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TestDaF prep. in Germany
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With the TestDaF gaining ground as a universal test of German skills for university entrants, TestDaF preparation courses look set to become more popular in the future.
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The Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache (TestDaF) is a requirement for students wanting to go on to study at a university in Germany and as such, preparation courses make up a small percentage of the language teaching industry in Germany. Dorothee Robrecht from GLS Sprachenzentrum in Berlin says, “TestDaF courses account for approximately two per cent of all course bookings. To do the TestDaF really only makes sense if you want to go to university in Germany.”
Katrin von der Heyden from Sprachschule zum Erhstein in Freiburg says that TestDaF preparation courses currently make up just five per cent of their intensive courses. However, she adds that the exam may become more popular in the future as it outcompetes the other university entrance exam for international students, the Deutsche Sprachprufung fur den Hochschulzugang (DSH). “The current development is a decline in the other big university entrance exam – the DSH,” she says. “More and more universities no longer combine a conditional admission with an invitation to sit the DSH exam at their university. So TestDaF is gaining importance.”
Lennart Guthling from Humboldt-Institut in Argenbuhl agrees. “We believe that the DSH exam will disappear within the next few years,” he says. “The reason for the trend is that it is much easier to prepare students for the TestDaF as it is a worldwide standardised exam. The DSH in comparison differs slightly from university to university and there are not as many examination dates available as with the TestDaF.”
The growth of the TestDaF exam also depends on the international view of studying at a German university. The country recently introduced tuition fees for all students (see LTM, May 2007, page 35) but compared with many other destinations, the cost of studying in higher education in Germany is relatively cheap. Guthling believes that government help could improve the country’s reputation as a higher education destination in the future. “The German government is now sponsoring so called elite universities,” he says. “We believe that more students might come to Germany to study at a German university [in the future].”
The TestDaF preparation courses provide a solid grounding in the four language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening and Sabine Steinacher from ADK Augsburger Deutschkurse in Augsburg says that the course can be useful for non-university candidates as well. “We have also students who [have completed] a degree already and want to work in Germany,” she says. “They [take] the TestDaF course to improve their command of the language.”
However, those students sitting the TestDaF exam are more likely to have future higher education goals in mind and come from a variety of countries. Guthling says that the majority of students on these types of courses are from Eastern Europe, while von der Heyden says that no world region or country dominates in these classes. “Generally, it’s very well mixed,” she attests.
The TestDaF exam is offered at test centres in Germany six times a year and schools report that short intensive courses that prepare students specifically for one of these six exams are the most popular. Josef Wergen from Fokus Sprachen & Seminare in Stuttgart says that the school started offering TestDaF preparation courses in 2003 and in the beginning the courses were offered year round. “Currently we only offer preparation courses between the registration deadline and the actual exam – four weeks intensive or two half days per week,” explains Wergen. “Our local students tend to decide last minute and want to spend the minimum of time and money,” he relates.
Henning Pruess from Tandem Hamburg says that they have also started offering preparation classes that are shorter in length. “Since [2002 when we became an accredited test centre] we have changed our offer from a four-week intensive course to two options of a two-week intensive or crash course of 20 hours per week or a six-week evening course,” he says. “That proved to be the right decision, as students are very timetable-conscious.”
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