How to Pass the Inburgering Speaking Exam (Spreken)

Ask anyone who has done the inburgering which part kept them awake, and most will say the same thing: the speaking exam. Reading, listening, and writing give you room to think, reread, and fix mistakes. Spreken does not. A prompt appears, the microphone is on, the clock is running, and whatever comes out of your mouth is your answer. That pressure, not the Dutch itself, is what trips people up.

Here is the reassuring part: the speaking exam is very learnable. Once you understand the format and practise the right way, the fear shrinks fast. This guide walks you through what it tests, the computer-based setup that surprises almost everyone, the task types, the mistakes we see most often as teachers, and a building-block method that lets you walk in calm.

Quick answer. The inburgering speaking exam (spreken) is done on a computer with a headset, not in a live conversation with an examiner. You watch short videos and picture prompts and speak your answers into a microphone; the recordings are later assessed by DUO examiners. At A2 it lasts about 35 minutes. It rewards short, clear, correct sentences delivered on time, not long or clever ones. The single best preparation is speaking Dutch out loud, under a little time pressure, before exam day. Always confirm the current format with DUO.

Why the inburgering speaking exam feels the hardest

The speaking exam is regularly named the toughest part of the inburgering, and the reason is psychological as much as linguistic. With every other skill you can pause and self-correct. In spreken you are recorded, you cannot edit, and you have limited time per task. People who studied in silence, tapping through apps and filling in exercises, suddenly have to produce spoken Dutch on demand, and the gap shows.

This is also the part that is hardest to fake. You cannot memorise your way through a spoken answer to a prompt you have not seen. The only thing that reliably works is having actually spoken Dutch before, out loud, against a clock. That is good news, because it means the fix is simple and fully in your control.

The setup that surprises people: it is a computer, not a conversation

The biggest shock on exam day is that there is no examiner sitting across from you. You take spreken at a computer at an official exam location, wearing a headset with a microphone. The screen plays a short video or shows a picture, you get a moment to prepare, and then you speak your answer into the microphone. The computer records you. Your recordings are assessed afterwards by trained DUO examiners, so a real human does judge your Dutch, just not in the room with you.

In practice this cuts both ways. There is no friendly face nodding along, which can feel cold and make the silence louder. But there is also no one to interrupt you, rush you, or react to a mistake, and you can say your piece and move on. Students who know this in advance settle much faster than those who walk in expecting a chat.

Inburgering speaking exam format (spreken)

Official facts (A2, old law and B1-route base skill). According to inburgeren.nl, the A2 speaking exam is computer-based and lasts about 35 minutes, during which you watch short films and answer questions out loud. From 1 March 2025, the A2 speaking exam changed: the older mixed format (which included multiple-choice items) was replaced by a speaking-only exam. Widely reported current details, which you should still confirm with DUO for your test date, describe 16 spoken tasks in four blocks:

Block	Task type	What you do
Tasks 1 to 4	Video prompts	You watch a short clip of someone speaking to you and respond as if you were there.
Tasks 5 to 8	One-picture tasks	You react to or answer a question about a single image.
Tasks 9 to 12	Two-picture tasks	You compare or describe two images.
Tasks 13 to 16	Three-picture tasks	You tell a short story or describe a sequence across three images.

You get a short preparation moment before each task and then a limited window to speak, in the region of a minute per answer. The situations are everyday ones: shopping, appointments, work, neighbours, family, the doctor. The exact task counts and timing are adjusted from time to time, so treat the table as a reliable guide rather than a guarantee, and check the current structure on the official DUO inburgeren website before your exam date.

A note on B1. If you are on the B1-route under the Wet inburgering 2021, your speaking exam is at B1 level and is taken as part of the Staatsexamen NT2, which runs about 30 minutes and expects fuller, more connected answers. The computer-and-headset setup is the same; the bar is higher. Before you build a study plan, it is worth being sure whether you need A2 or B1, because it changes how much speaking practice you realistically need.

How the speaking exam is graded

Your recordings are scored by DUO examiners, not by the computer. From what learners report and what the criteria describe, assessors listen for a handful of things:

What examiners listen for	What it means in plain terms
Task completion	Did you actually answer the question that was asked?
Pronunciation	Can you be understood? You do not need a native accent.
Fluency and coherence	Can you get through a sentence at a steady pace without long, panicked silences?
Vocabulary	Did you use words that fit the situation?
Grammar	Are your sentences roughly correct? Small slips are fine at A2.

