Lezen (Basisexamen)
The reading part of the Basisexamen, sat at an embassy: short texts read on a screen, with the questions read aloud to you.
Contents
1.What it is
This part is not testing whether you can read a paragraph. It tests whether you can find one everyday fact in a very short text — a time, a place, a price, a name — under time pressure and in an unfamiliar room. Almost all of our 450 A1 reading items are that single shape. The difficulty is not the Dutch; it is that the wrong answers are also words from the text.
2.Picture it
3.How the exam tests this
The Basisexamen is taken at a Dutch embassy or consulate, on a computer, in one visit with the other two parts. Each of the three parts is graded 1–10 and you need a 6 or higher on each — a strong Spreken does not carry a weak Lezen. The texts are everyday and very short. Because the questions are spoken to you as well as shown, missing a word is recoverable; missing the one word the question turns on is not.
4.The rule
- Hoe laat …?
- Look for the digits. If the text shows two times, one of them belongs to a different day.
- Waar …?
- A place name or a room. Often two are named and only one is the answer.
- Wie …?
- A person or a role: de dokter, de leraar, uw buurman. The text names more than one.
- Wat kost …?
- A price. Check which group it applies to before you take it.
- niet / geen
- One small word that reverses the answer. Listen for it when the question is read.
5.Examples
De dokter werkt op maandag, dinsdag en donderdag.
Asked whether the doctor works on Wednesday, the answer is no — and Wednesday is not in the text at all. A day that is absent is an answer, not a gap.
De winkel is open tot 18.00 uur. Op zondag is de winkel gesloten.
Op zondag tot 18.00 uur.
18.00 is printed and Sunday is printed. A question about Sunday is answered by the second sentence, and 18.00 will be offered as an option.
U mag hier niet parkeren.
Hier mag u parkeren.
Everything in the sentence says parking except one word. Miss niet and you choose the exact opposite with confidence.
6.Watch out
- Choosing an option because the words are in the text. In this part every wrong option is words from the text — that is how they are made.
- Answering from the photo or from what usually happens, instead of from the text. The text decides, even when it is unusual.
- Rushing because the question was read aloud and felt easy. The reading is a help with the words, not with the choice.
7.In the exam room
Listen for the one word that cannot be swapped — the day, the person, the amount — then find that word in the text and read only its line. If you cannot find it, the answer is usually that the text does not say it, which is itself an option.
Eén woord zoeken. Eén regel lezen.