How do I prepare for the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma II listening exam?
The Staatsexamen NT2 Programma II listening exam (Luisteren) tests Dutch at the B2 level, with about 40 multiple-choice questions about real recordings. Every fragment plays only once.
The best free way to get ready is to listen to a lot of real Dutch at the B2 level. There is a free pack of 98 B2 videos below, at a speaking speed close to the test.
Advice from an expert teacher
Dutch teacher and speaking coach since 2013 · Founder of the Dutch Speaking Academy
Mariska van der Meij has taught Dutch since 2013 and founded the Dutch Speaking Academy near Amsterdam. She works with internationals who understand a lot of Dutch but still switch to English when it is their turn to speak. The listening method on this page is hers.
From a Dutch teacher
How should I prepare for the NT2 Programma II listening test?
Programma II has exactly the same shape as Programma I. Luisteren takes 90 minutes and asks about 40 questions on 5 or more listening texts, with 3 or 4 answers each and one right one. You get about 25 seconds to read a question first, 1 to 3 of the fragments are short video clips, and everything plays only once. What changes is the Dutch. At B2 the speakers argue a point, and they say things a lot less directly.
So the first thing to find out is whether you are really at B2, and not at a comfortable B1. Do a free official practice exam for Programma II before you sign up. It costs you nothing, and it is a much better test than how ready you feel.
Follow the argument, not the words
At B2 the question is rarely which word did you hear. It is what does this person think, and why. A speaker builds a case: here is what is wrong, and here is what should happen. If you follow that shape, you can miss a few words and still answer the question.
So when you practise, stop the video after a minute and say out loud what the speaker is arguing and what they want. If you cannot say it, listening again for single words will not save you.
Learn the words that turn a sentence around
B2 speakers change direction a lot, and small words do the steering. Train your ear on maar ("but"), toch ("still"), hoewel ("although"), daarentegen ("on the other hand"), sterker nog ("in fact, even more so") and kortom ("in short"). They warn you that a contrast is coming, or that the summary you need is next.
This matters because a wrong answer is often something the speaker really did say, just before they turned around and said the opposite.
Listen for the way we soften an opinion
Dutch people often avoid saying no straight out. Instead we say nou ja ("well, yeah"), op zich ("in itself"), in principe ("in principle") or eigenlijk ("actually"). On a B2 recording those little words carry the opinion. When somebody says op zich is het een goed plan, maar..., they do not think it is a good plan.
So listen to the tone as much as the words. How somebody feels about what they are describing is a thing the exam can ask you about.
Practise with one long piece, not five short ones
The fragments in Programma II run longer and hold more information, so train for that. Take one interview or one news item of a few minutes and work through it in pieces of about 30 seconds. Listen without the text and say what you understood, listen again, and only then read the transcript or the subtitles.
Do this for 30 minutes at most, then stop and give yourself a break. Listening this closely is tiring, and your attention is the thing you are training.
You hear it once, so decide what you are listening for
There is no second listen, and that changes how you use the 25 seconds before a fragment. Read the question and the answers, then decide what you are hunting for: an opinion, a reason, a number, or the difference between two people. Listen for that one thing and do not worry about the rest.
And if you miss one, let it go and get ready for the next fragment. Chasing an answer that has already gone by is how people lose the questions after it as well.
Two things carry you through this exam. One is an ear that is used to Dutch at normal speed, which you build by watching real Dutch most days. The other is the habit of asking what is this person getting at, which you build by doing full practice exams. Veel succes!
Why this level
Why do people take NT2 Programma II?
People commonly need Dutch at the B2 level for:
Studying at a hogeschool (hbo) or a university, which asks for B2 Dutch
Working at hbo or academic level, including BIG registration for nurses trained at hbo level
Dutch citizenship (naturalisation), where an NT2 diploma at B1 or B2 counts
Is your goal an mbo study programme, or work at mbo-3 or mbo-4 level? That asks for B1, so start with the NT2 Programma I listening page.
