telc B1 Hören: Teil 1–3 with Strategy and Practice

What is the format of the telc B1 listening part?

In the written exam, Hörverstehen comes after Leseverstehen (reading) and Sprachbausteine (together 90 minutes) and before the Schriftlicher Ausdruck (writing); it takes about 30 minutes. The recording runs without a break; the instructions, the reading times and the repetitions are already part of it. The recording of the official Übungstest (practice test) is 25 minutes long. You mark your answers on the answer sheet S30. Dictionaries and mobile phones are not allowed.

The table shows something important: Teil 2 has twice as many tasks as Teil 1 and Teil 3, but each task counts only half as much. So one statement in Teil 1 or Teil 3 is worth as much as two statements in Teil 2. Before Teil 1 you have 30 seconds, before Teil 2 one minute to read the tasks.

What counts for the result is the total of the written exam: you need at least 135 of 225 points, and there is no separate minimum for listening. So a weak listening score can be made up with reading, Sprachbausteine and writing. On top of that you need at least 45 of 75 points in the oral exam. All parts, points and grades are explained in the guide telc B1 exam.

When is a statement true and when is it false?

All 20 listening tasks have the same format: there is a statement on the task sheet, and you decide whether it matches what you hear. It is true only if the text says exactly that – in other words or in the same words. It is false if the text says something different or confirms only part of it. The statements rarely repeat the words of the recording. The other way round, a false statement often contains exactly one word that you also hear.

The following signals turn a statement around or limit it. Pay special attention to them in all three parts:

• Limits: „nur“ (only), „erst“ (not until, only), „fast“ (almost), „kaum“ (hardly), „meistens“ (mostly). „Ich gehe meistens zu Fuß“ ("I mostly walk") is not „Ich gehe immer zu Fuß“ ("I always walk").
• Time: „früher“ (in the past), „inzwischen“ (by now), „seit“ (since), „noch nicht“ (not yet), „nicht mehr“ (no longer). What was true in the past is often no longer true today.
• Contrast: „aber“, „doch“, „trotzdem“, „sondern“, „eigentlich“ (but, still, nevertheless, rather, actually). The information that counts often comes after these words.
• Person: who says or does something? In the text someone may tell you what his sister thinks – that is not his own opinion.
• Amounts and numbers: „die Hälfte“ (half), „ein paar“ (a few), „doppelt so viel“ (twice as much), „ab 18 Uhr“ (from 6 pm), „bis 18 Uhr“ (until 6 pm).

How do you solve Hören Teil 1 (Globalverstehen)?

In Teil 1 you hear five short texts. In the Übungstest, different people give their opinion on an everyday topic. There is one statement for each person (41–45). You hear each text only once and have 30 seconds beforehand to read the five statements. What matters is the main message: what does the person think overall? Single words only help if they belong to this main message.

Typical traps in Teil 1

• Change of opinion: the person starts with one thing and then gets to their real opinion („Am Anfang fand ich das anstrengend, aber heute möchte ich nicht mehr tauschen“ – "At first I found it tiring, but today I would not want to swap").
• Someone else's opinion: the person quotes someone else („Mein Mann sagt immer …“ – "My husband always says …") and then disagrees.
• Familiar word, different opinion: the word „teuer“ (expensive) comes up in the text, but the person says it is worth it anyway.
• Once or always? The person talks about one special day, but the statement describes their everyday life.

Our strategy in four steps

1. In the 30 seconds, read all five statements and underline one key word per statement: the verb or the word that carries the opinion („lieber“ – rather, „nervt“ – is annoying, „spart Zeit“ – saves time).
2. Pay attention to the beginning: that is where you hear the topic. Then you know what all five people are talking about.
3. Listen to each person up to the last sentence. The opinion often comes at the end, after „aber“ (but) or „trotzdem“ (nevertheless).
4. Decide as soon as the person stops, and move on to the next statement. There is no repetition.

