What the NT2 Spreken Exam Actually Tests
You are not having a conversation with an examiner across a table — the whole thing happens on a computer. This page explains what the speaking exam looks like, what kinds of tasks you face, and what is actually being measured.
Practise under exam-like time pressure
The Dutch B1 Speaking Trainer gives you spoken prompts to answer out loud — with a countdown timer per prompt, matching the short (≈20 s) and medium (≈30 s) task durations on the real exam. Free, no signup needed.
Try the free trainer →Who Programma I is for
The Staatsexamen NT2 has two programmes: Programma I (≈ CEFR B1) and Programma II (≈ CEFR B2). Both contain the same four components — Lezen (Reading), Luisteren (Listening), Spreken (Speaking) and Schrijven (Writing) — and all four are computer-based.
Programma I is the right choice if you want to work or study at mbo-3 or mbo-4 level in the Netherlands. Programma II targets hbo and university level. You do not have to pass Programma I before attempting Programma II — they are separate routes.
The tasks in Programma I deal with everyday, practical situations — education, work and daily life — rather than the reflective, argumentative texts that mark the B2 level.
Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I — four components
How the speaking exam is delivered
There is no human conversation partner. You sit at a computer and listen to each task through headphones, can read along on screen, and speak your answer into a microphone after a beep tone.
The Spreken module lasts approximately 25–30 minutes (different official sources give slightly different figures). You may not use a dictionary or other aids during the speaking exam.
Exam delivery — step by step
The task types
In Programma I you face two kinds of task, in two parts:
- Deel 1 — 8 short tasks — you give a short answer to a question, 20 seconds of speaking time each.
- Deel 2 — 8 medium-length tasks — you give a longer answer of a few sentences or more, 30 seconds of speaking time each.
That's 16 tasks in total. Programma I has no long task and no preparation time — every answer is short, timed and spoken right after the beep. (Programma II, aimed at hbo/university level, is structured differently: 4 short + 8 medium + one long ≈2-minute task with preparation time.) The practical takeaway: you are answering a sequence of self-contained prompts, each under tight time pressure, with no chance to have a back-and-forth conversation.
Speaking task types — Programma I
What is actually being measured
Unlike Reading and Listening, the speaking exam is not scored automatically by the computer. Your recorded answers are judged by trained assessors, and every exam is assessed by two assessors. You can earn one or more points per task, which are then converted into a score.
What the assessors look for follows a clear content-first hierarchy: your answer must first fit the situation and complete the task, and only then do they weigh language aspects such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and tempo. See how NT2 Spreken is scored for the full breakdown.