Notice what is not on that list: sounding impressive. This is the mindset shift that calms most people down. A short, correct, on-topic answer scores well. A long, tangled one that runs out of time does not.

What a good A2 answer actually sounds like

At A2 the exam is not testing whether you build elegant, complex sentences. It tests whether you can react appropriately and be understood in an ordinary situation. Three to five short sentences is plenty. As an example, if a video neighbour asks whether you like animals, this is a complete, strong A2 answer:

"Ja, ik hou van dieren. Ik heb een hond. Hij heet Max. Hij is heel lief. Ik loop elke dag met hem in het park."

No subordinate clauses, no rare vocabulary, nothing risky. Just clear Dutch, on topic, finished in time. That is the whole target. In my lessons the single biggest jump in scores usually comes not from more grammar but from convincing students to aim lower and finish cleanly.

Building blocks: fixed phrases to lean on

The best defence against freezing is a small set of fixed building-block phrases you can start almost any answer with. They buy you a second to think, they are always grammatically safe, and they make you sound calm. Memorise these until they are automatic:

• Openers: "Ik denk dat...", "Volgens mij...", "Ik vind dat...", "Op deze foto zie ik..."
• Reasons: "want...", "omdat...", "daarom..."
• Examples and additions: "bijvoorbeeld...", "en ook...", "en dan..."
• Describing pictures: "Er is een...", "Er zijn twee...", "De man/vrouw is...", "Ze zijn aan het..." (for example "Ze zijn aan het winkelen")
• Buying a moment: "Even denken...", "Nou..." (better than silence, and natural Dutch)
• Wrapping up: "Dus dat is...", "Dat vind ik leuk/belangrijk."

If you can drop into an opener, add a reason with "want" or "omdat", and give one example with "bijvoorbeeld", you already have a solid three-sentence answer for almost any prompt. Practise these out loud until they arrive without thinking.

Common mistakes in the spreken exam, and how to avoid them

Most lost points are not about vocabulary. Over the years the same handful of delivery problems come up again and again:

• Freezing in silence. A simple sentence always beats saying nothing. Start with a building block, even imperfectly, and keep going.
• Long, dead pauses. A short "Even denken..." is fine; ten seconds of silence reads as "cannot do it." Fill the gap with Dutch, not with panic.
• Translating from English in your head. Building the sentence in English first and then translating word for word is slow and produces strange Dutch. Think in the fixed Dutch phrases you drilled instead.
• Mumbling. You are speaking into a microphone that will be judged later. Speak up and finish your words; a clear voice at a steady pace is worth real marks.
• Reaching too high. Grabbing for complex grammar invites errors. Stay inside what you control.
• Running out of time. Chasing the perfect answer means you never finish it. Done and clear beats perfect and unfinished.
• Never having spoken under pressure. The exam should not be the first time you produce Dutch against a clock. If it is, that alone can cost you.

English speakers in particular carry over habits that hurt them here, from vowel sounds to word order. If that is you, our guide to the common mistakes English speakers make learning Dutch is worth a read before you practise.

Pronunciation basics that make you understood

You do not need a Dutch accent. You need to be clear enough to understand, which is a much lower bar. A few sounds do most of the damage for English speakers, so give these a little attention:

• The Dutch "g" and "ch" (as in "goed", "acht"). Aim for a soft throat sound; even a gentle version is understood.
• "ui" (as in "huis", "buiten"). It is not "oo" or "ow"; it is its own sound and worth drilling out loud.
• "eu" (as in "leuk", "deur") and "ij/ei" (as in "wijn", "trein").
• Word endings. Do not swallow the ends of words. Finishing "loopt" or "huis" clearly helps the examiner understand you.

How to practise at home (that actually works)

These are the habits that consistently get our students through spreken:

• Record yourself on your phone answering simple Dutch questions, with a timer set to one minute. Then listen back. You will hear your own filler and hesitation, and that is where the improvement hides.
• Describe photos out loud, since the exam is full of picture tasks. Pick any image and say who is in it, what they are doing, and where they are: "Ik zie een vrouw. Ze is in de keuken. Ze is aan het koken."
• Narrate your day in Dutch. Talk yourself through breakfast, the commute, the shopping. It builds the muscle of producing Dutch without preparing.
• Drill your building blocks until the openers and connectors arrive automatically.
• Train speaking and writing together. They use very similar sentence-building skills and reinforce each other.

The speaking exam is the one part you cannot fully study alone. Practising live with a teacher who corrects you in real time is the fastest fix. Book a free intake call and we will run your first mock prompts together.

