B1CEFRReading15 min

Reading: International Students in Germany

Moving abroad and culture shock

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IELTS Reading Workout • B1 Level ⏱ Suggested time: 15 minutes

Moving Abroad: International Students in Germany

Practice scanning for exact facts, spotting clever traps, and understanding the writer's perspective.

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How to use this lesson

For Teachers

Run this 15-minute workout under timed conditions so students build scanning speed.

Check the answers together by asking learners to read aloud the exact line from the article.

For Learners

First, skim the four short paragraphs once to understand the general story.

Next, tackle the eight questions below without checking a dictionary, searching for key evidence.

Magazine Feature

Studying in Germany: What the Numbers Tell Us

The DAAD, which is the German Academic Exchange Service, and a research centre called the DZHW publish a yearly report on students from other countries. The report says that about 402,000 international students and PhD students studied at German universities in winter semester 2024/25.

The number of international first-year students reached a new record of 116,600. Asia-Pacific was the region that most of them came from, with a share of 33 percent.

India was the country that most of them came from, with just under 59,000 students, which is 20 percent more than the year before. China was second, with about 38,600 students.

The report also gave dropout rates. For international students who started in 2020, the dropout rate in the first three semesters was 16 percent in bachelor's courses and 9 percent in master's courses. For German students it was 13 percent and 6 percent, so the rate for international students was only slightly higher.

IELTS Practice Questions

Work through the 8 questions below. Read the directions carefully for each task type.

Questions 1–3

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

The number of international first-year students in Germany reached its highest point ever recorded.

____ TRUE ____ FALSE ____ NOT GIVEN

International students in master's courses had a higher dropout rate during their first three semesters than those in bachelor's courses.

____ TRUE ____ FALSE ____ NOT GIVEN

High living expenses in Germany cause many international students to quit their degrees early.

____ TRUE ____ FALSE ____ NOT GIVEN

Questions 4–5

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

What does the article state about student numbers from India?

____ A. The number of Indian students dropped by 20 percent compared to the previous year. ____ B. Exactly 59,000 Indian students enrolled across German institutions. ____ C. India supplied a larger total of students than any other single country. ____ D. India sent fewer students than China during the same period.

In paragraph D, what does the writer imply when contrasting the dropout rates of international and domestic students?

____ A. International students encounter far too many obstacles to succeed in Germany. ____ B. International learners stay in their degree programs at rates close to local students. ____ C. German universities set unfairly demanding standards for bachelor's degrees. ____ D. Master's programs in Germany are significantly harder to complete than bachelor's courses.

Questions 6–7

The reading passage has four paragraphs, A–D. Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

The geographical area that accounts for the largest proportion of brand-new university arrivals.

____ Paragraph A ____ Paragraph B ____ Paragraph C ____ Paragraph D

A statistical comparison showing how many local versus foreign students leave their degrees early.

____ Paragraph A ____ Paragraph B ____ Paragraph C ____ Paragraph D

Question 8

Complete the sentence below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for your answer.

Fill in the missing word(s) directly from the text:

According to the report, roughly 402,000 international students and ____ attended German universities during the 2024/25 winter semester.

Tip: Make sure you do not exceed the two-word limit and check your spelling against the passage.