Our own example. Topic: „Was machen Sie in der Mittagspause?“ ("What do you do in your lunch break?") Person 1 says: „In der Firma gibt es eine Kantine, und die Kollegen gehen alle zusammen hin. Ich habe das ein Jahr lang mitgemacht. Inzwischen nehme ich mir lieber etwas von zu Hause mit und setze mich in den Park – da habe ich wenigstens eine halbe Stunde Ruhe.“ ("There is a canteen at the company, and my colleagues all go there together. I went along with that for a year. Now I prefer to bring something from home and sit in the park – at least I get half an hour of peace there.")

Both statements pick up words from the text. The first one matches part of the text, but not the person's main message. In the exam, of course, there is only one statement per person; here you see two possible variants.

How do you approach Hören Teil 2 (Detailverstehen)?

In Teil 2 you hear one longer conversation, in the Übungstest a radio interview between a presenter and a guest. There are ten statements (46–55). You have one minute to read and hear the conversation twice. The statements follow the conversation: statement 46 belongs to the beginning, statement 55 to the end. This part is about details – numbers, reasons, times and the question of who does something.

Typical traps in Teil 2

• Who was it? The presenter asks „Sie arbeiten ja auch am Wochenende?“ ("You work at weekends too, don't you?"), and the guest answers „Nein, das macht meine Kollegin“ ("No, my colleague does that"). So someone works at weekends – but not the guest.
• Wanted is not done: „Wir wollen nächstes Jahr eröffnen“ ("We want to open next year") or „Ich habe versucht, …“ ("I tried to …") does not mean „Es ist schon eröffnet“ ("It is already open") or „Es hat geklappt“ ("It worked").
• Too strong: the statement says „alle“ (all), „immer“ (always) or „nie“ (never), but in the conversation you hear „die meisten“ (most), „oft“ (often) or „selten“ (rarely).
• Two numbers: two numbers come up in the conversation, for example 20 members at the beginning and 60 today. The statement gives a number from the conversation, but for the wrong time.
• Wrong reason: the statement gives a reason that the guest does mention, but calls unimportant.

Our strategy for two rounds

1. In the minute, read all ten statements. Mark numbers, times and the person („der Gast“ – the guest, „seine Frau“ – his wife, „die Besucher“ – the visitors).
2. First listening: move from statement to statement along with the conversation. Make a quick mark – for example "r" (richtig) or "f" (falsch) – and put a dot next to every statement you are unsure about.
3. If you miss a passage, jump straight to the next statement. You will hear the missed passage in the second round.
4. Second listening: concentrate on the statements with a dot and check every detail again: right person, right time, right number.

Our own example. An extract from a radio conversation about a repair café:

• Moderatorin: „Herr Lenz, wie oft hat das Reparatur-Café geöffnet?“ ("Mr Lenz, how often is the repair café open?")
• Gast: „Jeden ersten Samstag im Monat. Am Anfang wollten wir jede Woche aufmachen, aber dafür haben wir einfach nicht genug Leute.“ ("Every first Saturday of the month. At the beginning we wanted to open every week, but we simply don't have enough people for that.")
• Moderatorin: „Und was bringen die Besucher am häufigsten mit?“ ("And what do visitors bring most often?")
• Gast: „Viele denken, es sind Fahrräder. Die meisten kommen aber mit Lampen und kleinen Küchengeräten. Fahrräder machen wir übrigens gar nicht – da gibt es eine Werkstatt nebenan.“ ("Many people think it's bicycles. But most come with lamps and small kitchen appliances. By the way, we don't do bicycles at all – there is a workshop next door for that.")

What matters in Hören Teil 3 (Selektives Verstehen)?

In Teil 3 you hear five short everyday texts, for example directions, a cinema or event programme, a weather report, an announcement on a train or at a station and an announcement in a shop. There is one statement for each text (56–60), and you hear each text twice. Each statement tests one single piece of information: a time, a platform, a price, a street, the weather on a particular day. You do not need the rest of the text for this task.

