Goethe B2 Sprechen: Vortrag and Diskussion, sample topics, points and Redemittel

Sprechen is the speaking module of the Goethe-Zertifikat B2. You give a short talk, answer questions about it, and then debate a set question with another candidate. Your partner is assigned at random, examiners listen and mark you, and the module is taken and retaken separately from the written ones. The talk with its questions carries more points than the discussion, and it is the part you prepare entirely on your own, so you can rehearse its structure before exam day. You can prepare by yourself with the official sample paper and this guide.¹

Goethe B2 speaking exam: how the session runs

The rules provide for a pair exam and allow a single exam only in exceptional cases. A pair exam takes 15 minutes and a single exam 10, and everyone gets 15 minutes of preparation beforehand. The rules give every duration with «circa», so treat them as guide times.¹

You prepare alone. Notes are allowed, dictionaries and phones are not, and in the exam you are expected to speak freely rather than read. The bullet-point notes you made during preparation may stay in front of you. In a single exam the examiners ask the questions after your talk, and one of them becomes your opponent in the discussion.^1·2

This guide covers Goethe B2 only. How ÖSD B2 and telc B2 differ is set out in the comparison of Goethe, ÖSD and telc.

Goethe B2 speaking points for talk, questions and discussion

You pass the module with 60 of 100 points. On the score sheet the talk itself is worth up to 32 points, the questions and answers after it 12, the discussion 40, and pronunciation across both parts another 16.^1·2

With its questions, Teil 1 is worth 44 points, more than the discussion. It is also the only part that depends on you alone: topic, outline and opening lines can all be settled and rehearsed at home. The discussion cannot be scripted that way, so for it you practise phrases for disagreeing and responding.

Goethe B2 Sprechen marking criteria

The talk is marked on four criteria worth up to 8 points each. Aufgabenerfüllung (task completion) asks whether you covered the content points, such as describing alternatives and naming pros and cons. Kohärenz (coherence) covers how you link sentences and how fluently you speak. Wortschatz and Strukturen (vocabulary and grammar) look at range and control, and even the top band allows the odd slip as long as it does not get in the way of understanding.²

The discussion keeps task completion, vocabulary and grammar, but coherence is replaced by Interaktion, and each criterion is worth up to 10 points. Interaktion means opening the conversation, keeping it going, closing it and reacting to what your partner says. It also covers register: du or Sie has to fit the situation and the person. If task completion in a part gets the lowest band, E, the whole part scores 0.²

Both examiners mark independently, using only the point values printed on the sheet, with nothing in between. Your result is the average, rounded to a whole point. How similar criteria work for writing is explained in how Schreiben and Sprechen are marked.¹

Topics in the Goethe B2 sample paper

In the official sample paper you give the talk at a seminar, and each candidate gets their own pair of topics. Candidate A chooses between «Finanzierung des Studiums» (paying for university) and «Gesund leben» (healthy living), candidate B between «Freundschaften pflegen» (keeping up friendships) and «Ernährung am Arbeitsplatz» (eating at work). Each topic has three content points: describe several alternatives or areas, describe one of them in more detail, and name and weigh pros and cons. The talk should have an introduction, a main part and a conclusion.²

The sample discussion is set in a debating club, on the question «Sollen Studierende ihre Professorinnen und Professoren beurteilen?» (should students rate their professors?). Prompts such as «Fairness ist gegeben?» help you start, and at the end each person says whether they are for or against. The Goethe documents this guide is based on contain no list of possible exam topics. Use the sample topics for practice, not as a forecast of your exam.²

Goethe B2 Sprechen example: a talk of your own

We wrote this task ourselves; it is not in any official material. Its content points deliberately differ from the sample paper, while the structure of the talk stays the same.

Sie besuchen einen Kurs „Deutsch für den Beruf“ und halten dort ein kurzes Referat zum Thema „Arbeiten im Homeoffice“.

