Step 1: find your level with one timed practice exam
Do one full practice exam for the spreken examen A2 before you make a study plan. DUO has three free Spreken practice exams in the current format; they do not work in Safari.
Copy the real conditions. That means 16 questions, about one minute per answer, a headset with a microphone, and no stopping to fix an answer.
You may not take paper, a pen or a phone into the exam room, so practise without notes.
If you can, sit somewhere with some background noise. In the real exam, other candidates speak at the same time in the same room.
Record your answers. Then listen back and sort every answer into three groups:
- Good: you answered both parts, stayed on topic and were easy to understand.
- Partly there: you answered only the first part, or gave too little detail.
- Unsafe: you were silent, off-topic, or too unclear to follow.
Many unsafe answers mean you first need task control, not better grammar. Many answers that are partly there mean you need a fixed answer frame. If most answers are good, spend your time on pacing and on the three-picture part. Note your weakest part by number (1 to 4), not by feeling.
Step 2: always answer the question that was asked
Assessors score each answer on six criteria, 12 points per question. Adequaatheid, whether you answered this question, is worth the most: 3 points. An answer to a different question, a silence or speech nobody can follow scores 0 on it. An answer that skips the Vertel ook follow-up counts as incomplete.
So train one fixed frame:
- Give the direct answer in your first sentence.
- Add one concrete detail.
- Answer the follow-up (waarom, wanneer, met wie); for a reason, use omdat or want.
For one picture, say what you see before you give your opinion. For two pictures, choose one clearly before you explain why. For three pictures, say something about each picture.
Waar koopt u meestal brood? Vertel ook waarom.
Where do you usually buy bread? Also say why.
A safe A2 answer:
Ik koop meestal brood bij de bakker in mijn buurt. Het brood is daar vers. Daarom ga ik daar graag heen.
I usually buy bread at the bakery in my neighbourhood. The bread there is fresh. That is why I like going there.
A risky answer is longer but worse:
Brood, ja, ik eet vaak brood en in Nederland is brood normaal en mijn kinderen houden ook van brood ...
Bread, yes, I often eat bread and in the Netherlands bread is normal and my children also like bread ...
The second answer is about bread, but it never says where or why. Relevance beats ambition.
Step 3: practise the parts in the right order
Start with Parts 1 and 3. The task is clear there: answer a question about your own life, or choose one of two options and explain. Write twenty short prompts on daily topics such as the huisarts (GP), the supermarket, transport, cooking, neighbours and work. Answer each one with the frame, out loud.
Next, practise Part 2. Many candidates jump straight to their opinion and forget to describe the picture, or they describe it and miss the second prompt. Say what the person is doing and one thing you see, then answer the follow-up.
Practise Part 4 on its own. This part is the hardest for time: you must say something about all three pictures within about a minute. Give each picture one short sentence first, linked with eerst, daarna and ten slotte. Add detail only if you have time.
What can wait? Fine grammar and accent work. A small grammar mistake or an accent costs little if a listener understands you. Long word lists can wait too: learn the everyday words that real questions use, such as bakker, apotheek, bus and werk.
A four-week plan for the inburgering speaking exam
This plan fits around work: three short sessions on weekdays (20 to 30 minutes of speaking) and one longer session at the weekend.
- Week 1: diagnosis and frame. One full timed practice exam. Then Parts 1 and 3 only, with the answer frame.
- Week 2: pictures. Part 2 every session, and start Part 4 slowly. At the weekend, one mixed set of 8 to 12 questions.
- Week 3: pacing. One full 16-question sitting, with noise in the room if you can. Then repeat only the question types where you lost time or skipped the follow-up. Fix the word order in the sentence patterns you use most.
- Week 4: rehearsal. One full timed exam and two short mixed sessions. Keep what works; stop chasing perfection.
Less time? Cut long word lists first, then grammar study, then extra work on your strongest part. Keep the timed practice and the Part 4 drills.
Where candidates lose the most points
- Skipping the follow-up. Vertel ook waarom, wanneer or hoe is part of the task, not extra.
- A memorised answer that does not fit. A prepared speech can sound fluent and still miss the question.
- Panic after one missed word. Use the words you did catch and give a short answer close to the topic.
- Talking too much. Three clean sentences beat a long answer full of pauses and repairs.
- Stopping at picture 1. Spending forty seconds on the first picture leaves no time for the third.
- Speaking too fast. Nerves make many candidates rush, and fast speech is harder to understand.
The last week before your A2 speaking exam
Do one last full practice exam, then switch to short daily drills. Speak every answer aloud. Check yourself with four questions: did I answer the first question, did I answer Vertel ook, did I use a linking word, and did I stop after a clear answer?
Check your exam date, time and location in Mijn Inburgering on inburgeren.nl. Skip old multiple-choice material: DUO removed that part from A2 Spreken on 1 March 2025.
On the day, bring a valid ID. Before the exam starts, staff explain the rules; DUO plans 15 minutes for that, and the exam itself takes 35 minutes. Warm up on the way with five easy answers about bread, work or travel. At the computer, listen for the question word and the Vertel ook part first, then answer simply and clearly.
For example questions with model answers, see our A2 speaking exam questions. For how the exam is built and scored, read how the speaking exam works. You can practise all four question types with feedback in our Spreken practice.