How to prepare the Inburgering A2 exam

The exam has several parts. You take them at an exam location, one at a time if you like, and each part is pass or fail.

• Lezen (reading, 65 minutes): short practical texts such as letters, leaflets, timetables and ads.
• Luisteren (listening, 45 minutes): short conversations, announcements and instructions.
• Schrijven (writing, 40 minutes): filling in forms and writing short notes and emails.
• Spreken (speaking, 35 minutes): reacting to everyday situations, answering questions and describing what you see.
• Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij (KNM, 45 minutes), a separate exam on top of the four language exams: short everyday situations about life in the Netherlands, from renting a home and visiting the huisarts to school, work, money and how the country is run.
• ONA, if it applies to you (the 2013 law or voluntary integration, unless you are exempt): a portfolio about the work you want to do, followed by a final interview or an ONA course.

After the form and the short messages, the writing exam has one or two open tasks: an email, a letter or a short text about a situation. The task tells you who you write to and which points you must include, usually three.

1. Who is the reader?

• Someone you know well (a friend, a neighbour, a colleague): informal. Hoi or Beste + first name, je/jij, Groetjes.
• Someone you don't know (a company, the gemeente, a landlord): formal. Geachte heer, mevrouw, or Beste mevrouw Jansen, u, Met vriendelijke groet.
• Keep the same style from the greeting to the closing.

2. Cover every point

Write one or two sentences for each point in the task. The point people forget most is the last one: what you want.

3. Keep it simple

A short, correct email earns the same points as a long one, with fewer chances to make mistakes. Short main clauses are enough. For example, to cancel today and suggest another day:

Hoi Peter, ik kan vandaag niet komen, want ik moet werken. Kunnen we zondag afspreken? Groetjes, Anna

4. Check before you stop

Greeting, every point, a clear request, a closing and your name. Is the verb in second place in a main clause, and at the end after omdat, als and toen?

Useful sentences

• Inviting: Ik wil je uitnodigen voor… · Het begint om… · Kom je ook?
• Cancelling: Helaas kan ik niet komen, want… · Kunnen we een andere dag afspreken?
• Asking: Ik heb een vraag over… · Kunt u mij laten weten…?
• Complaining: Helaas is … kapot. · Ik wil graag een nieuwe…

Common mistakes

• Mixing formal and informal: Geachte heer, and then je and Groetjes.
• Forgetting one of the points, often the last one.
• Telling the story but never asking for anything.
• Word order: not Morgen ik kan afspreken but Morgen kan ik afspreken; not omdat ik ben ziek but omdat ik ziek ben.

Many students leave Spreken until last because it feels scary. It doesn't have to be: the exam rewards clear, correct Dutch, not difficult words.

• Keep it simple. You lose points for mistakes, and you don't earn extra points for hard grammar or rare words.
• Answer every part of the question. If a question has two parts, answer both.
• Say a full sentence: not pizza, but Ik eet graag pizza.
• Keep talking. Silence earns nothing. A short, complete answer is better than a long, unfinished one.
• Practise out loud with a timer, and record yourself.

For example, a friend calls while you are at work. Easy and correct: Hoi! Ik ben op mijn werk, dus ik kan nu niet bellen. Ik bel je vanavond. A longer answer with difficult words earns no extra points, only more chances to make mistakes.

ONA (Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt) is part of your exam if you integrate under the Wet inburgering 2013 or voluntarily. Under the Wet inburgering 2021 you don't do ONA: you do the MAP with your gemeente. Your letters from DUO and Mijn Inburgering show what applies to you.

ONA has two parts:

• The portfolio: 8 result cards (resultaatkaarten), all about one job you want, plus proof such as job adverts, a CV, a cover letter and application forms in Dutch. DUO checks your portfolio.
• Then a final interview (eindgesprek) of about 30 minutes about your cards, or a 64-hour ONA course at an approved inburgering school.

The 8 result cards

• Beroepenoriëntatie: which jobs suit you, and which one you choose.
• Realistisch beroepsbeeld: what the work really is: tasks, hours, conditions, and whether it fits your life.
• Je eigenschappen kennen: your qualities and skills, with examples.
• Beroepskansen: where you find vacancies and how many there are, with real job adverts.
• Beroepscompetenties: which training or diploma you need, what it costs, and your plan.
• Netwerk opbouwen: who can help you find work, and how you will meet more people.
• Werk vinden: how you look for work, with a CV, a cover letter and application forms in Dutch.
• Werkcultuur: how work is different in the Netherlands and in your country.

How to prepare

Choose a job you really want and can reach. Do the research yourself and talk to people who do the job. Write short, honest answers in your own words, and keep a list of where you found your information.

In the final interview the examiners ask about your cards: Why this job? What are your strengths? Where did you find vacancies? What is your next step? Practise each answer out loud in two or three sentences, with one real example. Small grammar mistakes are no problem: they want to see that you understand your own plan. If you don't understand a question, ask: Kunt u de vraag herhalen?

Common mistakes

• Cards about different jobs: all 8 cards must be about the same job.
• Missing proof: no job adverts, CV, cover letter or application forms.
• Copying answers and then not being able to explain them in the interview.
• Choosing a job without checking what it asks (diploma, language level, hours).

Choose Inburgering A2 as your goal and your learning path puts everything in the right order.

• The lessons from your first words to A2 (53 units, A0.1 to A2.19). Short units, each with a theme, a small set of new words and one main grammar point: from introducing yourself to talking about your health, your work and your plans.
• The exam, part by part. At the start of A2 you meet the exam itself in a free lesson, Hoe werkt het examen? From A2.4 onwards you train every part: reading practical texts, listening to conversations and announcements, writing forms and emails, and speaking about everyday situations.
• KNM, one theme at a time, from A2.4 onwards: housing, work and income, health care, education, government and DigiD, money and insurance, norms and values, history and geography, how the country is run, and your rights and duties.
• ONA, if you need it: what the portfolio asks and how to prepare the final interview.
• Exam practice to finish, after A2.19: a half-length, timed Lezen practice exam with a short check of all four language skills, and a full KNM practice exam of 40 questions in 45 minutes, so you know where you stand before you book.

• Small steps that add up. Every unit starts easy: you meet new words before you use them, and you build sentences with help before you write them alone.
• Exam-style practice. Reading and listening use the exam's question types and the instruction words you will see on the screen; for writing and speaking you study model answers and do tasks your teacher marks.
• Practice that comes back. Words and grammar from earlier units keep coming back in your practice, so they stick.
• Exam practice that points the way. It shows where you stand and which skills to practise before you book.
• Start for free. The whole A0 level (15 units), the exam overview lesson and the first KNM lesson are free.

Pick Inburgering A2 as your goal and start your first lesson today.