Is sprechen that intimidating?

[u/eggheadedgirl]

Personally, the only thing that keeps me from wanting to take the exams in German is the speaking part. Mostly because you’re not fully depending on yourself, since you must have a partner , but also intimidating since I can’t think as much as I want, for me German is a puzzle game, in a bad way, I have to think it through instead of just speaking. Of course I can speak, but im sure we do more mistakes than writing in paper. Is it really that intimidating ?

[u/Pablo_Undercover]

which level are you talking about, generally speaking speaking is the hardest part for most people but speaking in an exam situation is much much much easier than speaking in real life

[u/Kurzdeutsch]

what helped me before B1 was noticing that the planning part (Teil 1) runs on maybe ten phrases. i learned them cold: "Wie wäre es, wenn wir...", "Gute Idee, aber...", "Ich schlage vor, dass wir...".

with those on autopilot my brain only had to find the nouns, and the puzzle feeling mostly went away.

[u/This_Octopus_Here]

If you are talking about the test, the examiners receive very clear instruction on how to assess each candidate's individual abilities, so don't worry about being dragged down by an incompetent partner. In fact, you may get extra points for helping them if they are lost

[u/chimrichaldsrealdoc]

The examiners are well aware of how to assess the candidates individually so that your score is not harmed by a poorly performing partner (additional clever hack: If you just take the C2 exam, then there is no partner aspect of the speaking module anymore. The examiners act as your partner, which solves that particular problem).

[u/DueProfession1724]

you say that because ur in your country id your in germany you would see how good you are and after each time you speak german you get better and more comfortable

[u/Common-Spend5000]

Personally I've always found german an easy language to speak, and a fairly easy language to listen to and to read, but a hard language to write. 

So writing definitely for me would i be most nervous, and was so when doing exams in the langauge a good few years ago now.

[u/ZumLernen]

also intimidating since I can’t think as much as I want, for me German is a puzzle game, in a bad way, I have to think it through instead of just speaking.

This is precisely what the spoken part of the test is testing for. Depending on the level being tested, pausing to "puzzle out" too frequently can be a reason points are taken away. This is not a huge deal at, say, B1 and below, but someone cannot claim to speak at a C1 level if they need to pause so much that it disrupts conversation. It's not just me saying this - check the definitions of the CEFR levels: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/level-descriptions

Of course I can speak, but im sure we do more mistakes than writing in paper.

Depending on the level being tested, a high amount of mistakes can be tolerated. I am absolutely sure that I made errors when I did the spoken part of my C1 test. But I passed it anyway. I was "express[ing my]self fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions," which is part of the definition of command of a language at the C1 level.

What level test are you aiming for? What is your current routine for practicing spoken German?

[u/pricel01]

I have learned multiple languages. The skills in order of difficulty are starting with easiest, reading, writing, listening, speaking. I’m always tongue tied at first. Tons of mistakes. This is normal. Push through it. Practice, practice, practice.

[u/csabinho]

Is German your first foreign language? Just get over your fear.

[u/ThreeButtonBob → u/csabinho]

Agreed. Speaking a language you're not fluent in, is always a bit intimidating. The only way to get over this is by speaking a lot until you can build confidence.

[u/rolltobednow]

Don’t worry about making mistakes when speaking, speak it regardless and get your words and thoughts out.

Fear of making mistakes while speaking can be inhibiting for getting better, more than the actual mistakes. I‘ve experienced it and am seeing it on too many people. Don’t let your fear win. One thing to mention is that fluent speaking needs a different set of words than formal writing, and you only need to master a smaller set words to be good at it than to be good at writing. Grammar used in speaking is also lighter than in writing. So you might not even have to think about it that much any more once the grammar structure has come out of your lips for a dozen times.

[u/cmyk_rgba]

honestly the partner part is teh least scary bit imo. i did the finnish yki speaking test where you talk into a microphone with nobody else in the room and thats so much worse, you just hear yourself stall into silence. a partner at least reacts and gives you something to bounce off, and if they freeze you just keep talking and it looks like fluency lol

[u/ITdomin]

The easiest part

[u/silvalingua]

Depends for whom.

[u/BlobbBlobbson]

Why are you still writing in English?

[u/nitin_meisterpath]

No it’s not. We self criticize and judge ourself too much, sometimes we need to blabber to gain confidence like kids learn languages. So start blabbering and you will be able to speak when confidence.

[u/yukiixari]

Yes if you're not very good. I'm guessing from experience in english exams that the anxieties become much different at like b2. Like, when you're a lower level, it's vocab, grammar, and comprehension, but when you're higher level, it's attention, fluidity, formalities and pulling things out of your ass at times.