• Erklären Sie, warum heute mehr Menschen von zu Hause arbeiten.
• Vergleichen Sie das Homeoffice mit der Arbeit im Büro.
• Sagen Sie, welches Modell Sie sinnvoll finden, und begründen Sie Ihre Wahl.

Fifteen minutes of preparation could produce notes like these, 43 words in all.

The opening and closing are worth learning almost word for word, since they carry your first and last seconds:

Ich möchte heute über das Arbeiten im Homeoffice sprechen. Zuerst erkläre ich, warum es so verbreitet ist, danach vergleiche ich es mit dem Büro, und am Ende sage ich Ihnen meine Meinung.

Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass beide Modelle Vorteile haben. Deshalb halte ich eine Mischung für die beste Lösung. Vielen Dank für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit.

The notes follow the three content points, and each block holds material for at least two sentences. The opening names the outline, so listeners always know where you are, and the example of the sister gives the opinion something to stand on. These would cost points:

1. A missing content point. Without the comparison with the office, the task is not fully done and task completion drops.
2. Reading out a script. A written-out text read aloud rarely sounds fluent, and fluency is part of coherence.
3. Only the upsides. A comparison needs strengths and weaknesses of both models.

After the talk your partner and the examiner ask questions, for example «Fühlt man sich im Homeoffice nicht einsam?» A short answer with a reason is enough: «Ja, das kann passieren. Deshalb finde ich zwei Bürotage pro Woche wichtig, damit man das Team regelmäßig sieht.» When your partner gives the talk, your question to them is part of the exam too.

Goethe B2 Sprechen example: a short discussion

This question is ours as well: «Sollten Universitäten die Anwesenheit in Vorlesungen kontrollieren?» The Teil 2 task has three steps: exchange positions and arguments, respond to your partner's arguments, and say at the end whether you are for or against.²

A: Ich bin eher dafür. Wer regelmäßig in der Vorlesung sitzt, bleibt am Stoff dran und fällt seltener durch.

B: Das mag sein, aber viele Studierende arbeiten nebenbei. Eine Pflicht würde gerade sie benachteiligen.

A: Stimmt, daran habe ich nicht gedacht. Man könnte Ausnahmen für Berufstätige machen und die Vorlesungen zusätzlich aufzeichnen.

B: Das wäre ein fairer Weg, trotzdem bin ich insgesamt dagegen. Erwachsene sollten selbst entscheiden, wie sie lernen.

Each turn picks up the one before: B accepts A's point and sets another against it, A concedes and proposes a compromise. That kind of reaction to your partner is exactly what the Interaktion criterion rewards. Both stay with du throughout, so the register does not jump. All that is left is the summary, where each person says in one sentence whether they are for or against.

Redemittel for the Goethe B2 talk and discussion

We put these phrases together. Learn them as whole chunks so that in the exam you think about arguments, not grammar.

How to prepare for Goethe B2 Sprechen

The official sample paper contains both parts, the marking criteria and the score sheet with its points. Start with the talk. Take one of the sample topics, make notes on its three content points in 15 minutes, and give the talk aloud with a timer set to 4 minutes. Record yourself and check the recording against the criteria: every point covered, an opening and a close, spoken freely rather than read. Then repeat this with two or three topics of your own from daily life and work.²

For the discussion you need a practice partner. Pick a controversial question, decide who argues for and who against, and debate for 5 minutes, making sure each side answers the other's last argument. If your practice runs stay under 60 points, take the written modules first and Sprechen later: certificates from different sessions can be combined.³

The whole exam is covered in the guide to the Goethe-Zertifikat B2, and the writing module in Goethe B2 Schreiben. The speaking module one level down is covered in Goethe B1 Sprechen.

Источники

· 3 проверены 08.11.2026

1. 1Goethe-Zertifikat B2: Durchführungsbestimmungen, Goethe-Institut · от 01.09.2025
2. 2Goethe-Zertifikat B2: Modellsatz Erwachsene, Goethe-Institut
3. 3Prüfungsordnung, Goethe-Institut · от 01.09.2025