German Sprechen: the introduction

What to cover

• Name, where you are from, where you live now.
• What you study or do.
• Why you are learning German, and for how long.
• Family, interests, or a plan — one or two, briefly.

Prepare the vocabulary of your own life rather than a script: the words for your subject, your city and your job are certain to come up here and again in the later parts.

Where it is marked down

1. Recitation — a paragraph delivered at a different pace from the rest of the exam is obvious.
2. Too short — three sentences gives the examiner almost nothing.
3. Too long — this part is a warm-up and should not consume the time.
4. Not listening — where you must introduce your partner, you have to have heard their answers.

If you are asked to introduce your partner, write their details down while they speak. Candidates concentrating on their own next turn routinely cannot say their partner's name.