Goethe or telc? Take the one your authority accepts

The first question is the receiving organisation's wording. If it names a board, follow that wording; if it accepts more than one, compare the paper and the live seat.

At A1 and A2 the differences show in source choices, shared blocks and writing tasks. At B1 and B2, telc adds Sprachbausteine and keeps Sprechen separate from the written mock composition.

Neither board deserves a universal easier label. A learner who knows the exact response type can spend attention on German instead of discovering the paper during the sitting.

Use this page for the board decision, then open the level-specific comparison when the exam is B1 or B2. The guide pages carry the detailed module clocks and worked score examples.

At A1, compare whether you prefer Goethe's separate written skill clocks or telc's shared Lesen and Schreiben block. At A2, put the reading response types beside the form and letter task before you decide which paper feels familiar.

At B1 and B2, the weekly shape changes more sharply. Goethe asks for multiple writing tasks and its own speaking route, while telc adds ten multiple-choice and ten lexical Sprachbausteine items and keeps Sprechen outside the written mock.

A useful board trial takes one session per skill: read the task instructions, complete one response, and mark the time you needed. Keep the board whose work you can explain and repeat, then verify that the receiving body accepts it.

Do not let one comfortable skill choose the board for you. A paper that feels easy in Lesen may still ask for a different Schreiben clock, a separate speaking route or a score check you have not rehearsed.

Before booking, write a four-line comparison: paper parts, writing job, speaking job and score decision. Take that note to the exact guide and use its module map for the first week of practice.

A board comparison is useful only when it changes the next action. Put the selected paper at the top of tomorrow's exercise, set its real section clock, and save the question you still need to ask the centre.

The same level label does not remove the board decision. Keep the chosen paper in every exercise title until its response shapes feel ordinary.

When you review the trial, record the exact moment you lost time or certainty. That detail is more useful than a general feeling that one board was harder.

A second review after a few days shows whether the problem was a one-off or a pattern.