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Any C2 German insight? | ||
Tags: Advanced Level | German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| Kyle Corrie Senior Member United States Joined 4774 days ago 175 posts - 464 votes  | Message 1 of 14 21 December 2013 at 3:49pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Recently I've been considering going to the 'Goethe-Institut Chicago' in order to have my
level of German evaluated and hopefully receive certification. My intention would be to attempt a C2, but I'm not entirely sure what would be involved. I am certainly able to scour the website for information, but I was hoping to hear from personal experiences if any of you have attempted something similar. I've seen video examples of C1 students, but none so far pertaining to C2 examinations. If anyone could provide any insight it would be most appreciated. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Luso Hexaglot Senior Member Portugal Joined 6006 days ago 819 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, French, EnglishC2, GermanB1, Italian, Spanish Studies: Sanskrit, Arabic (classical) | Message 2 of 14 21 December 2013 at 4:32pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I completed the C2 level recently at the Goethe-Institut in Lisbon (the classes, not the exam), after 13 semesters of learning. I also took both the B1 and B2 exams, but not the Cs. I thought about taking the C1 last June, but then I realised that would entail some serious preparation, and so I postponed it.
All this being said, I know the institution and I know the exams. Not the ones you are asking about, but I've considered them. The C1 is a tough exam. I mean, if you are not at ease in all aspects, don't risk it. Some of my B2 listening comprehension recordings at the exam had strong accents, and there was a moment when I had to focus, because I was getting really worried. Despite having aced the B1 without problems, I was prepared to the increased toughness, and I was not disappointed. I understand the distance to the C1 is again quite big. The C2 is completely unforgiving. If you're not fluent and quite comfortable, don't bother. They're not handing out diplomas saying one is completely fluent in German, just because a test fee was paid. (Sorry, that came out a bit harsh, and I know you're a serious learner.) My advice would be to buy a preparation book for the C1. It goes through the structure in detail, and has lots of exercises (with CDs). I did this for both the B1 and B2 exams, and it turned out fine. I also purchased the C1 book (just checked, it has 2 CDs). It's from Cornelsen, and it's called Prüfungstraining Goethe-Zertifikat C1. I'm pretty sure there's an alternative or two. If having done that you think it's too easy, I congratulate you. My advice would be to do the same, but for C2. Overall, you'll be spending a few dollars, but end up with the tools for your decision. Hope it helps. Good luck in your endeavours. Edited by Luso on 21 December 2013 at 5:02pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Kyle Corrie Senior Member United States Joined 4774 days ago 175 posts - 464 votes | Message 3 of 14 23 December 2013 at 7:39pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Luso, thanks for the insight.
Do you have any names for the preparation books? I'm having a hard time filtering usable results for "C1" "German" "Goethe" "preparation book". Who makes these books and what are they called? No one else has ever taken a German C2 test and is willing to share about it? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| solka Tetraglot Groupie Kazakhstan Joined 6493 days ago 44 posts - 61 votes Speaks: Kazakh, Russian*, Turkish, EnglishC2 Studies: FrenchB1, Japanese | Message 4 of 14 25 December 2013 at 7:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Kyle Corrie, have you seen this website with information and official practice test?
http://www.goethe.de/lrn/prj/pba/bes/gc1/mat/enindex.htm You should be able to google books with 'goethe zertifikat c1 buch', or 'c2'. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| AlOlaf Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5093 days ago 491 posts - 617 votes Speaks: English*, GermanC2 Studies: Danish | Message 5 of 14 27 December 2013 at 12:23am | IP Logged | |||||
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I passed the GDS (Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom) exam at the Goethe Institut in Frankfurt am Main in September of 2012, but since I didn't go there with the intention of taking it, I'm not sure how useful my experience will be to you. I had booked a two-week super-intensive C2 course (my idea of a vacation) and towards the end of the first week, one of my instructors asked me if I wanted to take the GDS exam. I didn't think I stood a chance of passing, but my instructor did, so I signed up.
My second week at the institute consisted of nothing but pure, concentrated exam preparation. The only one taking the exam besides me was a woman from Luxembourg who was so fluent, all the teachers thought she was a German at first. Eight hours a day, two instructors tag-teamed drilling us in all four modules of the exam. We took practice exams during the day and I checked some more out of the media center and took them on my own at night. I've never in my life absorbed so much information in so short a time. Without all this intensive preparation, there's no way I would have passed. I don't know if this is what the institute always does with GDS candidates in super-intensive courses, or if the woman from Luxembourg and I were just lucky there was nobody else in our C2 class to teach. The exam itself lived up to its bad-ass reputation. I found the reading module especially difficult, containing some of the most subtle, complicated German I'd ever encountered, and I barely squeaked by with a 63 (the minimum passing score is 60). I thought my writing skills were pretty sharp from the Goethe Institute Fernkurs I'd taken earlier in the year, but they turned out to be just barely good enough, also. And had I not just spent two weeks immersed in German, I don't think I would have passed either the listening or the speaking modules. It really is as hard as they say. My advice would be to take the practice exams the institute makes available because that'll show you where you need to improve. There used to be an excellent video on the Goethe Institut website of a guy delivering what's considered to be a good showing in the speaking module. I watched it over and over before the exam and it helped me to know what to expect. I wanted to give you the link, but the damn thing's not there anymore. Good luck! Edited by AlOlaf on 27 December 2013 at 8:24pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Luso Hexaglot Senior Member Portugal Joined 6006 days ago 819 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, French, EnglishC2, GermanB1, Italian, Spanish Studies: Sanskrit, Arabic (classical) | Message 6 of 14 27 December 2013 at 12:49am | IP Logged | |||||
You're welcome. As I wrote:
ISBN is 978-3-06-020531-8. If you google it, you'll find Cornelsen's website. You can get it there or you can copy the title and google it. You're bound to arrive at amazon.de, where they'll have the entire array of German exam preparation books. I assume that, since you're considering taking these exams, the prospect of navigating through amazon.de does not frighten you. :P Good luck. Hope you find what you're searching for. Edited by Luso on 27 December 2013 at 1:42am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| AlOlaf Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5093 days ago 491 posts - 617 votes Speaks: English*, GermanC2 Studies: Danish | Message 7 of 14 27 December 2013 at 7:27pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Donnerwetter! Ich habe das Video gefunden. Goethe-Zertifikat C2
2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6854 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 8 of 14 28 December 2013 at 6:16pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Wow, that's a great video! Thanks!
1 person has voted this message useful |
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