Frequently asked questions

Please check the e-mail address you entered when registering. Look in the spam folder or the “Unknown” folder in your e-mail inbox. If you cannot find the e-mail there and your e-mail address is correct, please write to us:

Goethe-Institut Chennai
No.4, 5th Street, Rutland Gate
Nungambakkam
600 006 Chennai
Indien
pruefungen-chennai@goethe.de

You can find the regulations for cancelling your examination participation in our General Terms and Conditions.

 

Yes, the content corresponds to the paper-based examination.

 

For this you will need to install a Guardian Browser for virtual examination surveillance on your computer from our service provider. After the examination, you must deinstall the Guardian Browser yourself.

The oral examination takes place in a live online conversation and is conducted and supervised by experienced examiners from the Goethe-Institut.

The Goethe-Zertifikat A1: Start Deutsch 1 examination consists of two parts: a written and an oral examination. During the written part, you will work on tasks relating to the individual parts of the examination – reading, listening and writing – on your computer or laptop. Before the examination begins, your identity will be verified in a briefing and a room check will be carried out with your examination invigilator. There is no break between the examination parts.

The oral examination is conducted by you and two examiners in a 1:1 situation and takes place separately via Zoom. You will receive the link from the course office before the examination. Please be punctual. The examination shall begin with an identity check and a 360-degree room check. This is followed by a live interview in which you answer questions posed by the examiner.
 

During the room check, the examination invigilator will ask you to use the camera to show them the room in which you want to take the examination. This is to ensure that you are alone in the room and have not secretly deposited any sources of help.

Please consider in advance which room you would like to use for the examination. You can sit your examination at any location of your choice where you can guarantee sufficient peace and quiet (e.g. office).

Your examination invigilator can ask you to repeat the room check at any time during the examination. The examination invigilator will also check what is on or under the desk.
 

If you experience a technical issue during the examination, please inform the examination invigilator. If you still have internet access but the connection to the examination has been interrupted, please notify the examination invigilator via the chat function. The examination invigilator possesses the necessary technically training and will support you with your troubleshooting efforts.

Please make a note of the contact details for technical support before the examination:

Oral examination:
The examiners will support you with minor technical problems. If there are major or persistent technical problems, the examination will be cancelled. Please make a new appointment with the course office.

 

If your internet connection is briefly interrupted, you will be automatically reconnected to the examination invigilator as soon as your connection is restored. If your examination can be restarted, your examination invigilator will do this for you. In this case, a new room check shall be required.

 

Only the written part of the examination is recorded. The recording is usually deleted after 9 weeks.

The oral part of the examination will not be recorded.

 

Please remember to switch your keyboard to German before starting the written examination. You can find instructions here.

The written and oral parts of the examination are assessed digitally in the same way as the paper-based examination. The evaluation criteria remain unchanged.
 

The Goethe-Zertifikat A1: Start Deutsch 1 examination can be taken as a whole (oral and written parts) as often as you like.
 

Participation in the examination is not tied to attending a specific language or preparation course.

However, we recommend attending a preparation course at the examination centre (“Prüfungszentrum”). Here, you will learn the necessary language and examination-specific skills to make taking the examination as easy as possible.

You can find our examination preparation courses here: Or contact the course office for more tailored advice.

You can also sit a digital trial examination and use our free practice materials to prepare: