Start with one timed practice paper
Your first step is a timed baseline, not more theory.
Do one full past exam in one sitting in the official Facet practice portal. It uses the same player as the real exam. Wear headphones and answer into a microphone, because the exam records you and you do not speak to a person.
Keep the real rhythm: 16 tasks, 20 seconds per answer in Deel 1 and 30 seconds in Deel 2. In Deel 1 you get 5 seconds to look at a picture or short text. In Deel 2 you get 15 seconds to prepare. The player moves on by itself, so you cannot go back or pause.
Then listen back and give every task two labels:
- Task fit: did you do what the task asked, such as advise, ask, choose or instruct?
- Time use: did you keep speaking usefully, or stop with time left?
Those two labels shape almost all of your staatsexamen NT2 spreken voorbereiden. How Staatsexamen NT2 Spreken works explains how the paper is built.
The preconditie comes first
Every answer passes a gate before anything else is scored. This gate is the preconditie.
You pass it with an understandable answer in Dutch that fits the situation. The official model is tolerant: an answer that fits the context even slightly passes. If the answer is off topic, not understandable or not in Dutch, it scores 0. Then the other aspects of that task are not assessed at all.
So do not chase elegant language first. Aim for safe, clear speech that stays on the task. A simple frame helps: one direct answer, one supporting sentence, then one extra detail if time remains.
Why the full speaking time counts
Using your speaking time is part of the score in Deel 2.
The published model for a task that asks for two arguments works like this:
- One clear argument and you are still speaking when time runs out: 3 points for inhoud.
- One clear argument but you stop well before the end: 2 points.
- Two clear arguments: 3 points, even if you finish early.
So your drill is not "speak faster". It is "add one more relevant sentence". If you only have one reason, explain it, give an example or add a consequence.
Two rules cap your score. A wrong taalhandeling, such as describing when the task asks you to instruct, caps inhoud at 1. Reading the prompt aloud caps both inhoud and woord- en zinsvorming at 1.
What to drill first for NT2 spreken
B1 adds pressure in two task families, so drill those first.
Reasoned answers. Deel 2 often asks you to persuade, choose or give an opinion, and many tasks state a minimum number of reasons. Practise one frame: your choice or opinion, reason one, reason two, a short finish. Count your reasons as you speak.
Picture sequences. Some tasks show three pictures and say Gebruik hierbij alle plaatjes. Then you narrate or give instructions across the frames. Link them into one line of action with eerst, daarna and aan het eind.
Assessors judge picture coverage reasonably, not mechanically, so you do not need every detail of every frame.
Rotate four shapes: a two-reason opinion, a two-reason persuasion, a three-picture story and three-picture instructions. Keep the language plain.
Then unlearn three habits. Do not read the prompt aloud. Do not describe a picture when the task asks you to advise or convince.
"Ik zie een man" does not answer a task that asks you to advise him. Do not stop while you still have time.
A four-week plan for nt2 exam preparation
This plan fits a working adult with three or four short evenings a week. Repeat it if your exam is further away.
Week 1: diagnose. Do one full paper and label every task. Then spend two short sessions on task fit in Deel 1 and two on time use in Deel 2. The goal is no blank answers, no off-topic answers and fewer early stops.
Week 2: templates. One evening only reasoned tasks, with the stated number of reasons. One evening only picture sequences, as one continuous story or set of steps. A third evening mixes short and longer tasks, because the real paper switches quickly.
Week 3: language form. Record, listen back and mark three things: wrong task type, early stop and weak sentence building. Now clean up verb forms and word order. End the week with a full timed paper in Facet.
Week 4: sharpen. Spend two evenings on the task type that still loses points. Finish with one mixed session and one last full paper.
When time is short, drop broad vocabulary lists first. Keep task fit, full-time answers and sentence control.
Where B1 speakers lose points
Most lost points come from a few patterns, and almost all are avoidable.
Wrong action. The task asks you to instruct, and you describe. It asks for help, and you only explain the problem. It asks you to choose, and you discuss both options without choosing.
Unused time. Many candidates give one good reason in Deel 2 and stop. Silence is worse than one more sentence that fits the task.
Loose pictures. Some describe only the first picture. Others name each picture as a separate fact with no link between them.
Heavy errors. In the longer tasks, errors fall into two groups. Wrong conjugation, wrong tense and word order, such as missing inversion, count more than a wrong de or het, a plural or a diminutive. Fix the frames you reuse most:
- Ik kies … omdat …
- U kunt beter …, want …
- Eerst …, daarna … en aan het eind …
Vague words. In the short Deel 1 tasks, woordkeus is about precision, not rare words. The official model gives 0 for "een pot met dat spul" instead of a pot of paint. "Eén nummer kleiner" instead of één maat kleiner also scores 0. Learn the everyday word for the things you talk about.
The final week before the exam
The final week is for stability, not new material.
Do your last full paper early in the week, not the night before. After that, keep sessions short: a few reasoned tasks, a few picture tasks and some quick switches between advising, asking and choosing.
On exam day a beep tells you when to start speaking. Use the 15 seconds in Deel 2 to decide your action first, then your words. When the task asks for reasons, count them. When time is almost up and you still have something relevant to add, keep going.
You pass Spreken with a scaled score of 500. On the 2025 exam that meant 75 of 128 points. See the Staatsexamen NT2 cesuur per part for other years. For timed practice with feedback, try our B1 speaking practice.