Module test 3 (modultest 3.3): what is in it and how to prepare

Module test 3 on Danskuddannelse 3 is where the tests stop being about facts and start being about opinions. You present a topic of your own and give reasons, you compare four pictures with another student, you read chats, short articles and what three people write, and you write both a semi-formal message and a longer email. The level is A2+. Here is what each part looks like, and how to prepare.

The oral part

1. Your topic, with reasons

You prepare a topic on a topic sheet or a mind map, present it for one to two minutes, and then answer questions for three to four minutes. The new thing compared to module 2 is the word fordi: the tester wants short reasons for what you say. The recommended topics are, for example: Mit tidligere arbejde (my previous job), Mit frivillige arbejde (my volunteer work), Min jobsøgning (my job search), Min uddannelse (my education), Mine erfaringer med at lære dansk (my experience of learning Danish), Mine sunde og usunde vaner (my healthy and unhealthy habits), Mine grønne vaner (my green habits), Arbejdsdeling i min familie (who does what in my family) and Mine digitale vaner (my digital habits).

Three topics are not allowed, because they belong to modules 1 and 2: my home, my family and my everyday life.

• Jeg lærer dansk, fordi jeg gerne vil tale med mine kollegaer.
• Det sværeste er udtalen, fordi man ikke kan høre alle bogstaverne.
• Jeg cykler på arbejde, fordi det er billigt og sundt.

Notice where ikke goes after fordi: before the verb, not after it. fordi jeg ikke har tid, not fordi jeg har ikke tid. This is the grammar point that decides most module 3 orals, and it is worth a week of practice on its own.

2. Four pictures, in pairs

You and another student get four pictures about one topic, for example four ways to get to work, or four kinds of holiday. For about four minutes you tell each other which you prefer and why. Then the tester interviews each of you for about three minutes. The phrases you need are few:

• Jeg foretrækker den her, fordi …I prefer this one, because …
• Jeg vil hellere cykle end tage bussen.I would rather cycle than take the bus.
• Hvad synes du?What do you think?
• Det er jeg enig i. / Det er jeg ikke enig i.I agree. / I don’t agree.

You can practise the oral part in the free practice test: your topic with the tester’s questions, which are read aloud when you tap, and the four pictures with a partner played by the computer. You can record yourself and listen afterwards.

The reading part (50 minutes)

• Cloze: six gaps, twelve words to choose from.
• Two chat threads: in each, some replies are missing. Three replies are missing in total, and you choose from six.
• Insert the right sentence: five paragraphs, each missing one sentence, four sentences to choose from per paragraph.
• Questions and texts: three people write about the same topic, 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.

The chats are the new format. They look easy, and they are, if you read the message before the gap and the message after it. The right reply answers the one before and fits the one after.

The writing part (45 minutes)

• A semi-formal message with four points you must include, and no word limit. Typically a complaint or a request to the housing association, the kindergarten or the municipality: the washing machine is broken, you need to change a time, you want to know the rules.
• A reply email to a friend of at least 90 words, as in module 2, but longer.

The semi-formal message has a form, and the form is most of the points: a greeting (Kære boligforening or Hej Mette), what you are writing about, the four points in order, and Med venlig hilsen with your name. Miss one of the four points and the message fails on content, whatever the grammar looks like.

Both writing tasks are in the free practice test too, with the 45-minute clock and a checklist for each text when you hand in.

How to prepare

1. Choose two topics from the recommended list and build a topic sheet for each. Five keywords, and a “because” for every keyword.
2. Practise fordi until the word order is automatic. Also hvis, når and selvom, which follow the same rule.
3. Do the four-picture task out loud with the four phrases above. It is a conversation, not a monologue, so ask your partner what they think.
4. Write two semi-formal messages and two 90-word emails, and check the four points every time.

In the free course, module 3 has a topic sheet builder with the nine recommended topics and a “because” per point, four picture sets with the preference phrases, three reading sets in the four formats, four semi-formal messages with a checklist for the form, four reply emails, and the new words: job hunting, school and education in Denmark, Denmark then and now, social media, and volunteer work.