Typical traps in Teil 3

• Two similar details: two times or two platforms come up in the text, and only one belongs to the statement – often because of a change („nicht von Gleis 7, sondern von Gleis 12“ – "not from platform 7 but from platform 12").
• Where exactly? „links“ and „rechts“ (left and right), „vor“ and „hinter“ (in front of and behind), „die zweite Straße“ (the second street) and „nach der zweiten Ampel“ (after the second traffic light).
• Day or place mixed up: the weather report says rain for Saturday and sun for Sunday; the statement links the sun with Saturday.
• Offer with a condition: „20 Prozent auf alle Jacken – aber nur heute und nur an der Kasse im Erdgeschoss.“ ("20 per cent off all jackets – but only today and only at the till on the ground floor.")
• Almost the same sound: „vierzehn“ and „vierzig“ (fourteen and forty), „Bahnsteig“ and „Bahnhof“ (platform and station).

Our strategy for each of the five texts

1. Read the statement as early as possible – ideally before the text starts – and underline the one piece of information it is about.
2. First listening: wait for exactly this information and write down what you hear – a number, a word.
3. Watch out for corrections and changes: „Achtung“ (attention), „heute ausnahmsweise“ (today as an exception), „statt“ (instead of), „nicht … sondern“ (not … but).
4. Second listening: check your note and then mark true or false.

Our own example. Announcement at the station: „Information zum Regionalexpress nach Würzburg, planmäßige Abfahrt 14:40 Uhr: Der Zug fährt heute nicht von Gleis 3, sondern von Gleis 5. Wegen Bauarbeiten hat er etwa zehn Minuten Verspätung.“ ("Information on the regional express to Würzburg, scheduled departure 14:40: today the train leaves not from platform 3 but from platform 5. Because of construction work it is about ten minutes late.")

Here, too, the example is built with two possible statements. You hear the number 3 clearly – and still it is the wrong answer.

What should you do if you did not understand something?

This happens in every exam. What matters is that one missed passage does not cost you the next tasks. Our tips:

• Do not leave any box empty. With true/false you have a chance of getting the points even with a guess; an empty box certainly gets none.
• Stay with the text, not with the missed task. In Teil 1 the next person comes straight away; in Teil 2 the statements follow the conversation, so you quickly find your place again.
• Unknown words are normal. Often the next sentence explains what is meant, or the word is not important for the statement at all.
• Mark your answers on the answer sheet straight away. Do not count on having time at the end to copy them over.

After listening, the Schriftlicher Ausdruck begins. If one listening part went badly, forget it there: the email brings up to 45 points and counts towards the same total in which you need 135 of 225 points.

How do you practise telc B1 Hören on LexDeutsch?

In the telc B1 Hören section there are 10 versions for every Teil: Teil 1 with five opinions, Teil 2 with a radio conversation and Teil 3 with five short everyday texts. LexDeutsch writes all texts itself in the exam format; they are not original telc tasks. Each version has its own recording with different synthetic voices. After checking, you see the answer, the transcript and a translation into Russian, Ukrainian, English and Turkish. The first three versions of each Teil are free and can be used without signing up; the others are part of VIP.

The recordings in the trainer are different from the exam: all texts come one after another, without reading time and without repetition, and you control the player yourself. This is how you turn it into an exam situation:

1. Read the statements first – only 30 seconds for Teil 1, one minute for Teil 2 (set a timer).
2. Teil 1: listen once, without pausing and without rewinding.
3. Teil 2 and Teil 3: listen once and decide, then use „Von vorn“ (from the start) to listen a second time and check.
4. Only then check your answers. Open the transcript and, for every mistake, find the sentence that decides the statement.
5. Write the pair "word on the sheet – word in the recording" in a notebook. After a few versions you will have your own list of paraphrases.

The telc B1 exam simulation puts reading, Sprachbausteine and listening together in the order of the exam and calculates your points the telc way; it is part of VIP. telc gGmbH offers the official Übungstest with the audio file as a free download: Übungstest telc Deutsch B1 (ZIP). How to combine the two is explained in the guide telc B1 Modelltest.

What does a two-week practice plan look like?

Our tip for two weeks with about 30 minutes a day: one version done thoroughly every day is better than three versions done quickly. Days 1–9 work with the first three free versions of each Teil; for days 10–12, repeat them or use VIP.

In between, also listen to German radio or podcasts, for example news in simple German or traffic reports. For the exam, though, the format matters most: read the statement, find the key word, listen, decide.