How do I get ready for the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma II listening test?
The Staatsexamen NT2 Programma II listening test (Luisteren) tests Dutch at the B2 level. It has about 40 questions, and you pick an answer for each one. Every part plays only one time.
The best free way to get ready is to listen to a lot of real Dutch at the B2 level. Here, there is a free pack of 98 B2 videos, at almost the same speed as the test.
Advice from a great teacher
Dutch teacher and speaking coach since 2013 · Started the Dutch Speaking Academy
Mariska van der Meij has taught Dutch since 2013. She started the Dutch Speaking Academy near Amsterdam. She helps people who understand a lot of Dutch but still change to English when it is their turn to talk. This is her way to practice listening.
From a Dutch teacher
How do I prepare for the NT2 Programma II listening test?
Programma II is just like Programma I. Luisteren is 90 minutes long. It has about 40 questions on 5 or more listening texts, with 3 or 4 answers for each. Only one answer is right. You get about 25 seconds to read each question first. 1 to 3 parts are short videos. Everything plays only one time. The only difference is the Dutch. At B2, people talk about ideas, and they are less direct.
First, find out if you are really at B2, not B1. Take a free official practice exam for Programma II before you sign up. It costs nothing. It shows your real level better than how ready you feel.
Follow the idea, not the words
At B2, the question is almost never about one word. It asks what this person thinks, and why. This person gives an idea: this is wrong, and this is what should happen. Follow that, and you can miss a few words and still answer.
So when you practice, stop the video after a minute. Say out loud what the person thinks and wants. If you cannot say it, listening again for single words will not help.
Learn the words that change a sentence
B2 people change direction a lot. Small words show this change. Learn to hear these words: maar ("but"), toch ("still"), hoewel ("although"), daarentegen ("on the other hand"), sterker nog ("in fact, even more so") and kortom ("in short"). These words tell you a change is coming, or that the short version is next.
This matters because a wrong answer is often something the person did say. But then they said something different right after.
Listen for the soft way of saying no
Dutch people often do not say 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, these small words show what a person really thinks. When somebody says op zich is het een goed plan, maar..., they do not think it is a good plan.
So listen to how somebody says it, not only the words. The exam can also ask how somebody feels about what they describe.
Practice with one long video, not five short ones
The parts in Programma II are longer and have more information, so train for that. Take one interview or one news video that is a few minutes long. Work through it in pieces of about 30 seconds. First, listen without reading. Say what you understood. Listen again. Only then read the subtitles.
Do this for 30 minutes at most, then stop and rest. Listening hard is tiring. Your attention is what you are training.
You hear it once, so know what to listen for
There is no second listen. So use your 25 seconds well. Read the question and the answers first. Then decide what you need: an opinion, a reason, a number, or the difference between two people. Listen for that one thing. Do not worry about the rest.
If you miss one, let it go. Get ready for the next part. If you keep thinking about it, you can lose the next questions too.
Two things help you pass this exam. First, an ear used to Dutch at normal speed. You build this by watching real Dutch most days. Second, ask yourself what is this person really saying. You build this by doing full practice exams. Veel succes!
Why this level
Why do people take NT2 Programma II?
People often need Dutch at the B2 level for:
Studying at a hogeschool (hbo) or a university that needs B2 Dutch
Working at hbo level or higher, and BIG registration for nurses trained at hbo level
Dutch citizenship (naturalisation), where a B1 or B2 NT2 diploma counts
Do you want to study at an mbo school, or work at mbo-3 or mbo-4 level? That needs 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 people at level B2. They talk at a speed close to the test, about 197 words a minute. The people in the videos speak Dutch from the Netherlands. That is the kind of Dutch in the test, not Flemish. Most words are inside the top 97% most common Dutch words people speak. So they use the same kind of language as the test. Together they give you about 4 hours 2 minutes of listening practice for the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma II. They are all free to watch below.
Play all the videos 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 is the B2 listening test like?