Why speaking is the part you cannot master alone

You can teach yourself a lot of Dutch. You can grow vocabulary with an app, sharpen reading with the news, and train listening with podcasts, all on your own. Speaking is different. It needs a partner who reacts, hears your exact mistakes, and corrects them while they are still fresh in your mouth. That feedback loop is the whole game, and it is the one thing self-study cannot give you.

This is exactly why speaking is where lessons help most, and it is the heart of how we teach. In our inburgering preparation and private Dutch lessons, the goal is to give you the maximum possible speaking time in every session, with immediate correction and realistic mock prompts, so the real exam feels like one more practice round rather than a first attempt. Speaking is not the only exam part, of course. You will also face listening (luisteren), reading (lezen), writing (schrijven), and the KNM knowledge-of-society exam. For the full picture of how the parts fit together, start with our complete guide to the inburgering exam or our overview of the Dutch integration exam and how to pass it faster.

Sample answers for every speaking task type

The fastest way to calm exam nerves is to know exactly what a passing answer sounds like before you sit down. Below are model answers for the three things every spreken task asks you to do: answer a direct question, react to a picture, and give an opinion. For each one you get a short version that already passes at A2, and a stronger version that adds a reason or a detail without reaching for risky grammar. Notice that even the stronger answers stay simple. That is the point.

Task type 1: answer a question (video prompt). A neighbour on screen asks: "Wat voor werk doe jij?" (What work do you do?)

Short: "Ik werk in een winkel. Ik verkoop kleding. Het is leuk werk."

Stronger: "Ik werk in een kledingwinkel in het centrum. Ik help klanten en ik werk meestal in de middag. Ik vind het leuk, want ik hou van contact met mensen."

The stronger answer adds a place ("in het centrum"), a time ("in de middag"), and a reason with "want". No subordinate clauses, no rare words, and it still finishes comfortably inside the time window.

Task type 2: react to a picture. The screen shows one image of a person at the doctor. Your task is to describe what you see and react.

Short: "Op deze foto zie ik een man. Hij is bij de dokter. Hij is ziek."

Stronger: "Op deze foto zie ik een man bij de dokter. Hij voelt zich niet goed en hij heeft misschien koorts. De dokter luistert naar hem. Ik denk dat de man griep heeft."

Start with "Op deze foto zie ik...", name who is there, say what they are doing, and add one guess with "Ik denk dat...". That formula fits almost any picture prompt in the exam.

Task type 3: give an opinion. A voice asks: "Wat vind je van sporten?" (What do you think about sport/exercise?)

Short: "Ik vind sporten leuk. Ik fiets graag. Ik sport twee keer per week."

Stronger: "Ik vind sporten belangrijk, want het is goed voor je gezondheid. Ik fiets graag en ik ga soms zwemmen. Na het sporten voel ik me altijd fitter."

An opinion answer needs three moves: say what you think ("Ik vind..."), give a reason ("want..."), and add one example ("Ik fiets graag"). Drill that shape and you can answer any opinion prompt, even about a topic you have never prepared.

For the two-picture and three-picture tasks, the same building blocks stretch to fit. With two pictures you compare: "Op de eerste foto zie ik... en op de tweede foto zie ik..." With three pictures you tell a small story in order: "Eerst..., dan..., en daarna..." Keep each sentence short and let the connector words carry the structure.

A bigger bank of building-block sentences, grouped by function

Earlier you saw a small set of openers. Here is a fuller bank, grouped by what you actually need to do in the exam. Pick a handful from each group, say them out loud until they are automatic, and you will always have a safe first sentence ready no matter what the prompt throws at you.

Introducing yourself and giving personal facts:

• "Ik heet..." (I am called...)
• "Ik kom uit..." (I come from...)
• "Ik woon in Nederland sinds..." (I have lived in the Netherlands since...)
• "Ik werk als..." / "Ik ben student." (I work as... / I am a student.)
• "Ik heb een gezin." / "Ik ben getrouwd." (I have a family. / I am married.)

Agreeing and disagreeing politely:

• "Dat klopt." (That is right.)
• "Ik ben het ermee eens." (I agree with it.)
• "Dat vind ik ook." (I think so too.)
• "Ik ben het er niet mee eens." (I do not agree with it.)
• "Dat vind ik niet, want..." (I do not think so, because...)

