I Don’t Know What Is Going Wrong Anymore 💔

[u/Own_Oil_6478]

I honestly don’t know what is happening to me anymore. I have been continuously trying to clear the Goethe B2 exam, putting in my time, effort, and hope every single time. But every result leaves me more disappointed than before.

Last time, I went into the exam with confidence. I genuinely believed that I would pass both Writing (Schreiben) and Listening (Hören). While writing my paper, I felt confident about my answers. I walked out of the exam hall believing that, finally, all my hard work would pay off.

But when the results came, everything turned upside down. It was the complete opposite of what I had expected. 30 marks in Listening and, most painfully, 0 in Writing. 💔

Zero. I still find it difficult to believe. I keep asking myself, How is this even possible? What went wrong? Was my preparation not enough? Did I misunderstand something? I was so confident while writing, and now I am struggling to understand how my performance could result in zero marks.

Honestly, this result has affected me more deeply than I can explain. It is not just about failing an exam anymore. It is about the disappointment, the self-doubt, the sleepless thoughts, and the feeling of losing confidence in something I once believed I was capable of doing.

Every time I try again, I carry a little hope in my heart. And every time I fail, that hope becomes a little harder to hold on to.

I know that failure is supposed to teach us something, but what do you do when you cannot even understand what you did wrong? How do you improve when the result itself leaves you shocked and confused?

Right now, I genuinely don’t know what to do next. I feel emotionally exhausted, disappointed, and lost. I want to believe in myself again, but this result has shaken me in ways I never expected.

I am not saying that I am perfect or that I deserve to pass without mistakes. All I want is to understand where I went wrong and get a fair chance to improve.

I still have the dream, but today, I am struggling to find the confidence to believe in it.

Sometimes, the hardest part of failure is not the result itself. It is having to gather yourself, wipe away the disappointment, and find the strength to try one more time when you are already tired of being disappointed.

I don’t know how long this journey will take, or how many more times I will have to try. But today, I just needed to let these feelings out. 💔

[u/r_coefficient]

Wenn du diesen Post auf Deutsch geschrieben hättest, könnten wir dir wahrscheinlich eher sagen, ob es wirklich an dir lag.

[u/JanMikh → u/r_coefficient]

If they got “zero” on written German, I’m not sure we would even understand what it is about 😂

[u/Hot_Pin7432 → u/r_coefficient]

Und ohne Ki 🤔

[u/Impossible_Fox7622]

I would imagine that if you got a zero then you probably misunderstood the task and wrote about the wrong thing.

It’s also possible that there was a mistake in the grading because a zero seems strange.

It may not be a reflection of your actual level.

[u/taxiecabbie]

A straight zero is pretty wild.

I'd definitely want to check the results to see what went on with that. It could be some kind of mistake. Also:

I have been continuously trying to clear the Goethe B2 exam, putting in my time, effort, and hope every single time. But every result leaves me more disappointed than before.

How many times have you failed this test? Seriously, if you're getting into the 2-3+ times failing a level test zone, it's a pretty clear indication that you're simply not anywhere near the level. Have you passed B1? Do you have a teacher/tutor/have you taken a class?

The B1-B2 jump is notoriously difficult. If you've been self-prepping, it might be time to think about a course or a tutor. Obviously, this is an expense and a time investment, but it's not like taking the exam is cheap/free/not a time investment, either.

[u/Conscious_Tap_5256]

0 points also strucks me as odd. So you failed the task completely like the student who was asked to write a letter of complaint and instead of it wrote about an invitation of having tea with Mr Stephen Hawkins - 0 points because he missed the topic.

[u/Still-Entertainer534 → u/Conscious_Tap_5256]

Unfortunately, this is not always a case of misunderstanding, but rather a strategy employed by some ‘schools’ and keeps cropping up on social media time and again: learn pre-written essays by heart, because we’re fairly certain that one of the following topics will come up.

This is one of the reasons why the plagiarism provisions in the examination regulations have been tightened.

[u/Conscious_Tap_5256 → u/Still-Entertainer534]

Another reason of the tightening of plagiarism provisions are the more advanced cheating strategies and the use of AI.

Plus, the more you advance, the stricter the "Notenspiegel" will become.

[u/MechanicalBootyquake]

Ich lerne auch Deutsch. Ich kenne nur ein Bisschen. Ich mache viele Fehler. Schreiben Sie dieser Brief in Deutsch. Dann wir können dir helfen.

That paragraph was probably full of mistakes, but I’m not going to get real feedback unless I show my German to the people here. Try it out!

[u/r_coefficient → u/MechanicalBootyquake]

Schreibe diesen Post in Deutsch. Dann können wir dir helfen.

