PD3 Mundtlig Eksamen — The Oral Exam (Mundtlig kommunikation)

What is the PD3 oral exam?

Mundtlig kommunikation is the third part of Prøve i Dansk 3, alongside reading comprehension (læseforståelse) and written production (skriftlig fremstilling). It is a face-to-face exam of about 10 minutes, with an examiner and an observer present, held in the weeks after the written exams.

It is also the part that matters most: the oral grade counts double in the weighted average that decides whether you pass PD3. Many candidates who are strong on paper lose their pass here — and many who are average readers pass comfortably because they prepared the oral properly.

Exam format: two parts, ~5 minutes each

PD3 mundtlig emner — what topics come up?

PD3 oral topics are societal themes — the same register the written exam uses. Typical clusters that candidates should be able to discuss:

• Healthcare (sundhedsvæsenet) — waiting times, inequality in health, free treatment
• Environment & climate (miljø og klima)
• Education (uddannelse) and lifelong learning
• Work culture (arbejdskultur) — work-life balance, flexibility, unions
• Technology and digitalisation in everyday life
• The welfare state (velfærdsstaten) and taxes
• Urban vs rural Denmark, integration, and community life

The assigned presentation topics rotate every sitting. For the current season's list, see PD3 oral topics — summer 2026 (på dansk).

How the oral exam is graded

The examiner grades you on the Danish 7-point scale (7-trinsskalaen). Your oral grade is then weighted 2× in the final PD3 calculation: (Reading + Writing + 2 × Speaking) ÷ 4, with 2.0 needed to pass. See the full breakdown on the PD3 grades & pass mark guide, or try the PD3 score calculator.

What lifts the grade is not accent-free Danish — it is coherent structure, B2 vocabulary range, argumentation, and how you respond to follow-up questions. Memorised monologues that collapse at the first follow-up score poorly.

How to prepare

Structure your oplæg in three layers. Description (what the topic is) → interpretation (what it means or causes) → broader context (the societal debate). Roughly 40 seconds per layer fills your 2 minutes with clear progression.

Prepare 6–8 topic clusters, not one script. The examiner pulls related threads from your presentation, and Part 2 is drawn on the day — broad preparation beats deep memorisation.

Practise follow-up questions aloud. The hardest moment is the unexpected angle — "Hvad mener du er den største udfordring?" — so rehearse answering unrehearsed questions, not just presenting.

Learn discussion connectors. På den ene side… på den anden side, til gengæld, det kan dog indvendes at, ikke desto mindre — they buy thinking time and demonstrate B2 range.

Time yourself. Two minutes is shorter than it feels. Record yourself and cut everything that is not doing work.

Related PD3 oral guides

Frequently asked questions