Free · 98 videos · 4 hours 2 minutes
Your free NT2 Programma II listening pack
Here are 98 short videos by real native speakers at the B2 level, at a speaking speed close to the exam (around 197 words a minute). The speakers use Netherlands Dutch, the variety you hear in the exam, not Flemish. Most of the words are inside the 97% most common spoken Dutch words, so they match the kind of language the test uses. Together they are about 4 hours 2 minutes of listening practice for the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma II. They are all free to watch below.
Play the whole pack in the app
Wereldwijventour: vrouwen die Den Haag hebben veranderd
Escape room dicht, een online spel ontstaat
Tien dagen geen gevechten in Libanon uitgelegd
Hoe Nederlandse tv de Surinaamse onafhankelijkheid in beeld bracht
Wat het landelijk oliecrisisplan voor jou betekent
Hoe normaal is het traditionele gezin eigenlijk?
Joyce’s verhaal over een infectie met vleesetende bacterie
Mars tegen armoede en de gevolgen voor uitkeringsgerechtigden
Stadslandbouw NoordOogst in de knel door sportvelden
Mening van Jordaanbewoners over Koningsdag en drukte
Diversere verhalen in het Amsterdamse stadsarchief
Hoe de oorlog in Iran de wereld beïnvloedt
Generatiekloof en schoolherinneringen met frikandelbroodje
Wie is de Mol en de toerismeboost voor Georgië
Waarom studentenverenigingen een ontgroening hebben
Uitleg: wat is autisme en hoe uit het zich?
Minister verdedigt duur bezoek aan marineschip Evertsen
Koloniale troepen in de Tweede Wereldoorlog en daarna
Rob Jetten over oorlog, veiligheid en zijn nieuwe rol
Hoe werkt de gesmolten zout kerncentrale in Borssele?
Studie Nederlands: meer dan alleen literatuur
Opleiding van blindegeleidehonden in Amsterdamse verkeerstuin
Studie Nederlands, moderne letterkunde en mijn scriptie over liefde
Waarom Nederlanders klimaatverandering nauwelijks als probleem zien
Robbert Rodenburg over eetstoornissen, taboes en herstel
Hantavirus op cruiseschip: hoe groot is het risico?
Waarom boodschappen in Nederland zo duur zijn
Waarom krijg je spierkramp tijdens het sporten?
Hoe Cruijff denkt en spreekt volgens de taalkunde
Rob Jetten over social media en bescherming van kinderen
Iraniërs vieren benoeming van nieuwe opperste leider
Vrouwenmars in Amsterdam voor Internationale Vrouwendag
Dakloze moeders met kinderen in Amsterdam-Zuidoost
Joyce overleeft treinongeluk en deelt haar levensles
Hoe Volendam zo populair werd bij schilders
300 jaar Staatsloterij: geschiedenis van trekkingen en loten
Leven van kookvideo’s en omgaan met online bekendheid
Leven van kookvideo’s op instagram: vrijheid en nadelen
Studentenleven op Uilenstede in Amsterdam in 1973
Identiteit en tradities van Volendam als vissersdorp
De zoektocht naar een nieuwe Hongaarse president
Wie is de nieuwe leider van Iran?
