DSH
DSH exam must be taken in Germany, but not all universities offer the DSH and exam training. More information and details about the admission and DSH at a particular university could be found on its official web site. But one rule works for sure: you may take the DSH exam at almost any German university because its results and certificate are equally accepted by any German institution of higher education.
DSH is designed to test learners not only linguistically but mainly to test their overall competences – which means the ability to take up studies and understand the lectures in German, to write reports, essays and to get ready for seminar workshops by doing research, to answer questions on scientific, academic or everyday topics, orally or in written form.
'Language Corner' offers you preparation for your DSH exam session with a focus upon practice of all competences and areas in which you will be tested during the exam: both written and oral parts.
Our teachers has being offering DSH training since 2013, gained enough experience and knowledge which could be shared with you in form of practical tips, extra exercises, example tests and texts.
DSH levels
Your language skills and proficiency can be assessed whithin 3 levels according to the DSH scala (picture below ↓): DSH1, DSH2 and DSH3. Each DSH level has an equivalent on the scala of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
To make sure about the DSH score you have to get for admission to your target university, you should check the details on the official web site of your university. Many universities demand for admission the test results/scores not lower than B1 level or DSH1 but some need B2 (DSH2) or C1 (DSH3) proficiency level, it depends mainly upon your specialization or field of studies. You can compare DSH levels with TestDaF levels here.
Written examination (makes 70% of total DSH score)
Written exam session lasts around 4 hours and consists of the following parts:
- Listening comprehension and post-listening exercises based upon a listening text (listening for an audio-text twice, plus completing of post-listening exercises: 40 minutes);
- A guided task-based text production on a certain topic / subject / question (from a graph / table / diagram / photo / citation) (70 minutes);
- Text comprehension with post-text exercises (questions concerning content, content interpretation and re-structuring, finding pros and contras, etc.) and use of academic language structures (ability to use grammar transformations) (90 minutes).
Oral examination (makes 30% of total DSH score)
The oral DSH exam session is only administered after passing of its written part. It takes place a few days after the written test and lasts about 20 minutes (+15-20 minutes for preparation). And pay attention that you CANNOT SKIP the oral exam because it’s considered as a MANDATORY part of the whole DSH exam procedure. Oral exam includes:
- a short introductory conversation;
- a summary of a short text, a graph, a diagram, a photo story or an audio / video text based only upon your notes;
- a short discussion based on the materials mentioned above.
Do not forget that the examiner may ask you questions which can go slightly beyond the given topic but related to your chosen field of study or your experience.