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The listening exam

In the listening exam you show that you understand spoken Dutch. Here you read how the exam works at A2 and in the staatsexamen Nt2 (B1 and B2), and how you can practise.

Listening at level A2

The listening exam at A2 is part of the civic integration exam. You watch short videos, listen to texts and answer questions. You take the exam on a computer.

You take the language exams at A2 if you integrate under the Wet inburgering 2013 (Civic Integration Act 2013), or if your level in the B1 route was lowered to A2. Do you take the exams at B1 or B2? Then that is the staatsexamen Nt2 (state exam Dutch as a second language).

Listening in the staatsexamen Nt2 (B1 and B2)

  • You listen to short texts with headphones. There are also a few short videos.
  • There are about 40 questions. They are always multiple choice questions.
  • The exam takes 90 minutes, for Programma I and II.
  • For each question you get 25 seconds to read the question and the answers. Then the recording starts by itself. You can listen only once.
  • You hear real recordings: different voices, people who make a mistake or repeat something, sometimes an accent (never a dialect) and sometimes noise in the background.
  • You may not use a dictionary.

Tips for practising

  • Read the question and the answers before you listen. Then you know what to pay attention to.
  • Listen first without seeing the text. Read the text only afterwards.
  • Listen often to everyday Dutch, such as the news and conversations. Then your ear gets used to different voices.
  • On DutchKlaar you can play a sentence more slowly. Do that at the start, and less and less later.

Practise on DutchKlaar

On DutchKlaar you practise listening with questions in which you hear a sentence, at A1, A2 or B1. You can play the sentence again and more slowly.

Choose a topic

Official practice exams

On inburgeren.nl there are listening practice exams for A2. For B1 and B2 there is the practice environment of the staatsexamen Nt2.

DutchKlaar is a practice website. We are not DUO and not an official organisation. Rules can change. For your own situation, look in Mijn Inburgering on inburgeren.nl, or ask your municipality (gemeente).

Sources

This text is based on these official pages (in Dutch):