ÖSD Zertifikat A2 exam and online mock test

1. 1. b) Die Besitzerin wollte nicht mehr arbeiten. — The text gives the reason in two sentences: 'Aber die Besitzerin, Frau Leitner, wollte mit 67 Jahren in Pension gehen. Leider wollte niemand den Laden übernehmen.' In Austria 'in Pension gehen' means to retire (in Germany 'in Rente gehen'); option b says the same in other words: 'nicht mehr arbeiten'. The text rules out a directly: 'Kundinnen und Kunden gab es eigentlich genug.' The council and the shop's premises in c do appear in the text, but the council does not want the room back; on the contrary, it gives it to the new shop rent-free. Spotting a familiar word ('Gemeinde', 'Raum') does not make an option right; compare the whole sentence with the text.
2. 2. c) Von vielen Familien im Dorf. — 'Fast 200 Familien haben mitgemacht. Jede Familie hat 100 Euro bezahlt. Mit diesem Geld hat man Regale und Kühlschränke gekauft.' 'Mit diesem Geld' links the last sentence to the money the families paid. The distractors come from the two other players in the text: the idea came from the teacher Thomas Berger (b), but he did not pay; the council (a) only provides the room for free. In reading texts, working out what pointing words such as 'dieses Geld', 'das' or 'dort' refer to is the key to many questions.
3. 3. a) bekommen kein Geld für ihre Arbeit. — 'Geld bekommen sie für diese Arbeit nicht.' The volunteers ('Freiwillige') are not paid. The trap in b sits in the sentence before: the ones with a fixed wage ('einen festen Lohn') are the two shop assistants, not the volunteers. 'ein paar Stunden pro Woche' rules out c: they work a few hours a week, not every day. When a text describes two groups (here staff and volunteers), mark which group each piece of information belongs to. 'Kassa' is the Austrian word for 'Kasse' (till).
4. 4. a) Einige Sachen kosten mehr als im Supermarkt. — 'Diese Produkte sind sehr frisch. Manche sind aber etwas teurer als im Supermarkt.' Option a says this in other words: 'manche' = 'einige', 'teurer' = 'kosten mehr'. Option b takes the fact that the food comes from local farmers correctly but turns the result around: the text does not say cheaper, it says some items are a little more expensive. The same sentence rules out c. Watch the difference between 'manche' (some) and 'alles' (everything): if the text talks about only some of them, an option with 'alles' is wrong.
5. 5. c) Die Leute vom Laden besprechen die nächste Woche. — 'Am Mittwochnachmittag bleibt der Laden geschlossen. Dann trifft sich das Team und plant die nächste Woche.' Option c rephrases 'das Team plant' as 'die Leute vom Laden besprechen'. Options a and b belong to other times in the text: the farmers deliver 'jeden Montag und Donnerstag', and the tables are full 'Am Samstagvormittag'. When a text mentions several days and times, pair each event with its own time, then look only at the sentence for the time the question asks about.

In the real exam Teil 2 has one text and five multiple-choice questions (a, b, c), plus an example item at the start that is not scored. Five correct answers give 10 points, 2 points each. The reading section takes 30 minutes, is worth 25 points and has two tasks; in Teil 1 you find the right heading out of ten for five short texts (15 points), and according to ÖSD's official note the same heading can be correct for more than one text. At ÖSD you must score at least 5 points in reading: below that, the whole written module fails (it needs at least 35 of 70). Read the questions first, then find the relevant passage; the options usually put the text into other words. ÖSD texts may also contain Austrian words: Kassa (Kasse), in Pension gehen (in Rente gehen), Pensionistin (Rentnerin). Level Exams' full mock exams run on the real 30-minute clock.

1. 1. Wintergarten — Two rooms are mentioned. The big hall ('Unser großer Saal') is not free that day because a wedding is taking place there; Frau Lechner offers the conservatory instead: 'Ich kann Ihnen aber unseren Wintergarten anbieten.' Writing 'Saal' is the most likely mistake: it is the first room you hear, but it is 'nicht frei'. Words such as 'Leider' and 'aber' signal that the plan has changed; always note the information AFTER the change.
2. 2. 35 — 'Allerdings haben dort nur fünfunddreißig Personen Platz, nicht vierzig.' Forty is the number you had planned; the conservatory holds only thirty-five. In German two-digit numbers the unit comes first: 'fünfunddreißig' = five-and-thirty = 35 (not 53). A correction like 'nicht vierzig' puts the distractor into the recording itself: when you hear two numbers, 'nur' and 'nicht' tell you which one counts.
3. 3. Mittwoch — The recording contains a date and two days: 'am dreiundzwanzigsten Mai' (the party), 'bis Mittwoch' (the last day to send the list) and 'Am Donnerstag' (the day Frau Lechner places her order). The note asks for the deadline: Mittwoch. Writing 'Donnerstag' is the classic trap: Thursday is the restaurant's order day, not your deadline, and 'nämlich' shows that this sentence only gives the reason. A day introduced with 'bis' is usually a deadline.
4. 4. Vormittag — 'Bitte rufen Sie mich am Vormittag zurück. Am Nachmittag stehe ich in der Küche und kann nicht telefonieren.' She cannot take calls in the afternoon because she is in the kitchen, so the right time is 'Vormittag'. The recording names both the time that works and the time that doesn't; use the second listening to check negatives such as 'kann nicht'. In the official marking spelling mistakes are ignored, so a slip like 'Vormitag' costs nothing; what matters is the right information.
5. 5. 0664 83 17 59 — The number starts digit by digit ('null sechs sechs vier' = 0664) and then comes in pairs. 'dreiundachtzig' = three-and-eighty = 83, 'neunundfünfzig' = 59: the unit comes first. 'siebzehn' (17) also starts with the unit (sieben + zehn) but has no 'und'; writing 71 is a common slip. At ÖSD spelling mistakes don't count, with one exception: the phone number must be exactly right, and a partly correct number earns nothing. Spaces don't matter, the order of the digits does.

