Permanent residence is very important for many expats in the Czech Republic, and often a Czech language exam is required. But there’s no need to worry. You can prepare well for the permanent residence exam. In this article, you’ll learn what parts the exam consists of, where to find important and very useful materials, and how to work with them.
Two Types of Exams
In the Czech Republic, you can take either the Exam in the Czech Language for Permanent Residence or the Czech Language Certificate Exam CCE – A2. Both exams are official, and if you pass, you’ll receive a certificate required for applying for permanent residence. The exams are similar and are at the same level, but the tasks—especially in writing and speaking—are a bit different.
Exam for Permanent Residence
You can find all the important information about the permanent residence exam (also in English or Russian) on the official website: https://cestina-pro-cizince.cz/trvaly-pobyt/en/
In the PREPARATION FOR THE EXAM section, you’ll find two PDF publications – a model test and a study guide. I recommend reading both and completing all the activities. If you do, you’ll know what to expect in the exam and be well prepared. You can also try the model test online (PRACTICE TEST) directly on the website, where you’ll immediately see the correct answers and your score as a percentage.
The website also has an important section called INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS, where you can watch practical communication situations that may appear in the exam.
The permanent residence exam consists of four parts – reading, writing, listening, and speaking. You need to score at least 60% in total from the reading, writing, and listening sections. Speaking is assessed separately.
Do you want to read Czech texts, listen to Czech podcasts, and watch Czech videos, but don’t know where to find adaptations suitable for your Czech level?
The first activity in the exam is READING – it has 5 tasks, and you have 40 minutes to complete them. Then comes WRITING – there are two tasks, and you have only 25 minutes for them. One task is a form that you need to fill out, and in the second task, you have to write an excuse, an invitation, or a request based on the instructions. After that, there’s a 15-minute break, and then the LISTENING activity continues. Listening takes about 40 minutes. There are 5 tasks in total (5 audio recordings), and you hear each audio twice. You need to score at least 60% in total from these activities.
Afterwards, you wait for the SPEAKING test. Speaking lasts about 15 minutes and includes 4 tasks.
Speaking Tasks:
- The examiner will give you 10 questions, and you must answer each one in a complete and grammatically correct sentence.
- You will receive two formal communication situations and must be able to respond appropriately (for example, arranging a driver’s license or making a complaint in a store).
- You will get a card with three pieces of information about a person, and you have to speak alone for 1 minute about what that person did (using the past tense and including all three situations on the card).
- You will receive a card with three pictures and have an informal conversation with the examiner, where you need to talk about all three things on the card and finally agree on one specific thing (for example, what gift to buy for your mom).
Czech Language Certificate Exam (CCE) - A2
Information about the Certified Czech Language Exam for Foreigners can be found at:
https://ujop.cuni.cz/UJOPEN-70.html?ujopcmsid=12:czech-language-certificate-exam-cce
There, you’ll also find a model test along with its audio recordings, so you can try the test before the actual exam. You’ll also see what the exam tasks look like.
The first activity in the exam is READING – it has 4 tasks, and you must complete them within 40 minutes. The second activity is LISTENING, which also has 4 tasks (4 audio recordings), and you hear each audio twice.
Then comes the WRITING activity, where you have two tasks. The first is to write an informal email (for example, inviting a friend to a party). In the second task, you write a diary entry in the past tense (for example, writing about your weekend at the cottage).
Speaking Tasks:
The last activity is SPEAKING – it has two tasks.
- The first task is answering the examiner’s questions (for example, about your family, your job, hobbies, and so on).
- In the second task, you will receive two cards with information (for example, a museum flyer or an information board at the doctor’s office). You must answer the examiner’s questions based on the information on the cards, and then you also need to ask the examiner questions using the information on the cards.
For this exam, you need to score at least 60% in each part.
Before each exam, I also recommend thoroughly going through the textbook Česky krok za krokem 1 or Čeština expres 1–4. If you know the vocabulary and grammar from the textbook, understand the audio recordings, and can respond to the communication situations in the books, you’ll be well prepared for the exam.
It’s also important not to be extremely nervous during the exam—and that’s something you can practice. There are also good strategies for speaking and writing well in the exam. You can practice what’s good to say and what’s better to avoid saying or writing, so you can earn the highest possible score.
How I Can Help You Before the Exam
📝 First, we’ll try the official model test, and based on the results, we’ll focus on practicing the areas that are the most challenging for you.
🗣️ I’ll teach you important strategies for WRITING and SPEAKING.
✍️ In each lesson, we’ll practice sets of WRITING and SPEAKING activities based on the exam structure.
We’ll go through topics that typically appear in the exam, so you won’t be surprised on exam day.
☀️ We’ll practice developing a positive mindset and how to reduce nervousness as much as possible.