The listening test (Luisteren) takes 90 minutes. You use a computer and headphones. There are about 40 questions about five or more recordings. Programma I and II work the same way. Only the level of Dutch is different. Here is what you hear:
Sound parts
Short real parts about work, study, and daily life. You hear talks, people telling you what to do, reports, and conversations.
Once
Video parts
One to three parts are short videos (filmpjes). Each video has one question. The rest is only sound.
Once
You get about 25 seconds to read the question and the 3 answers. Then the part starts by itself. You hear it one time. You can't hear it again.
The parts are real. You hear different voices, small mistakes, repeats, and sometimes noise in the background. A person can talk with an accent, but never a dialect.
You can't use a dictionary during Luisteren. Every question has only one right answer.
Level and words
What level and how many words do I need?
Listening needs fewer words than reading. Studies show that about 3,000 common words make up about 95% of normal speech. The first 1,000 words cover most of what people say.
At B2, missing words are usually not the problem. The speed is the problem, and hearing it only once. Video helps: the pictures show you what a part is about while you listen.
Watch videos with pictures that help you understand, 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
Ways people practice
There is no single right way. People use many of these together. The free pack above can help with any of them.
A class or a teacher
Dutch news, like the NOS Journaal, Nieuwsuur or EenVandaag
Talks and shows about real subjects, not about learning Dutch
Watching real Dutch videos at your level
Start watching now, no email needed
See all B2 Dutch videos, sorted by level
Good to know
Questions people ask
How was this NT2 Programma II pack chosen?
We did the searching for you. We check thousands of Dutch videos and look at each one: its level, how fast people speak in it, and how common its words are. In this pack, the videos are at level B2 in standard Dutch. They talk close to the speed of the test (about 197 words a minute). About 97% of the words are common words in spoken Dutch. We read all the text by hand to keep the same things the test talks about. We put the clearest videos with the most pictures first. About 3,000 common words already cover about 95% of what people speak (Nation 2006), so this kind of video matches the test well.
Which videos are best to practice listening for NT2 Programma II?
Use real Dutch from the Netherlands. People talk at normal speed. They explain something, or say what they think. Pick the work, study and daily life subjects in the test, like history and culture, society and the news, work, family, health and media. You do not need hard words. About 3,000 common words cover most of what people speak (Nation 2006), so this kind of video matches the test well. Try news, an interview, and a video that explains something. The test uses short real parts like these. That is how we made the free pack of 98 videos above.
Does the NT2 listening test play one time or two times?
One time. Each part plays one time and starts on its own. You cannot hear it again. You get about 25 seconds to read the question and the answers first. Some other tests, like Goethe and DELF, play some parts two times. So people often think they will get a second chance here too. But you don't. This is why it helps to practice listening without stopping or going back.
Do I need to pass Programma I before I take Programma II?
No. They are two different tests. You can take Programma II right away. Pick by your goal, not by order. Programma I is level B1. It fits an mbo study program and mbo-3 or mbo-4 level jobs. Programma II is level B2. It fits hbo or university study and jobs at that level. If your goal needs B2, you do not need to take Programma I first.
Is NT2 Programma II enough for work in Dutch health care?
This is different for each job. Nurses who studied at hbo level need Dutch at B2 to become a nurse. NT2 Programma II is the common way to show this. Nurses who studied at mbo level need level B1. That is Programma I. Doctors need more: B2 and medical Dutch, often called B2+. So Programma II by itself is not enough for doctors.
Does NT2 Programma II help you become Dutch?
Yes. To become Dutch, you need the inburgeringsexamen at level A2. Or you need the staatsexamen NT2 at level B1 or B2. A Programma II paper is good enough. It shows a much higher level of Dutch than you need. This also helps with study and work later.
How much does the Staatsexamen NT2 cost?
Each part costs €50. A full program has 4 parts (Lezen, Luisteren, Schrijven, Spreken). So it costs €200. This is the same for Programma I and II. You can take each part again on its own. So if one part goes wrong, you only pay for that part again.
Can I prepare for free?
Yes. The best free practice that is most like the real test is the official NT2 practice place (oefenomgeving). It has example tests for all 4 parts of both programs. It works best on a computer, not on a phone. After that, the best free thing to 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.