Van Weel reageert op politiegeweld tegen zwangere vrouw
Straatinterview over persvrijheid en kritiek op de media
Middeleeuws kinderfeest in de kerk op 28 december
Onderzoek naar tropisch bos en klimaatverandering uitgelegd
Nederlandse steun voor gewonde dierenarts en dieren in Gaza
Een gezin vormen met drie ouders en een nieuwe taal
Veranderende wijk in Rotterdam en spanningen tussen bewoners
Dierenvervoer naar het slachthuis tijdens extreme hitte
Waarom we verschillende soorten tranen hebben
Texelse tradities: meierblis en oude Sunderklaas uitgelegd
Feyenoord populairst, Ajax verliest fans aan concurrenten
Daten, armoede en de wens voor kinderen
Wat er gebeurt als we het oneens zijn
Reisleiders Ger en Evelyne over hun bijzondere groepsreis
Cacaoboeren verdienen te weinig van de opbrengst
Dierenzwangerschap: bizarre voortplanting bij konijnen en kangoeroes
Rouw, kleinkinderen en samen verder na verlies
Homoseksualiteit en voortplanting in het dierenrijk uitgelegd
Boek over Scheveningen in de oorlogsjaren
De heksenhamer en de kracht van desinformatie
Leven van je nieuwsbrief: geld verdienen met Substack
Achteruit zwemmen voor gehandicapte kinderen tijdens carnaval
Waarom we Sinterklaas op 5 december vieren
Huwelijksfeest: 65 jaar getrouwd in Bergen op Zoom
Leven met afasie en de strijd om woorden
Dutch Design Week en de BeMoved koffiemachine
Geen kinderen, maar wel ruimte om liefde te geven
Openhartig over leven na depressie en antidepressiva
Wat maakt een kinderboek echt goed voor kinderen?
De vasthoudende interviewstijl van Willibrord Frequin uitgelegd
Ranomi Kromowidjojo over ambitie en meedogenloze topsport
Koopmeiners over petitie tegen WK in Amerika
Omgaan met de kankerdiagnose van mijn moeder
Maagdelijke voortplanting bij slangen en eenzame cobra Ayla
Marijn Kuipers over haar jarenlange strijd met boulimia
Leven in eenzaamheid op een eilandje in de polder
Ome Cor over verlies, vrijheid en genieten van de natuur
Herinneringen aan Moordspel en drie minuten gratis winkelen
Twentse geboortetradities in Rotterdam
Uitvindingen bekijken op de Brusselse uitvindersbeurs
Sinterklaasintocht in Amsterdam en speelgoeddroom in de RAI
Geheim liefdesverhaal na Boer Zoekt Vrouw-finale
Praten met je kind over de eerste menstruatie
Een legendarisch panna-moment met de Nederlandse koning
Cryptische kledingstukken raden in een quizronde
De tranen van mijn vader en dit stukje land
Leo Alkemade over film over zijn overleden vader
Florentijn Hofman stelt zich voor als kandidaat mol
Dingen die ik anders zou doen in mijn keuken
Designer vondsten en naaiprojecten in de kringloopwinkel
Beautyblogger Mascha bij RTL Boulevard over haar succes
Overlijden van George Kooijmans en zijn muzikale erfenis
Over kinderen, tijd en de wens om oma te worden
Verjaardagsstress en traktaties in de kleuterklas
Herinnering aan Bataclan tijdens voorbereidingen op een feestshow
Exitgesprek met afvaller van Wie is de Mol
The test
What does the B2 listening test look like?
The listening exam (Luisteren) takes 90 minutes on a computer, with headphones. There are about 40 multiple-choice questions about five or more recordings. The format is the same for Programma I and II; what changes is the level of the Dutch. Here is what you hear:
Audio fragments
Short real recordings about situations at work, during a study programme and in daily life: conversations, instructions, reports and talks.
Once
Video fragments
One to three of the fragments are short videos (filmpjes), each with one question. The rest is audio only.
Once
You get about 25 seconds to read each question and the three answer choices. Then the fragment starts by itself, and you hear it once. There is no replay.
The recordings are real, so you hear different voices, slips of the tongue, repetitions and sometimes background noise. A speaker can have an accent, but never a dialect.
You may not use a dictionary during Luisteren, and every question has exactly one right answer.
Level and words
What level and how many words do I need?
Listening needs far fewer words than reading. Research shows that about 3,000 common words cover roughly 95% of normal speech, and the first 1,000 words cover most of what people say.