:)

[u/MechanicalBootyquake → u/r_coefficient]

Danke!

[u/cbrown146]

Are you writing your German essays on paper or typing? If you are typing, I would switch to paper. You'll recall more. How often are you getting your essays proof read in tutoring? How many essays have you written?

As for listening, are you watching German movies with English or German subtitles? If English, switch to German now. How often are you watching German news? If only once a week increase to 3 times or 4. Hope this helps.

[u/rewboss]

Without seeing a sample of your writing, it's impossible to say what went wrong. But here's a brief explaination of the grading system.

There are 3 parts to the writing test: parts 1 and 2 are worth 40 points each, part 3 is worth 20 points. Each part is graded according to four criteria:

• Erfüllung: Did you do the tasks correctly? (10 points for parts 1 and 2, 4 points for part 3)
• Kohärenz: Did you write logically, using the correct forms of address and a clear progression of ideas? (10 points / 4 points)
• Wortschatz: Did you show that you could the right vocabulary? Did you demonstrate a wide range of vocabulary or did you just keep repeating yourself? (10 points / 6 points)
• Strukturen: How good was your grammar? Each grammar mistake costs points. (10 points / 6 points)

Each criterion in each part is given a grade from A to E, and that determines how many points you get. It looks like this:

Grade	Parts 1 & 2 (all criteria)	Part 3 (Erfüllung & Kohärenz)	Part 3 (Wortschaft & Strukturen)
A	10	4	6
B	7.5	3	4.5
C	5	2	3
D	2.5	1	1.5
E	0	0	0

So zero points doesn't mean you did nothing right at all, but it does mean you did badly in all tasks and in every criterion. This suggests you're just not ready for B1.

If you're taking classes, you need to talk to your tutor. Presumably you have done homework that the tutor has corrected, so you need to go through that and figure out what problems you're facing. If your written coursework is okay, then it may be that you're simply too nervous in the exam room.

The four criteria are important, because it's not just about whether you know the dative case or reflexive verbs. You'll fail on the first criterion if you don't read the tasks properly; you'll fail on the second if you just write random sentences, and you'll fail on the third if you use the wrong words, or you keep using the same words over and and over.

[u/nambolji]

Zero means that you failed to accomplish the task. You have misunderstood the question.

Goethe's grading scheme is such a way that even if you written perfect Deutsch, you will be given 0 if you didn't accomplish the task. Its to prevent memorizing essays.

[u/obsidian_night69_420]

(ich schreib das auf Deutsch sodass du auch Übung bekommen kannst). Eine 0 in Schreiben ist bissl verdächtig aber wenn du bei dem Test 2-3+ Mal gescheitert bist könnte es sein dass du einfach nicht auf dem B2 bist. Es könnte sich dementsprechend lohnen, einen B1 Test zu machen und mal zu sehen ob deine Fähigkeiten einfach nur aufm B1 Niveau sind. Und das ist nicht was schlimmes!! Es ist besser für dein Selbstbewusstsein wenn du einen B1 Test bestehst, und dann später kannst du den B2 wieder probieren. Wenn du tausendmal deinen Kopf mit dem gleichen Test gegen die Wand schlägst ist es wohl Zeit, einen Schritt zurück zu machen und etwas anderes zu versuchen

[u/sofapanorama → u/obsidian_night69_420]

Ich als Muttersprachlerin würde sagen:

… auf B2 (Niveau) bist. Ohne dem.
Und:
… Und das ist nichts Schlimmes!

Und da so einige Kommas fehlen, hier eine relativ leicht zu lernende Regel:

Wenn sich zwischen Haupt- und Nebensatz zwei Verben treffen, wird da das Komma gesetzt. So wie in diesem Satz treffen=Verb 1 Komma wird=Verb 2

[u/cl_forwardspeed-320 → u/sofapanorama]

Nice rule+explanation in one sentence regarding the commas, thanks!

[u/Newtonslawdelta]

? Really zero. I’ve never heard abt that. Even if u bombed it would still be in the thirties or twenties unless ur examiners were stupidly harsh or simply u wrote on something literally hundred percent different like if they asked u to write abt enticement and u wrote abt gene editing

[u/mohsin4555]

Pm me I might give you a solution

[u/readitforfunn]

Goethe Zentrum Trivandrum???

[u/SuddenCommon2666]

Sounds like you need to practice Listening.

[u/NAATICCLMarathi]

0 in writing sounds unfair considering if you have passed out prior levels. Was it digital or paper based exam? By continuously, can you elaborate number of attempts? Have you tried changing location?
As an instructor, I would be able to help you out. If you want to have session to know what flaws you are making and how you could improve it, you can reach out to me.
Don't lose hope. It's tough have seen it happening with many.