telc B2 Exam Allgemein: Format, Points and Strategies for Every Part

What is the telc B2 exam (Allgemein)?

telc Deutsch B2 is a general-language exam at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference. The topics come from everyday life, leisure, the media and society: news, travel, sport, school, shopping. Work situations such as customer complaints or work instructions, on the other hand, are the focus of the job-related exam telc B2 Beruf (DTB B2).

The exam is published by telc gGmbH in Frankfurt am Main, which offers a free practice test (Übungstest) with an audio file that is also the model test (Modelltest) of the exam (source: telc Deutsch B2, Übungstest 1). All figures on this page come from this practice test.

If you are torn between the B2 certificates, you will find a comparison with the Goethe-Zertifikat B2 and the DTB B2 in the guide Which B2 exam is right for me?.

How does the telc B2 exam work?

The exam consists of a written exam and an oral exam. The written exam takes 140 minutes and runs in this order:

1. Reading (Leseverstehen) and Language elements (Sprachbausteine): 90 minutes without a break; you divide up the time yourself.
2. Listening (Hörverstehen): about 20 minutes; you hear each text only once.
3. Writing (Schriftlicher Ausdruck): 30 minutes for a semi-formal e-mail (task A or B).

You enter all your answers on the answer sheet S30 (Antwortbogen). Dictionaries, mobile phones and other electronic devices are not allowed. Before you start writing, you copy the number of your writing task onto the answer sheet – if it is missing, your text cannot be marked.

The oral exam is usually taken in pairs and lasts about 15 minutes (about 25 minutes with three candidates). Before it, you have 20 minutes to prepare Part 2 and Part 3. You prepare Part 1 at home.

How many points are there and when do you pass?

telc Deutsch B2 has 300 points in total: 225 in the written exam and 75 in the oral exam. You pass if you reach at least 60% in the written exam and at least 60% in the oral exam – that is, at least 135 of 225 and at least 45 of 75 points. A strong written result cannot make up for an oral exam that is too weak.

If you have passed both the written and the oral exam, the points are added up. This gives your grade: 270–300 points „sehr gut“ (very good), 240–269.5 „gut“ (good), 210–239.5 „befriedigend“ (satisfactory), 180–209.5 „ausreichend“ (sufficient). If you pass, you receive a certificate; otherwise you get a results sheet (Ergebnisbogen).

If you failed only one of the two, you can retake that part in the same or the following calendar year. Only the result of the retake then counts. You can take the whole exam as often as you like.

How do I tackle the Reading section?

Reading has three parts with 20 tasks. You work on it together with the Language elements in 90 minutes. Plan your time yourself: if you get stuck on Part 2, you will not have enough time for Part 3 with its ten situations.

Part 1: Understanding the gist (Globalverstehen)

You read five texts and ten headings (a–j). Exactly one heading fits each text; five are left over. You are looking for the main topic: a heading that only picks up a detail from the text is usually the wrong one.

Part 2: Understanding details (Detailverstehen)

One longer text with five questions, each with three answers a, b, c. The questions usually follow the order of the text. For each answer, find the passage in the text and check whether it says the same thing – not just whether it uses the same words.

Part 3: Selective reading (Selektives Verstehen)

Ten situations, twelve short information texts (a–l). Each text fits at most once, and sometimes there is no matching text for a situation – then you mark „x“. For each situation, note the conditions (who, what, when, where) and compare them with the texts.

You can practise all three parts in the trainer Reading B2 Allgemein with 116 tasks and answers; the first three tasks of each part are free and need no login.

What matters in the Language elements?

The Language elements (Sprachbausteine) test grammar and vocabulary in two gap texts with ten gaps each. Together they are worth 30 points, that is 10% of the total score – little time, many points.

• Part 1 (grammar): for each gap you choose from three options a, b or c. Typical items are prepositions, connectors, relative pronouns, verb forms and fixed expressions.
• Part 2 (vocabulary): you put words from a box of 15 words (a–o) into ten gaps. Each word fits only once; five are left over.

