werkstatt gemacht, und das hat ihm gut gefallen.“ – "He would like to do an apprenticeship (Ausbildung) as a mechatronics technician. He has already done an internship in a workshop, and he really liked it."

Why this works well: every answer starts directly with the content of the question, has two or three sentences and ends with a detail that the next question can pick up.

Which common mistakes should you avoid?

1. Working through the sheet like a form. „Name: Ana. Wohnort: Erfurt. Beruf: Köchin.“ ("Name: Ana. Home: Erfurt. Job: cook.") – this does not give you sentences. Make a full sentence with a verb for every key word.
2. Speaking only in the present tense. Your life story has a past: „Ich habe in einem Restaurant gearbeitet“ ("I worked in a restaurant"), „Ich bin 2023 nach Deutschland gekommen“ ("I came to Germany in 2023"). One or two sentences in the perfect tense (Perfekt) make your introduction livelier.
3. Not explaining places and names. „Ich komme aus Bălți“ ("I come from Bălți") may mean nothing to the examiners. Add a short explanation: „… das ist eine Stadt im Norden von Moldau.“ ("… that is a city in the north of Moldova.")
4. Speaking too fast because of nerves. If you speak fast, you swallow word endings and lose time correcting yourself. Make a short pause after each key word.
5. Staying silent when a question is unclear. Ask – that is part of a normal conversation: „Entschuldigung, meinen Sie meine Arbeit hier oder in meinem Heimatland?“ ("Sorry, do you mean my work here or in my home country?")
6. Thinking you have to share everything personal. If you do not want to talk about a topic, say so politely and offer something else: „Darüber spreche ich nicht so gern, aber ich kann gern von meiner Arbeit erzählen.“ ("I would rather not talk about that, but I am happy to tell you about my work.")

Useful phrases (Redemittel) for Teil 1

These sentences fit all six key words of the practice set. Learn two versions for each key word, and your introduction will not sound like a form.

On the page Sprechen Teil 1 there is a builder with sentence building blocks for every key word and two complete sample introductions with translations into several languages.

How is Teil 1 scored?

Speaking has a total of 100 points. Half of them are for task completion (Aufgabenbewältigung), split by part: Teil 1A 5, Teil 1B 5, Teil 2A 10, Teil 2B 10 and Teil 3 20 points. The examiners mark the other half across the whole conversation: pronunciation/intonation (Aussprache/Intonation) 10, fluency (Flüssigkeit) 10, accuracy (Korrektheit) 15 and vocabulary (Wortschatz) 15 points.

For Teil 1 this means: 10 points depend directly on your introduction and your answers to the follow-up questions. At the same time, Teil 1 is the first impression of your pronunciation, your speaking speed and your vocabulary – these criteria apply to all three parts.

The two examiners mark independently of each other and do not have to agree on a joint mark; the result is the average. With 75–100 points you reach B1 in speaking, with 35–74.5 points A2. Without B1 in speaking there is no B1 certificate, and with "unter A2" (below A2) in speaking there is no certificate at all. DTZ B1 exam explains more about how the result is calculated.

How do I prepare for Teil 1 in two weeks?

1. Days 1–2: write one simple sentence for each of the six key words, then expand it with two W-questions („Seit wann?“ – "Since when?", „Warum?“ – "Why?"). Use the Teil 1 builder to help you.
2. Days 3–4: say your introduction out loud, without notes. Record yourself on your phone and listen: where do you hesitate, where is a verb missing?
3. Days 5–7: ask someone from your course or your family to ask you two questions after your introduction. Answer with two or three sentences every time.
4. Days 8–10: change the order of the key words – start with your family one time, with your work the next. This shows you whether you know building blocks or just one text.
5. Days 11–14: practise Teil 1 together with Teil 2 and Teil 3, so that you do not "switch off" after your introduction: picture description Teil 2 and Teil 3 – planning something together.

None of this is a guarantee. But if you can give your introduction without notes, in full sentences and with your own details, you start the exam more calmly – and that helps in all three parts.