Asking for repetition or clarification (useful when a video prompt is fast):

• "Sorry, kunt u dat herhalen?" (Sorry, can you repeat that?)
• "Kunt u dat langzamer zeggen?" (Can you say that more slowly?)
• "Wat bedoelt u?" (What do you mean?)
• "Sorry, ik begrijp het niet helemaal." (Sorry, I do not fully understand.)

Giving reasons and explaining:

• "...want..." (...because..., keeps normal word order, the safest choice under pressure)
• "...omdat..." (...because..., sends the verb to the end, use only if it is automatic for you)
• "Daarom..." (That is why...)
• "De reden is dat..." (The reason is that...)

Buying yourself a second to think (far better than dead silence):

• "Even denken." (Let me think.)
• "Nou, dat is een goede vraag." (Well, that is a good question.)
• "Even kijken." (Let me see.)
• "Hoe zal ik het zeggen..." (How shall I put it...)

A tip on "want" versus "omdat": both mean "because", but "want" keeps the normal sentence order ("Ik fiets graag, want het is gezond"), while "omdat" pushes the verb to the end ("...omdat het gezond is"). Under time pressure, "want" is the lower-risk choice. Use "omdat" only when it comes out without thinking.

Pronunciation drills tied to the speaking exam

You do not need a perfect accent to pass, but a few sounds decide whether the examiner understands you on the first listen. Turn each of these into a short daily drill: say the words out loud, record them, and compare with audio on a dictionary site such as an online Dutch pronunciation tool. Five focused minutes a day beats an hour of silent study.

• The "g" and "ch" sound. Drill: "goed, dag, acht, lachen, gracht, geluk." This throat sound does not exist in English, so it stands out most. A soft version is completely fine; aim for consistent, not native.
• The "ui" sound. Drill: "huis, buiten, tuin, uit, duur." It is not "oo" and not "ow". Practise it in isolation first, then inside words.
• The "eu" sound. Drill: "leuk, deur, keuken, neus, kleur." Round your lips as if for "oo" but say "ee".
• The Dutch "r". Drill: "rood, straat, drie, kerk, water." A rolled front "r" or a soft back "r" both work; pick the one you can produce clearly and be consistent.
• Word stress. Most simple Dutch words stress the first syllable: "WIN-kel, DOK-ter, VA-kan-tie, ZIE-ken-huis." Getting the stress right often matters more for being understood than getting every vowel perfect.

English speakers tend to carry over specific habits here, so if these sounds feel hard, our guide to the common mistakes English speakers make learning Dutch breaks down the vowel and word-order traps in more detail.

What to do when nerves hit or you blank mid-answer

Freezing is the fear behind almost every speaking-exam worry, so let us deal with it directly. Blanking is normal and, crucially, recoverable. The examiner is grading a whole exam of sixteen tasks, not one wobbly sentence. Here is what to do in the moment:

• Fill the gap with Dutch, not silence. Say "Even denken." out loud. It sounds calm, it is correct Dutch, and it buys you two or three seconds without any penalty.
• Drop to your safest sentence. If the perfect answer will not come, give the simple one. "Op deze foto zie ik een man." always beats saying nothing at all.
• Do not restart from zero. If you make a mistake mid-sentence, just correct the word and carry on. You do not need to scrap the whole answer. Self-correction actually reads as competence.
• Breathe before the task, not during it. Use the short preparation moment to take one slow breath and pick your opener. Walking in with a decided first sentence removes most of the panic.
• Accept small imperfection. A2 allows slips. Chasing a flawless answer is what makes people freeze in the first place. Aim for finished and clear.

The deeper cure for nerves is exposure. If the exam is the very first time you have produced Dutch out loud under a clock, your body treats it as a threat. If you have already done twenty timed mock prompts at home or with a teacher, your body treats it as routine. Nerves shrink with repetition, not with willpower.

Can you retake just the speaking exam? Process and cost

Yes. The inburgering exam parts are taken and scored separately, so if you pass reading, listening, and writing but not spreken, you retake only the speaking exam, not the whole thing. This is a relief for many learners, because it means one weak skill does not undo all your work.

The practical steps are straightforward. You log in to your account on the DUO or inburgeren website, book a new appointment for the speaking part, and pay the fee for that part. There is a separate fee per exam part per attempt, and the amount is set by DUO and can change, so check the current price on the official site rather than relying on a figure you read in a forum. Learners funding their own course also need to keep an eye on their overall deadline and any loan conditions, since repeated retakes cost both time and money.

There is usually a short waiting period before you can retake, and appointment availability varies by location and time of year, so book early rather than leaving it to the last weeks before your deadline. Between attempts, treat the gap as a training window: the students who pass on the retake are the ones who spend those weeks speaking out loud every day, not the ones who simply rebook and hope.

