The TestDaF-Institut is an institute for language testing in Bochum

Bochum

Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It runs the TestDaF, short for Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache: "Test of German as a foreign language", and is aimed at people who would like to study at German universities, academics and scientists.

The institute is part of the Society for Academic Study Preparation and Test Development, Gesellschaft für Akademische Studienvorbereitung und Testentwicklung e. V., based in Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

, which was founded in 2000 by various German-language institutions including DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service

German Academic Exchange Service

The German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation....

), the Goethe-Institut

Goethe-Institut

The Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural institution operational worldwide, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. The Goethe-Institut also fosters knowledge about Germany by providing information on German...

, the distance learning university in Hagen, and the Carl Duisberg

Carl Duisberg

Friedrich Carl Duisberg was a German chemist and industrialist.-Life:He was born in Barmen, Germany and from 1879 until 1882 he studied at the "Georg-August-Universität " and Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and received his doctorate .After military service in Munich, which he combined with...

 Centre in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

. The idea for the society came from the DAAD and the German Rectors' Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz, HRK).

The test can be taken in 91 different countries around the world. The test covers listening comprehension, reading comprehension, writing and speaking, and is recognised by German universities as proof of prospective students' ability.

There are three levels (TDN 3–5) which correspond to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated as CEFR, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries...

levels B2–C2.