In the real exam Teil 2 has one message, and you fill in five gaps on the note sheet; five correct answers give 10 points, 2 each. The recording is played twice. At A2 each of the three listening tasks starts with 30 seconds of reading time; use it to work out what each line asks for (a room, a number, a day). In the other two tasks the recording is played only once: in Teil 1 you hear two texts with the same content and tick the four correct statements out of eight (five ticks cost 3 points, more than five give 0), and in Teil 3 you choose from a table the answers that fit each of five people in an interview (several answers per person are possible). In the official marking grammar and spelling mistakes are ignored, but the phone number must be exactly right. Listening takes about 15 minutes and is worth 30 points; you need at least 6, or the whole written module fails. In Level Exams' full mock exams the audio cannot be paused and plays the set number of times, as in the real exam; the player on this page can be replayed freely.

In the real exam the writing section takes 30 minutes and has a single task: you reply to an e-mail sent to you (15 points); the form from A1 does not exist at A2. The instruction asks for about 50 words and explicitly tells you to answer every question and to end with a greeting. The model text has 60 words including the salutation, the greeting and the name, and answers the four questions in the order of the e-mail: the job (shop assistant in a sports shop), the way to work (ten minutes by bike), the colleagues (nice and helpful), the time (Thursday from 6 p.m.). Florian writes with 'du', so the reply uses 'Lieber Florian' and 'du' too; keep the form of address you start with. Simple main clauses are enough at A2; a subordinate clause such as 'wenn ich etwas nicht weiß' makes the text richer. 'ein E-Mail' in the instruction is not a mistake: Austrians say 'das E-Mail', Germans 'die E-Mail', and both are correct. ÖSD does not publish detailed marking criteria for this task; only the maximum of 15 points is official, so the safest approach is to give each question at least one sentence and not to forget the greeting. Writing has no minimum of its own; its points count towards the written module (at least 35 of 70). On Level Exams your e-mail is scored by AI.

• Wann? – Ihre Partnerin: „Feiern wir am letzten Kurstag, am Freitagabend?“ „Das ist eine gute Idee, aber am Freitag arbeiten einige bis sieben Uhr. Wie wäre es mit Samstagnachmittag? Dann haben alle Zeit.“ — First acknowledge your partner's suggestion, then name the problem: 'Das ist eine gute Idee, aber …'. For a counter-suggestion, 'Wie wäre es mit …?' plus a short reason ('Dann haben alle Zeit.') is enough. The task asks for a joint decision, so respond to what your partner says each time; describing only your own plan is not enough.
• Wo? – Ihr Vorschlag „Ich schlage vor, wir feiern im Kursraum. Das kostet nichts, und nebenan gibt es eine kleine Küche. Was meinst du?“ — Phrases for suggestions: 'Ich schlage vor, …', 'Wir könnten …', 'Was hältst du von …?'. Ending with 'Was meinst du?' hands the turn to your partner and keeps the conversation two-way. A reason (it's free, there's a kitchen next door) makes your suggestion stronger.
• Essen und Trinken – Ihre Partnerin: „Bestellen wir einfach Pizza?“ „Pizza ist praktisch, aber ich finde es schöner, wenn jeder etwas mitbringt. Ich mache zum Beispiel einen Nudelsalat. Und du?“ — A polite way to disagree: say something positive first ('Pizza ist praktisch'), then give your own idea with 'aber'. In a clause with 'wenn' the verb goes to the end: 'wenn jeder etwas mitbringt'. 'mitbringen' is a separable verb, but in a subordinate clause it stays in one piece at the end.
• Ein Geschenk für die Kursleiterin „Wir könnten ein kleines Fotobuch machen. Jeder schreibt eine Seite auf Deutsch dazu. Das ist persönlich und nicht so teuer.“ — 'Wir könnten …' puts a suggestion politely; at A2 you can use it as a ready-made phrase. Say why the idea is good with adjectives: 'persönlich', 'nicht so teuer', 'praktisch'. If your partner suggests another present, compare the two: 'Das ist auch schön, aber …'.
• Am Ende: gemeinsam entscheiden „Gut, dann machen wir es so: Wir feiern am Samstag um drei im Kursraum. Jeder bringt etwas zu essen mit. Das Fotobuch machen wir zusammen. Ich schreibe allen eine Nachricht.“ — The task should end with a plan, so sum up the decision together at the end. A short summary starting with 'Gut, dann machen wir es so: …' or 'Also, wir …' shows that you have reached a joint decision. Saying who does what ('Ich schreibe allen eine Nachricht.') makes the plan concrete.

In the real exam speaking is a separate module and is passed on its own: it is worth 20 points and you need at least 10. You first get 10 minutes of preparation time, and the exam takes about 10 minutes; the official exam can be taken alone or together with another candidate. In Teil 1 the card shows six themes; you choose five, say a few sentences about each, and your partner also asks you about them. In Teil 2 you plan something together with your partner and reach a joint decision; here it is an end-of-course party. Listing your own ideas is not enough in this task: respond to your partner's suggestion, make a counter-suggestion if needed and sum up the decision at the end. ÖSD does not publish detailed marking criteria for speaking; the official figure is the total of 20 points. On Level Exams an AI with pre-recorded lines plays the partner; it does not just ask questions but brings its own suggestions. There are no retakes.