The inburgering A2 speaking exam: format, tasks and how to prepare

Last checked: 29 October 2026

The inburgering A2 speaking exam (Spreken A2) is a 35-minute exam on a computer. You watch short videos and look at pictures, then record your answers into a microphone. DUO's official practice exam has 16 questions in four parts, with a timer of up to one minute per answer. It costs €50, and results currently take up to 16 weeks.

Sources: inburgeren.nl: exam content, DUO exam rules, DUO practice exam Spreken 1, DUO news, 31 July 2026.

More Dutch is not affiliated with DUO. The real exam questions are secret. The example tasks below are written by us to show the type of question.

Who takes the A2 speaking exam

You take Spreken A2 if you integrate under the 2013 law, where all language exams are at A2. Under the 2021 law you take it if your municipality has scaled you down from B1 to A2, and people on the Z route may take it but do not have to. People who integrate voluntarily, often to naturalise, usually take the A2 exams too. Not sure? Mijn Inburgering lists your exams. On the B1 route your speaking exam is the Nt2 state exam instead, which works differently (see the Dutch B1 exam).

How the exam works on the day

You sit at a computer with a headset. Before the exam there are 15 minutes of instructions (exam rules). Then the questions come one by one. For each one you see the task on screen, sometimes with a video or pictures, and a recording timer runs while you speak. In the practice exam you can click back to earlier questions within a part.

You do not talk to a person. That feels strange at first. Most people find it easier once they have tried a practice exam at home.

The four parts, with example tasks

The official practice exam opens with this structure: questions with a video, questions with 1 picture, questions with 2 pictures and questions with 3 pictures. Each part has 4 questions.

Part 1: questions with a video

A man or woman in a short video asks you something, and you answer. The situations are everyday: a neighbour, a colleague, someone at a desk.

Our example: in the video, a neighbour says she is going away for a week and asks if you can water her plants. You answer: Ja, dat is goed. Wanneer gaat u weg? Moet ik elke dag water geven? (Yes, that's fine. When are you leaving? Do I need to water them every day?)

Part 2: questions with 1 picture

You see one picture and get a question about it. Often there are two things to do: say what is happening, and add something.

Our example: the picture shows a man at a bus stop in the rain. "Wat doet de man? Vertel ook wat hij straks gaat doen." A good answer: De man wacht op de bus. Het regent en hij heeft geen paraplu. Straks gaat hij naar zijn werk.

Part 3: questions with 2 pictures

You see two pictures and choose one. Then you say why. The "why" is the part people forget.

Our example: two pictures, a gym and a park. "U wilt meer sporten. Waar sport u liever? Vertel ook waarom." A good answer: Ik sport liever in het park, want het is gratis en ik ben graag buiten. Note want, which keeps normal word order.

Part 4: questions with 3 pictures

You see three pictures, often steps in a story or a set of things, and talk about all three.

Our example: three pictures of someone cooking: buying vegetables, cutting them, eating with family. "Vertel wat Sara doet. Vertel iets over alle plaatjes." A good answer uses order words: Eerst koopt Sara groente. Daarna snijdt ze de groente. Dan eet ze met haar familie.

How you are marked

Speaking is marked partly by computer and partly by certified examiners (exam rules). DUO does not publish a points table. In practice, what counts is that you do what the task asks. If the question has two parts, answer both. A short, clear answer in simple Dutch that covers the task beats a long answer that misses half of it.

How to prepare

• Do DUO's three official speaking practice exams. They are free on inburgeren.nl. They do not work in Safari, so use Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
• Use a fixed answer pattern. Answer the question, add a reason or detail, stop. Ik kies het park, want ik ben graag buiten. That fits easily in a minute.
• Learn order words and linking words. Eerst, daarna, dan, want, maar, omdat. They make part 4 much easier. The conjunctions cheat sheet lists them.
• Practise out loud. Record yourself on your phone with a one-minute timer and listen back. Silent study does not prepare you to speak.
• Build everyday words. Most questions are about home, work, school, health and shopping. Learn the 594 most common Dutch words for free, and say each one out loud in a sentence of your own.

If you are also preparing the other parts, how to pass the inburgering exam covers all of them, and the inburgering exam at A2 gives the full A2 picture.

Booking and results

You register for Spreken A2 in Mijn Inburgering, like the other A2 exams. It costs €50. You can change or cancel until 1 week before and get your money back (inburgeren.nl). Step by step: how to register for the inburgering exam.

Results normally come within 8 weeks. Since 31 July 2026, DUO needs up to 16 weeks to mark Speaking and Writing A2. If your deadline is close while you wait, DUO extends your integration period by 6 months automatically (DUO news). More in inburgering exam results.

The full overview of every exam is in the inburgering exam guide.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the A2 speaking exam?

35 minutes, with 15 minutes of instructions before it starts.

Do I speak to a person in the A2 speaking exam?

No. You speak into a microphone at a computer. Your answers are recorded and marked later.

How many questions are in the A2 speaking exam?

DUO's official practice exam has 16 questions in four parts: video questions, and questions with 1, 2 or 3 pictures. DUO does not state a number for the real exam.

How long should my answers be?

Long enough to do everything the question asks. Two or three simple sentences are often enough. The practice exam gives up to a minute per answer.

Is the A2 speaking exam hard?

It is the part many people worry about most, mainly because talking to a computer feels odd. Practise with DUO's practice exams and a timer, and answer every part of each question.

How long do A2 speaking results take?

Up to 16 weeks for now, because DUO has a backlog. Normally it is within 8 weeks.