telc B2 Listening Teil 4 (DTB B2): Requests by Phone

How is Hören Teil 4 structured in the DTB B2?

The listening section of the telc B2 Beruf – officially the Deutsch-Test für den Beruf B2 (DTB B2) – takes 20 minutes. Teil 4 is the last of the four parts and is called „Anliegen und Bitten erfassen“ in the test format. You hear short phone messages from everyday work, similar to voicemail messages: someone cancels an appointment, asks for something, makes a suggestion or passes on information.

The instructions of the Übungstest do not mention separate reading time for Teil 4, unlike for Teil 2 and Teil 3. You mark the answers on the Antwortbogen S30 (the answer sheet); wrong answers cost no points. The details on the structure come from the official Übungstest 1 for the DTB B2 (telc gGmbH, 2020, published by the BAMF); the strategy and traps are our own tips.

All skills count towards passing: at least 144 of 240 points and at least 36 of 60 in at least three of the four skills, where one weaker skill with 24–35 points is compensated. Everything else is in the guide telc B2 Beruf exam.

What matters in Teil 4?

The messages are short; almost every sentence contains information. In a few sentences, the caller usually gives their name, describes the situation and says what they want. Often all three answers pick up something from the message. But only one correctly describes what the person wants or does.

Because the task in the practice test begins with the name, the difference between a, b and c often lies in the action: „bittet um …“, „sagt … ab“, „schickt …“, „schlägt vor …“ ("asks for …", "cancels …", "sends …", "suggests …"). Sometimes, however, the answers differ in the object, the person or the time. The request can come at the end of the message, but also in the middle.

• Situation: what has happened? Sometimes the situation itself is the solution, especially when the message only informs and asks for nothing.
• Request: what does the person want – and from whom? This is often where the correct answer is.
• Two topics: some messages contain a piece of information plus an offer or a request. Check which topic the answers refer to; dates, deadlines and places count when a, b and c differ in exactly that.

Our tip: Teil 4 is good preparation for the next exam part, „Hören und Schreiben“: there you also hear a message and then fill in a phone note. The guide Telefonnotiz B2 Beruf explains how.

Which strategy helps before, during and after listening?

Before listening: read as much as possible in advance

1. For one task, read the name and the three answers. In your head, cross out everything that is the same in a, b and c. What remains is the difference you listen for.
2. Name this difference with one word: action (cancel or postpone?), person (the caller themselves, a colleague or a third person?), time (today or Friday?) or object.
3. Our tip: the Übungstest names no separate reading time for Teil 4, and the recording is not paused. So read the first task as soon as Teil 3 is over, and the next one right after your decision – then one question in your head is enough: what is different in a, b and c?

While listening: stay open until the end

1. Remember only two things: who wants something, and whether it is a request, a cancellation, a suggestion or information.
2. Listen for who acts: „Ich schicke Ihnen …“ ("I will send you …") is something different from „Schicken Sie mir bitte …“ ("Please send me …").
3. Wait with your decision until the message has ended; a correction or request may still come. Then look at the next task right away.

When marking and after training

1. Mark each answer on the Antwortbogen S30 as the task instructions require. When unsure, choose the answer that best fits the request – wrong answers cost no points.
2. After an exercise: mark the sentence with the request in the transcript. That shows you where it stands in the messages.

Our tip: keep a small list of verbs that appear in answers – absagen, verschieben, bitten, bestätigen, erinnern, vorschlagen, informieren ("cancel, postpone, ask, confirm, remind, suggest, inform") – and note a typical phrase from a message for each.

What traps are there in Teil 4? Ten checking questions

These questions help when two answers could fit. LexDeutsch wrote all the examples itself. As in the practice test, every answer begins with the caller's name; in the short excerpts it is not given every time.

Changed plans („Moment, ich meinte natürlich …“ – "Wait, I of course meant …") and swapped digits are covered in the guide to Hören Teil 1. These patterns can appear in Teil 4 as well, just in less space.

Our own example: one message, three answers

Message for the HR department:

„Guten Tag, hier spricht Marta Nowak aus dem Einkauf. Ich habe gesehen, dass die Schulung zum neuen Bestellsystem am 14. stattfindet. An dem Tag bin ich leider auf einer Fortbildung in Leipzig. Meine Kollegin Frau Hahn würde gern für mich teilnehmen und mir danach alles zeigen. Könnten Sie sie bitte statt meiner auf die Liste setzen? Danke!“ ("Hello, this is Marta Nowak from purchasing. I saw that the training on the new ordering system takes place on the 14th. Unfortunately, I will be at a further training course in Leipzig that day. My colleague Frau Hahn would like to attend in my place and show me everything afterwards. Could you please put her on the list instead of me? Thank you!")

Answer a picks up the word „Fortbildung“, answer c the Schulung. Both words occur, but both answers miss the request.

Which signal words reveal the request?

Phone messages often follow fixed patterns. These phrases show what kind of request is coming up.

How do you practise Teil 4 with the LexDeutsch trainer?

In the trainer Hören Teil 4, you hear short messages and solve tasks 36–40 with a, b or c. LexDeutsch wrote and recorded the texts and audio itself, in the exam format. You can open the transcript at any time; after checking, the trainer shows for the tasks the place in the transcript where the solution is. You can practise the first three versions of each Teil without registration; further versions are available with VIP.

1. Exam mode: before the start, read only the first task, play the recording without a pause and only once, and read each further task right after your decision while the next message begins – just like in the exam, where the recording is not stopped.
2. Review: in the transcript, mark the sentence with the request in each message. Is it at the beginning, in the middle or at the end?
3. Transfer: for one message, write a short phone note with the name, the request and what needs to be done. That way you also practise for „Hören und Schreiben“.

The other parts: matching statements in Hören Teil 2, presentation or meeting in Hören Teil 3. Hören B2 Beruf gives an overview of all four parts.