At B2 the missing words are rarely what stops you. The speed is, and so is the fact that you hear everything only once. Video helps, because the pictures show you what a fragment is about while your ear keeps up.
Watch videos with visual cues, on YouTube or here on Reelang.
Based on research
Nation (2006) About 3,000 common word families cover roughly 95% of everyday spoken English; reading needs far more.
Webb (2021) The most frequent 1,000 words alone cover most of what people say in speech.
Durbahn et al. (2024) Video is easier to understand at a given vocabulary size, because the pictures help you guess.
Ways to practice
Common ways people practice
There is no single right way. People use a mix of these, and the free pack above works as a companion to any of them.
A class or a teacher
Dutch news and current affairs, like the NOS Journaal, Nieuwsuur or EenVandaag
Talks and documentaries about real subjects, not about learning Dutch
Watching real Dutch videos at your level
Start watching now, no email needed
Explore every B2 Dutch video in the catalog
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
How was this NT2 Programma II pack chosen?
We did the searching for you. We check thousands of Dutch videos and measure each one: its level, how fast it is spoken in words a minute, and how many of its words are common. For this pack we kept videos at the B2 level in standard Dutch, at a speed close to the test (around 197 words a minute), where about 97% of the words are among the most common in spoken Dutch. Then we read the transcripts by hand to keep the everyday topics the test uses, and we put the clearest, most visual videos first. About 3,000 common words already cover roughly 95% of normal speech (Nation 2006), so this kind of content matches the test well.
What kind of videos should I practice with for NT2 Programma II listening?
Use real Dutch from the Netherlands, spoken at a normal native speed, where someone explains a subject or people give their opinions. Pick the work, study and daily-life topics the exam uses, like history and culture, society and current affairs, work, family, health and media. You do not need rare words. About 3,000 common words cover most of normal speech (Nation 2006), so content built from the most common spoken words matches the test well. A good mix is a news report, an interview and a clear explainer, because the exam uses short real fragments like these. That is exactly how the free pack of 98 videos above was put together.
Does the NT2 listening audio play once or twice?
Once. Every fragment plays one time and starts by itself; there is no replay button. You get about 25 seconds to read the question and the answer choices before it starts. Some other exams, like Goethe and DELF, play parts of their audio twice, so people often arrive expecting a second chance. Here there is none, which is why it helps to practise listening without pausing or going back.
Do I need to pass Programma I before taking Programma II?
No. They are separate exams, and you can take Programma II straight away. Pick by your goal, not by order: Programma I (B1) fits an mbo study programme and work at mbo-3 or mbo-4 level, and Programma II (B2) fits hbo or university study and work at that level. If your goal needs B2, Programma I is a detour, not a required first step.
Is NT2 Programma II enough to work in Dutch healthcare?
It depends on your profession. For nurses trained at hbo level, BIG registration asks for Dutch at B2, and NT2 Programma II is the common way to show it. For nurses trained at mbo level the level is B1, so that is Programma I. For doctors the bar is higher: B2 plus medical Dutch, usually called B2+, so Programma II alone is not enough for them.
Does NT2 Programma II count for Dutch citizenship?
Yes. For naturalisation you need the inburgeringsexamen at level A2, or the staatsexamen NT2 at level B1 or B2. A Programma II diploma counts, and it proves a much higher level of Dutch than the minimum, which also helps with study and work later.
How much does the Staatsexamen NT2 cost?
Each exam part costs €50, so a complete programme of four parts (Lezen, Luisteren, Schrijven, Spreken) costs €200. That is the same for Programma I and II. You can take and retake the parts separately, so if one part goes wrong you only pay for that part again.
Can I prepare for free?
Yes. The most exam-like free practice is the official NT2 practice environment (oefenomgeving), with sample exams for all four parts of both programmes. It works best on a computer, not on a phone. After that, the best free thing you can do is listen to a lot of real Dutch at your level. Start with the videos above, or watch more on YouTube or here on Reelang.