The B2 oral exam — one of the Norskprøve’s four subtests, alongside listening, reading and writing — has no fixed list of topics. HK-dir draws on everyday themes that all adults know, like work, family, school and free time, and tests how well you handle them, not what you know about them. So the winning move is not memorising topics; it is a method that works for any of them: take a position, weigh both sides, give an example, conclude.
There’s no official topic list — and that helps you
It is worth saying plainly, because a lot of sites sell “the definitive list of exam topics”: HK-dir states there is no curriculum, and the test measures your language, not your knowledge of any subject. The topics are simply everyday ones “all adults are familiar with.” That means a memorised list is the wrong thing to chase — you cannot revise your way to the exact question, and you do not need to. What you can prepare is a way of talking about anything.
The one authoritative preview worth your time is HK-dir’s own sample speaking tasks for B1–B2, which show the real format and tone. Everything else is someone’s guess.
The themes that recur
There is no syllabus, but the ground is not a mystery either. HK-dir’s own task descriptions name everyday themes like school, free time, work, family, food and the weather. At B1–B2 the tasks then ask you to state an opinion and justify it, so the prompts skew towards themes you can actually argue about. Between the two, this is the ground worth being ready for:
- Yourself and your background — where you’re from, your work, why you’re in Norway.
- Work and working life — job satisfaction, work–life balance, changing careers.
- Family and relationships — how family life is changing, generations, living arrangements.
- Education and learning — learning as an adult, learning languages, online vs classroom.
- Health and lifestyle — habits, stress, how people stay healthy.
- Technology and social media — screens, how we communicate now, benefits and downsides.
- Environment and climate — everyday choices, transport, consumption.
- Leisure and free time — hobbies, travel, how people spend weekends.
- Society and living in Norway — city vs countryside, community, integration.
- Media and news — how we get information, and whether we trust it.
These are the kinds of themes, not an official list — HK-dir publishes none, and anyone selling you one is guessing. But if you can hold a two-minute opinion on each, no prompt will catch you cold.
How to approach any topic
At B1–B2 you get three tasks, and all three ask the same thing of you: state an opinion and justify it. You give your view on a question and take follow-ups (2–3 minutes); you and the other candidate exchange opinions and justify them (5–7 minutes together, with no follow-ups from the examiner); and you take a position on a påstand — a statement you both hear and see written, with a moment offered to think and note keywords first — speaking alone for 2–3 minutes before another 2–3 minutes of follow-ups. The same four moves work for all three:
- State your position. Don’t hedge into silence — say where you stand. “Jeg mener at…”
- Give the other side too. B2 specifically rewards handling both sides, so add the counter-view even if you disagree with it. “På den ene siden… på den andre siden…”
- Back it with an example. A concrete example — ideally from your own life — lifts any answer. “Fra egen erfaring…”
- Conclude. A short wrap-up signals control. “Alt i alt…”
Take a statement like “Sosiale medier gjør oss mer ensomme” (social media makes us lonelier). Position: you partly agree. Other side: it also keeps people connected across distance. Example: how your own family stays in touch. Conclusion: it depends on how it’s used. That is a complete, B2-level answer — and the structure is identical for climate, work or health. The phrases that power each move are worth having ready so the method runs on autopilot.
Use your work life as material
Because the exam is general rather than clinical, there is no point revising medical Norwegian for it. But your working life is a rich source of ready opinions and examples — on work, health, technology and how society functions — that many candidates lack. When a theme lets you draw on what you’ve actually seen, use it: first-hand examples are exactly what raters find convincing, and they come more naturally in Norwegian than invented ones.
Where to get real examples
Work through HK-dir’s official B1–B2 sample tasks so the format holds no surprises, then rehearse out loud — pick a theme a day, set a two-minute timer, and run the four moves. Saying it aloud, in the exam’s own shape, is what muntligb1.com is built around, and it is the difference between knowing the method and being able to do it under pressure. The topics will vary; your way of meeting them shouldn’t.