How B1-route and Staatsexamen NT2 speaking is different

Everything above is written mainly around the A2 speaking exam, which is what most people mean by "the inburgering speaking exam". But under the Wet inburgering 2021, many newcomers are on the B1-route and take their speaking exam at B1 level as part of the Staatsexamen NT2. The setup feels familiar, a computer and a headset, but the expectations rise in a few clear ways:

• Longer, more connected answers. At A2, three to five short sentences pass. At B1, examiners expect you to link ideas, explain, and hold a longer turn without falling apart.
• More abstract topics. A2 stays in everyday life: shopping, appointments, family. B1 can ask you to give and justify an opinion on slightly broader topics, so "want" and "omdat" reasoning matters much more.
• Wider vocabulary. You are expected to reach beyond the most basic words and choose language that fits the situation more precisely.
• Cleaner grammar. The small slips forgiven at A2 start to count at B1, especially word order in longer sentences.

None of this changes the core method, speak out loud, use building blocks, finish cleanly, but it does change how much practice you need. Before you plan your study, make sure you actually know whether your obligation is A2 or B1, because aiming at the wrong level wastes months. If you are on the B1-route, prioritising speaking practice with real correction is even more important than at A2.

A daily speaking routine you can do alone

You cannot fully replace a teacher, but you can build the speaking muscle every day on your own with a simple fifteen-minute routine. Consistency beats intensity here. Fifteen minutes daily does far more than a single long session once a week.

• Minutes 1 to 3, warm-up shadowing. Play a short clip of natural Dutch (a news item, a simple YouTube video, a podcast) and repeat each sentence out loud right after the speaker, copying their rhythm and intonation. Shadowing trains your mouth and ear together and is one of the highest-value things you can do alone.
• Minutes 4 to 8, timed prompt practice. Set a one-minute timer, pick a question ("Wat heb je gisteren gedaan?", "Wat vind je van je buurt?"), and answer it out loud until the timer ends. This mimics the exam's pressure exactly.
• Minutes 9 to 12, describe a picture. Open any photo on your phone and describe it: who, what, where. "Ik zie een vrouw. Ze is in de keuken. Ze is aan het koken." The exam is full of picture tasks, so this pays off directly.
• Minutes 13 to 15, self-recording and review. Record one answer and listen back. It feels uncomfortable, and that discomfort is exactly where the improvement lives. Note one thing to fix tomorrow, then stop.

Do this daily for a few weeks and the real exam stops feeling like a first attempt. The one thing this routine cannot give you is another person hearing your exact mistakes and correcting them on the spot, which is why pairing it with even a little live practice makes it far more effective.

Frequently asked questions about the speaking exam

Is the inburgering speaking exam a conversation with an examiner? No. It is computer-based. You sit at a computer with a headset, watch videos and picture prompts, and speak your answers into a microphone. The recordings are assessed later by DUO examiners, so a person grades your Dutch, but not live in the room.

What does the inburgering speaking exam test? Whether you can react to everyday situations in Dutch out loud and be understood. You respond to video prompts and describe pictures. At A2 the focus is on clear, simple, on-topic answers, not perfect or complex Dutch.

How long is the speaking exam and how many tasks are there? At A2 it lasts about 35 minutes. Since March 2025 the A2 exam is speaking-only and is widely reported to have 16 spoken tasks (video, one-picture, two-picture, and three-picture tasks). Confirm the current numbers with DUO before your exam.

Why is the speaking exam considered the hardest part? Because, unlike the other parts, you cannot edit your answer. You record under time pressure, so hesitation costs you. People who never practised speaking out loud feel this most.

How can I practise at home? Record yourself answering simple Dutch questions with a one-minute timer, describe photos out loud, narrate your day in Dutch, and review the recordings. The closer your practice is to real, timed speaking, the calmer the exam will feel.

What level is the speaking exam, A2 or B1? It depends on your obligation. Under the old law the speaking exam is at A2. Under the Wet inburgering 2021, learners on the B1-route take it at B1 as part of the Staatsexamen NT2. Check whether you need A2 or B1, because it changes how much practice you need.

Do I need a teacher to pass? Not strictly, but speaking is the one skill you cannot fully build alone. Live correction from a teacher is exactly what the exam rewards, and it speeds progress dramatically.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Exam formats, task counts, timing, and rules can change. Always confirm the current speaking exam structure and your own inburgering obligations with DUO before you book.