Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache (TestDaF)

German as a Foreign Language Exam

This is offered as an alternative to the DSH. The test comprises a listening comprehension section, a reading comprehension section, a writing section, and an oral test. There is no limit to how many times you can re-take the TestDAF, and it takes place four or five times per year.

Every participant receives a personalised certificate and gets separate marks for each of the four sections, which gives a more detailed picture of your language skills. The marking scheme has three levels: TDN 3, TDN 4, and TDN 5.

Colleges and universities are free to decide for themselves which marks they require for each of the four sections. Some require the highest mark TDN 5, whilst others specify TDN 4. If you want to find out what your college or university requires, ask them directly.

One big advantage of the TestDAF is that it allows applicants to prove their language ability without leaving their home country. The TestDAF is offered throughout the year by more than 100 licensed test centres in 71 different countries around the world. In 2003 a computer-based version was introduced. Exam papers are centrally corrected and marked at the TestDAF Institute in Hagen.

The exam was developed on behalf of the Deutscher Akademische Austauschdienst (DAAD) (German University and College Exchange Commission) and the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK) (Conference of University and College Rectors) by a consortium made up of the FernUniversität in Hagen, the Seminary for Language Research at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, the Goethe Institute e.V. Munich, and the Carl Duisberg Centres GmbH in Cologne.

An example of this test is available at:
www.testdaf.de