1. Read the whole text once before you fill in anything.
2. For each gap, work out the part of speech and the case.
3. In Part 2, fill in the gaps you are sure about first; this makes the box shorter.
4. Read the finished sentence again: does the meaning fit, not just the grammar?

Practice: Language elements B2 Allgemein with 101 tasks and an explanation for every gap. Revise the vocabulary for Teil 2 by topic with the B2 vocabulary list.

How do I prepare for the Listening section?

In Listening you decide for 20 statements whether they are true or false (richtig/falsch). You hear each text only once; before Part 1 you have 30 seconds and before Part 2 60 seconds to read the tasks.

• Part 1: a news broadcast with five statements. Pay attention to numbers, places and who does what.
• Part 2: a radio interview with ten statements. It is often about opinions and reasons; words like „aber“, „eigentlich“ or „nicht mehr“ turn the meaning around.
• Part 3: five short texts and announcements, for example telephone messages or public announcements, with one statement each.

In the trainer Listening B2 Allgemein all 140 tasks have audio and a transcript that you can read after checking your answers.

What is required in the Writing section?

In Writing (Schriftlicher Ausdruck) you write a semi-formal e-mail in 30 minutes. You choose between task A and task B; in the official practice test these are a request for information and a complaint. Each task has four guiding points (Leitpunkte): you deal with three of them, or with two plus an aspect of your own. You need to write at least 150 words.

Your text is marked on three criteria – task completion (Aufgabenbewältigung), communicative design (Kommunikative Gestaltung) and formal accuracy (Formale Richtigkeit) – each with A (5), B (3), C (1) or D (0) points; the sum is multiplied by three, up to 45 points. A subject line, greeting, introduction and closing are part of it. A guiding point needs more than a single sentence.

You will find four sample e-mails with comments and a PDF at telc B2 Writing: examples.

How does the oral exam work?

Two licensed examiners conduct the oral exam: one moderates, the other observes. At the start you briefly introduce yourself (about 1 minute); this part is not marked. Then come three marked parts of about 5 minutes each.

1. Part 1 – Talking about experiences: you speak for no more than 1½ minutes about a topic you chose beforehand from seven topics (for example a trip, a book, a sports event). Then your partner asks you questions – and vice versa.
2. Part 2 – Discussion: during the preparation time you read a text on a controversial topic. First you briefly comment on the text (one minute at most), then you discuss, bring in your own experiences and make suggestions.
3. Part 3 – Planning something together: together you organise a project, such as a party, a trip or an event. You make suggestions and respond to the other person’s suggestions.

Each part is worth up to 25 points, split across four criteria: expression (Ausdrucksfähigkeit), task completion (Aufgabenbewältigung) and formal accuracy (Formale Richtigkeit) (up to 7 points each), plus pronunciation and intonation (up to 4 points). Examiners recognise texts learnt by heart – they will then interrupt and ask targeted questions. Asking questions and helping each other, on the other hand, count in your favour.

How does telc B2 Allgemein differ from telc B2 Beruf?

On LexDeutsch the job-related exam is called „telc B2 Beruf“; officially it is the DTB B2 (Deutsch-Test für den Beruf B2). Both exams are at level B2, but their structure and marking differ considerably:

In detail: telc B2 Allgemein or B2 Beruf?. On the job-related exam itself: telc B2 Beruf exam.

How do I prepare in 6 weeks?

1. Week 1: download the official practice test from telc and do it under exam conditions. Count your points using the table above.
2. Week 2: work on your weakest part – for example one task a day in Reading Part 3 or in Language elements Part 2.
3. Week 3: listen to one text a day in Listening – first without the transcript, then with it.
4. Week 4: write two e-mails a week in 30 minutes and count the words.
5. Week 5: prepare Part 1 of the oral exam (one topic, told without notes) and practise the discussion and planning with a partner.
6. Week 6: do the exam simulation (VIP) or a second practice test and go over your mistakes.

The page telc B2 model test explains the difference between the official practice test and our online simulation.