FAQ

Why DSH exam?

Foreign applicants and German applicants with foreign qualifications have to prove sufficient German language skills before beginning their studies. Evidence is provided by passing the DSH (or the TestDaF).

The purpose of the exam is to show that candidates have the ability, both in general and academic terms, to start the subject with the prospect of success.

The German part of the "Feststellungsprüfung" is identical to DSH at KIT.

How is the DSH organized?

The DSH consists of a written and an oral part. The written part includes text production, listening comprehension and reading comprehension, as well as science-related structures (grammar).

What ist the procedure of the written exam?

After all candidates have been assigned seats, the exam begins:
  • Text production (70 minutes processing time)
  • Short break by gathering the sheets for text production and then handing out the paper and the questions for listening comprehension
  • Listening comprehension: 10 minutes to read the excercise and prepare the note sheet
  • First reading of the text
  • 10 minutes to complete the notes or edit the excercise.
  • Second reading
  • 40 minutes to edit the excercises
  • 15 minutes break
  • Reading comprehension (90 minutes processing time)

What does text production includes?

The purpose of this part of the exam is to prove that you are able to describe and argue a context or process using a graph or statistic. The scope should not exceed 250 words. The exam can consist of one or two excercises.

Processing time: 70 minutes
Approved tools: A monolingual dictionary to bring along.

What does listening comprehension includes?

The aim of this part is to process exercises to a text with a scientific background. The answer is based on a transcript, which is created based on the twice read text.

Processing time: 40 minutes
Approved tools: A monolingual dictionary to bring along.

What does reading comprehension and scientific language structure (grammr) mean?

Reading comprehension and scientific language structures (grammar) is divided into two parts:

In the first part of the exam, you have to work on a text and answer questions about language and content. For example, the required competence in reading comprehension is demonstrated by:
  • the formation of headings for individual sections
  • the explanation of difficult expressions, phrases or sentences
  • the explanation of the different meanings of related words.
In the second part of the exam, excercises are presented to proof the candidates ability to deal with grammatical structures that are relevant to scientific language. These are usually transformations. Basis for the transformations is a sentence (or several coherent sentences) from the reading text. Emphases are:
  • passive
  • modal verbs
  • verbalisations
  • Paricipial constructions and relative clauses
  • conjunctional
  • Subjunctive I and II
Processing time: 90 minutes
Approved tools: A monolingual dictionary to bring along.

What does oral exam includes?

If you have to take an oral exam according to the requirements of the exam regulations, you will receive an individual appointment within the oral exam period. Please note: If you do not attend the oral exam, the entire DSH is considered failed.

Procedure: First of all, you have 20 minutes to prepare for the oral exam on the basis of an interview template. Following this, the actual exam takes place on the topic of the interview template. The duration of the exam is 15 to 20 minutes. A dictionary for preparation is provided.

How much does the DSH cost?

The fee is 100 €. It has to be paid by all participants.

Who is the contact person?

Ksenija Fazlic-Walter (Fachbereichsleiterin "Deutsch als Fremdsprache")

 

 

The DSH of the Studienkollegs Karlsruhe is registered at the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK) and the Fachverband Deutsch als Fremdsprache (FaDaF) according to § 3 Abs. 1 i.V.6 of the "Rahmenordnung über Deutsche Sprachprüfungen für das Studium an Hochschulen" (RO-DT). Register number: SK 22-02/14