Module test 2 (modultest 3.2): what is in it and how to prepare

Module test 2 on Danskuddannelse 3 is the first test with all three parts: an oral part of about eighteen minutes, a reading part of forty minutes and a writing part of thirty minutes. The level is A2. Here is what each part looks like, and what to practise.

The oral part

1. Your mind map, presented by you

The mind maps are the same six templates as in module 1: my work, my internship, my studies, my language school, my home, my free-time activity. The difference is that in module 2 you start. You talk for one to two minutes from your mind map, and then the tester asks questions for three to four minutes. So you need connected speech, not only answers:

• Jeg arbejder som sygeplejerske på et hospital i Odense.
• Jeg arbejder mandag til fredag, og jeg har fri i weekenden.
• Mine kollegaer er søde, men vi har travlt.
• I pausen drikker jeg kaffe, og bagefter går jeg en tur.

The little words that join sentences are what make it a presentation: og, men, fordi, så, bagefter. Learn five of them and use them.

2. The information gap, in pairs

You and another student each get a card with different information about the same situation, and you have to fill the gaps by asking each other. You ask six questions, one per category, and then you swap roles. The categories are everyday ones: where, when, how much, who with. So the questions are the ones from module 1, and the answers have to be real information from your card, said in full sentences.

You can practise the oral part in the free practice test: your mind map with the tester’s questions, which are read aloud when you tap, and the information gap against the computer. You can record yourself and listen afterwards.

The reading part (40 minutes)

• Adverts: six people who want something, eight adverts. Find the advert that fits each person. Two adverts are not used.
• Cloze: a short text with six gaps, and eleven words to choose from.
• Cross out the wrong sentence: five short paragraphs, each with one sentence that does not belong. Find it.
• Questions and texts: three people write about the same topic, and you get seven questions. Who says what?

You can take the reading part as a free practice test, with the clock and the four tasks as in the test.

Forty minutes is enough if you know the four formats. The adverts task is the one to do first and fast, because it is mostly matching keywords: billig, tæt på stationen, om aftenen.

The writing part (30 minutes)

You get an email from a friend who asks you a few things, and you write a reply of at least 70 words. Seventy words sounds like a lot at A2. It is not, if you answer every question the friend asks and add one sentence of your own to each answer. A reply that answers only two of three questions fails on content, not on grammar, so read the email twice before you write.

A structure that always works: Hej Anna! Tak for din mail., one short paragraph per question, and Skriv snart! Kærlig hilsen … at the end. You may use a dictionary and a verb list.

The writing part is in the free practice test too, with the 30-minute clock and a checklist for your email when you hand in.

How to prepare

1. Turn your module 1 mind maps into a two-minute talk. Say them out loud with a timer. Under a minute means you need more detail; over two means you are telling too much.
2. Practise the follow-up questions. After a presentation, the tester asks about what you said: Hvorfor kan du lide dit arbejde?, Hvor længe har du boet der?. Prepare a “because” for everything on the mind map.
3. Do each reading format three times. Not to learn the texts, but to learn where to look and how long you have.
4. Write three reply emails of 70 words and count them. Check that every question got an answer.

In the free course, module 2 has the mind map talk with the keywords from module 1 already filled in and follow-up questions, the information gap with four cases, three reading sets in the four formats, four reply emails with a word counter and a checklist, and the new words for the module’s topics: jobs and CVs, education, family forms, free time, the digital citizen, and Denmark in numbers.