From 2024 the format of the C1 Goethe exam will change. You can find it on the website of the Goethe-Institut.
Until the end of 2023 they will continue with the old system. On the one hand, Leseverstehen, Hörverstehen and Schreiben are assessed, on the other hand, the verbal test. In both parts the student has to pass the exam with 60%.
What will change with the new Goethe C1 exam from 2024 onwards?
The new C1 Goethe exam will be modular, just like the B1 exam and the new B2 exam, which is in usesince 2019. In practice this means that the student has to pass each part of the C1 exam separately, passing more than 60% in each module.
In favour of the new exam
The student only has to repeat the module he/she has not passed.
In case of failing a module, he/she only has to pay the fee for repeating this module. Here I am not sure what fees they will apply, we will know at the end of 2023.
Against:
The new c1 Goethe exam might be more complicated. This already happened with the B2 exam, the old B2 exam, which was not modular, was easier than the new B2, which is modular.
If a student has problems in the Hörverstehen module, for example, the other parts Leseverstehen and Schreiben cannot “save the mark” for passing Hörverstehen. That is the advantage of the current Goethe C1 exam…we’d better look at an example:
A student in C1 gets the following score with the current exam:
Lesen 20/25 Points
Hören 5/25 points
Schreiben 21/25 Points
Total: 46/75 points 61%. This part would be passed
In this example we can see that the student had a poor result in Hören, he only got 20%, but as he got more than 80% in the other parts, this part of the exam would be passed. That is the great advantage of the current C1 format …… The other two good parts save the mark.
With the new exam he would have to repeat the Hören module.
Doubts about the new C1 exam
- Will the new C1 be more difficult? I think so, that’s what happened with the B2 exam. The old format was easier.
- Will the fee for the C1 exam be the same? I don’t know yet.
- Another doubt: …. It is still not known how many times the candidate will be able to repeat the module he/she has not passed.
- If he/she does not pass a module and in the repetition of the module he/she does not pass either, will he/she have to repeat the whole exam? It is not yet known how this will work.
- I advise all my students who want to take the C1 Goethe exam to register for the exams this year, there are too many unknowns about what the new model will be like.
- Goethe certificates do not have an expiry date, but some companies or institutions require a certificate that is less than 2 years old.
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