The inburgering speaking exam: what DUO says, and how to practise speaking
Updated 2026-10-18
The Speaking exam at A2 is taken on a computer: you watch short films and answer questions, for 35 minutes. Which level you need depends on the law that applies to you, and under the 2021 act it is often B1. Convola does not prepare you for the exam or test you on it; its scenes let you practise speaking about the same everyday matters.
Which speaking exam applies to you
According to inburgeren.nl, the exams you take depend on whether the 2013 act (Wet inburgering 2013) or the 2021 act (Wet inburgering 2021) applies to you. Mijn Inburgering shows which one, and from what date.
| Act and track | Speaking level | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 act, obligation from 2013 up to 1 January 2022 | A2 or higher | DUO, Wi2013 |
| 2021 act, B1 track | B1 or B2 (the Nt2 state exam) | DUO, Wi2021 |
| 2021 act, B1 track, after at least 600 hours of lessons | A2, if B1 does not work out and the municipality agrees | inburgeren.nl |
| 2021 act, education track | B1 or B2 | DUO, Wi2021 |
| 2021 act, self-reliance track | No exam required; A2 may be taken | inburgeren.nl |
Under the 2021 act the municipality makes a personal plan with you, the PIP, which names your track and your exams. For naturalisation, inburgeren.nl names the integration exam at A2, or the Nt2 state exam at B1 or B2.
Who has to integrate? The official page puts it simply: if you are new to the Netherlands, usually you do. DUO sends a letter once you have a BSN, a residence permit and a registration with the municipality, and you then have three years.
What the A2 speaking exam looks like
From inburgeren.nl's page on the language exams:
- Speaking at A2 is taken on a computer.
- You need to speak and understand Dutch: you watch short films and answer questions.
- It lasts 35 minutes.
- Speaking at B1 and B2 is part of the Nt2 state exam and lasts about 30 minutes. Its content is described on staatsexamensnt2.nl.
A2 results normally come by letter within 8 weeks. DUO posts longer marking times in its news, so check there before you plan around a date.
How DUO marks a spoken answer at A2
DUO publishes its marking model for Speaking A2 (the version dated 10 August 2026). Each answer is judged on six points:
| Aspect | Points | What it looks at |
|---|---|---|
| Fit and clarity | 0 to 3 | Is it an understandable, fitting answer to the question? |
| Word use | 0 to 2 | Your own words, used correctly, not only words from the task |
| Grammar | 0 to 2 | How many grammar mistakes |
| Fluency | 0 to 2 | Long pauses and restarts |
| Coherence | 0 to 1 | Linking with simple words like en, maar, want and omdat |
| Pronunciation | 0 to 2 | Easy to follow, even with an accent |
One rule stands out: an answer that scores 0 on fit and clarity scores 0 on everything. Answering the question you were asked matters more than a perfect sentence about something else.
Start with the official practice exams
DUO has three practice exams for Speaking A2, linked from the practice page on inburgeren.nl. They do not work in Safari, and a desktop computer is the preferred device. For B1 there are separate practice assignments for Speaking. The same page points to netinnederland.nl, with films on topics that also come up in the exam.
Do those first. They show the exam's own format.
Everyday topics, practised as conversation
The official pages do not list the exam's topics. They do link a description of the levels: at A2 you can handle simple, routine exchanges on familiar topics, and describe your family, where you live, your education and your work. Shopping, your local area and work are named too.
Convola's Dutch scenes sit in that same daily life. These are from the app, at the level shown:
| Everyday matter | Scene in the app | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Health | Explaining a complaint at the huisarts | A2 |
| Health | The apotheek with a cold | A2 |
| Home | The landlord asking about a leaking tap | A2 |
| Neighbours | Small talk in the portiek | A2 |
| Travel | A cancelled train and a fellow traveller | A2 |
| Shopping | Cheese at the kaasboer on the market | A1 |
| Work | A new colleague at the coffee machine | A1 |
| The municipality | Registering at the gemeente for a BSN | B1 |
| School | A ten-minute talk with your child's teacher | B1 |
A huisarts scene could open like this (an example written for this page):
- Huisarts
- Goedemorgen. Wat kan ik voor u doen?Good morning. What can I do for you?
- You
- Ik heb al drie dagen hoofdpijn, want ik slaap slecht.I've had a headache for three days, because I'm sleeping badly.
- Huisarts
- Drie dagen. En neemt u er iets voor?Three days. And are you taking anything for it?
The difference from the exam is that the doctor answers back. You have to understand the next question and react, the way you will at a real appointment.
What Convola is not
- It is not an exam trainer. It does not use the exam's films, tasks or marking, and it gives no score or prediction.
- Its tutor's notes are not DUO's marks. The tutor is AI and can be wrong.
- In voice mode the tutor reads a transcript, so it says nothing about pronunciation, which the exam does mark.
What it does give you is time speaking Dutch about ordinary life, at your level, with people who answer, and a list of the mistakes you repeat. That is practice in speaking. For how the tutor's notes work, see the AI Dutch tutor.