B1 TELC prüfung (exam)

In case you already live in Germany you must have heard about the B1 TELC prüfung (exam). But what is it exactly and why should you even take the test? Unlike C1 TELC?prüfung (exam), which is aimed for those foreign students who would like to study at a German speaking university/academic Institute and therefore, one of the academic demands from them is to know the German language at a high level. B1 TELC prüfung?is more focused on basic understanding of the German language. This test actually verifies that the examinee already knows how to communicate in a simple and reasonable way in his everyday life with the German language. Let's zoom out for a minute and ask why you should even learn the German language if you live in Germany (even if you work in an English speaking environment)?

First of all your knowledge of the German language will help you to integrate better within German society, understand the German culture, feel more comfortable not only with yourself but also with your German colleagues and friends and it will help you to step out of your own bubble. It actually reminds me of the area of Chinatown in New York city. In NYC, most of the Chinatown area is populated with Chinese people who were born in the US and therefore automatically receive their US citizenship. However, they live in their own bubble.

These Chinese people only interact with Chinese people, live in Chinatown and they do not even speak English even though they possess a US citizenship. Sounds crazy isn't it?

Well, this is the reality.

In case you'd like to have more opportunities in your life you have got to step out of your own bubble and interact with the environment you live in. Think about it, the better you speak German the more job opportunities you will have in the future, you can also do other stuff in Germany, like focus more on your financial life in Germany (bank investments, open your own company, sign complicated contracts etc..).

One of the most amazing facts I have found out about Germany is that some of the Bank clerks do not even speak English (totally crazy I know, especially due to the fact that it can actually scare off foreign investors who would like to invest their money in Germany). So, what I'm saying is actually do not limit your future opportunities in Germany as a foreigner.?

Now let's zoom in and talk about why you should take the B1 TELC prüfung. First of all, just for you to know that even if you do not speak German fluently, that is perfectly fine. People in Germany will know that at least you speak basic German and it will give you some bonus points even if you are a job seeker. Employers always appreciate that a candidate speaks at least basic German and they will always prefer to hire this candidate over a candidate who has absolutely no German language skills.

In case you are a non European (Schengen area) passport holder, completing B1 TELC will help you to expedite the process of obtaining German permanent residency (PR), and even after that when you will reach the time to apply for German citizenship (as you may know the Naturalization test requires at least B1 certificate).

Now no worries, In order to pass the B1 test you must get at least 60% of the total number of points both in the written part and the oral part. So it actually means that in the written examination you should gain at least 135 points and in the oral examination at least 45 points.

Now to the main question - What is the best way to prepare for that test? Here, it really depends on your current German skill level. In case you have absolutely no German knowledge, I would suggest learning until you reach B1 level and then register for the test in one of the German institutes/schools. Actually, every respectable German school offers the B1 TELC prüfung, so you can register for the test in your current institute.

Furthermore, they actually offer a specific course just for the B1 TELC prüfung. So even if you are not sure that you are ready for the test, you can register for that course and they will focus on the structure of the test and prepare you well in order for you to pass the test.

In my case, believe it or not I actually completed the test after 5 years I was already living in Germany (and after I have already finished C1.2 level a long time ago) so I have just bought the book?- Prüfungstraining Zertifikat Deutsch (telc Deutsch B1) written by Cornelsen and focused only on solving the tests on the last pages of the book, so that I will know the structure of the test. After a week and a half I was ready, and for me it was a real piece of cake to pass the test.

Okay so for conclusion, I recommend to all foreigners, expats and immigrants to learn German as soon as possible because the truth is, it will take you years to speak German fluently and here I would like to focus on another mistake many foreigners job seekers are making when they come to Germany. They think that they will learn the German language and after they complete all of the levels, they will be able to work in German and focus on the German job offers. But cold hard truth it is not going to work this way. Even if you take one year of your life and in that year, you will only learn German everyday intensively, you will still not be able to speak German like a native German speaker. So, remember when you look for a job in Germany focus more on your skills and experience and understand that learning the German language is a long process.?