A2 — THE EXPANSION
German A2 Speaking Topics & Questions [Full 2026 List & Answers]
All Goethe, telc & ÖSD A2 German speaking topics — home, work, travel — with proven opinion-and-reason templates (weil/dass) to score max exam points.
VON GERMANIUM
Research Desk — reviewed against Goethe A1–A2 frameworks
DIE ROADMAP · 77 TAGE · A1 → A2
Open the imperative worksheet — spoken A2
The A2 speaking part is not a conversation exam — it is a rehearsal exam. The topics circle the same small set of everyday domains, and the scoring rewards exactly two things: sustained turns and opinions with reasons. Rehearse the domains with the template below and the exam becomes a formality.
The 3-Part Exam Structure: How A2 Speaking is Scored
| Exam Part | Task Format | What Examiners Look For | Score-Winning Speech Formula (Redemittel) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teil 1: Asking and Answering Questions | Prompt cards with cue words (e.g. Wohnort, Beruf, Wochenende). Formulate questions and react to your partner. | Accurate word order in W-questions and Yes/No questions; fluent spontaneous reaction without stalling. | “Wie lange lernen Sie schon Deutsch?” · “Seit sechs Monaten, weil ich in Berlin studieren möchte.” |
| Teil 2: Topic Monologue (1.5–2 min) | Prompt card with 4 sub-points (e.g. Mein Urlaub: wohin, wie lange, mit wem, was gemacht). Sustained personal account. | Sentence connectors (weil, dass, aber), correct past tense (Perfekt) with haben vs sein. | “Letzten Sommer bin ich nach Österreich gefahren. Ich war mit Freunden dort, weil…” |
| Teil 3: Collaborative Planning (Dialogue) | Shared task sheet (e.g. planning a party, choosing a gift, buying a train ticket together). | Proposing ideas, agreeing, negotiating alternatives with polite justification, reaching a concrete compromise. | “Wollen wir am Samstag ins Museum gehen?” · “Das geht leider nicht, aber wie wäre es mit Sonntag um 14 Uhr?” |
The domains that recur
- Home & living — your flat, your city, moving, neighbors. (Ich wohne gern hier, weil…)
- Work & daily routine — your job, a typical day, changing jobs. (Perfect tense territory: haben/sein drill)
- Travel & holidays — a trip you took, your ideal vacation, planning one. (Past narrative + future plans)
- Health & appointments — being ill, the doctor, making/missing appointments.
- Free time & media — hobbies, music, film, what you watch and why.
- Learning German itself — why, how, what's hard. The meta-topic examiners love, and you're living it.
The template that earns the points
- 01
Opinion first, loudly
Ich finde das wichtig / Ich möchte gern… / Ich habe Lust auf… — a clear stance sentence opens every turn. No stance, nothing to sustain.
- 02
Reason with weil — every time
…, weil es günstiger ist / weil ich das schon lange machen will. The weil-clause is the single highest-value construction on the A2 exam: it proves subordinate word order and gives your turn length.
- 03
One personal example
A one-sentence past-tense example (Letzten Monat war ich in Berlin…) converts the topic from generic to yours — examiners score authenticity even on rehearsed material.
- 04
Return a question
In the partner exchange, end with a question (Und du? Wie ist das bei dir?). The exam is partly an interaction test; question-askers control the interaction.
Essential Redemittel Formulas for Teil 3 (Planning Together)
- Proposing an idea: “Ich schlage vor, dass wir…” (I suggest that we...) or “Wie wäre es mit…?” (How about...?).
- Accepting enthusiastically: “Das ist eine tolle Idee, das machen wir so!” (That's a great idea, let's do that!) or “Super, das passt mir sehr gut.”
- Polite decline with alternative: “Am Freitag kann ich leider nicht, weil ich lange arbeite. Geht es auch am Samstag um 14 Uhr?”
- Locking down the agreement: “Perfekt, dann treffen wir uns am Samstag um 14 Uhr vor dem Café. Bis dann!”
Interactive Self-Diagnostic: A2 Speaking Exam Readiness
- [ ] Stance + Reason Automaticity: Can you answer any personal preference prompt within 3 seconds using the 'Ich finde..., weil...'-formula without grammatical hesitation?
- [ ] Spontaneous Partner Interaction: In Teil 3 (planning an event together), can you make proposals ('Wollen wir...?'), accept proposals, and negotiate alternatives ('Das geht leider nicht, aber wie wäre es mit...')?
- [ ] Past Event Narration: Can you recount a past event using Perfekt with haben and sein without relying on English narrative filler words?
- [ ] Clarification Repair Strategies: When your partner says something unintelligible, can you gracefully execute repair strategies ('Wie meinst du das?' or 'Könntest du das noch einmal sagen?')?
Can I pass A2 speaking with rehearsed answers alone?
The self-introduction and prepared topics, largely yes — they are rehearsed by design. The partner exchange punishes pure scripts (it needs real questions and reactions), which is why the template's return-a-question step matters. Rehearsed scaffolding + living connectors is exactly what A2 speaking rewards.
What topics come up in the Goethe A2 speaking exam?
A small recurring set of everyday domains: home and living, work and daily routine, travel and holidays, health and appointments, free time and media, and learning German itself. The exam rotates within these — which is why six domains rehearsed at two minutes each, out loud and recorded, is the entire preparation. The domain list with the opinion template covers them all.
How do I give an opinion in German at A2?
The template: stance sentence, weil-clause, personal example, return question. Ich finde das gut, weil es günstiger ist. Letzten Monat war ich in Berlin und… Und du? The weil-clause is the highest-value construction on the exam — it proves subordinate word order and gives your turn length. Opinions without reasons score like small talk; the reason is what the exam is buying.
What happens if my exam partner has very weak German during Sprechen Teil 3?
Examiners grade candidates individually. If your partner struggles, gently support the conversation by offering simplified choices (e.g. 'Möchtest du lieber am Samstag oder am Sonntag fahren?'). Assisting your partner demonstrates high communicative competence and will often increase your interactive rating.
How much time do candidates get to prepare for the Goethe A2 speaking exam?
Candidates receive 15 minutes of preparation time prior to the exam with scratch paper and prompt task sheets. You may jot down quick bullet points and cue words, but you are not permitted to read complete pre-written full sentences from your notes.