The listening section is often the part that worries beginners most, because you cannot slow the speaker down. The good news: the Goethe A1 Hören and the telc A1 Hören (both called Start Deutsch 1) use almost the same format. The texts are short and everyday, and most of them are played twice. This guide covers how each part works, a method for every Teil, the words that come up again and again, and a short transcript-based exercise. Use it for A1 listening practice, or as a quick review of German A1 listening exam tips in the week before your test.
What the exam looks like
Both exams start the written part with Hören. It takes about 20 minutes and has 15 items worth 1 point each. You read the task first, then you hear the text, and you mark your answers on the answer sheet (Antwortbogen).
| Teil | Goethe-Zertifikat A1: Start Deutsch 1 | telc Deutsch A1 | Items | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 short everyday dialogues, multiple choice a/b/c with text options | 6 short everyday conversations, multiple choice a/b/c | 1–6 (with example 0) | twice |
| 2 | 4 public announcements (e.g. train station, department store), richtig/falsch | 4 short announcements, richtig/falsch | 7–10 (with example 0) | once |
| 3 | 5 telephone or answering-machine messages, multiple choice a/b/c | 5 short telephone messages, multiple choice a/b/c (no example printed) | 11–15 | twice |
| Total | approx. 20 min, 15 raw points | approx. 20 min, 15 points | 15 |
The one detail that catches people out is Teil 2. In both exams the announcements are played only once, so you have to be ready before the recording starts.
Strategy for each part
Teil 1: short conversations (played twice)
- Read the question and underline the question word. Wann? means a time, Wo? a place, Wie viel? a price or amount, Was? a thing. That tells you exactly what to listen for.
- Say the three options to yourself. If the options are 14:05 / 14:35 / 15:05, think how they sound: vierzehn Uhr fünf, vierzehn Uhr fünfunddreißig, fünf nach drei.
- First listening: mark a choice in pencil.
- Second listening: check it. Listen hardest to the end of the dialogue, because the final answer often comes there.
Typical trap: the correction. Usually you hear all three options, but only one is the final answer.
„Treffen wir uns um sechs? – Nein, um sechs habe ich noch einen Kurs. Sagen wir halb acht?“
The answer is 7:30. Six is mentioned, then rejected. Also note that halb acht means 7:30, not 8:30.
Teil 2: announcements (played once)
- Read all four statements before the first announcement. Use the example time for this.
- Find the key detail in each statement. It is usually a platform (Gleis), a floor (Stock), a time, a price or a destination.
- Listen for that one detail only. Train station announcements contain lots of noise and extra information. Ignore it.
- Decide at once and move your eyes to the next statement. You will not hear the text again.
Typical trap: the change. Announcements love heute, leider, nicht, statt and heute ausnahmsweise.
„Der ICE nach München fährt heute nicht von Gleis 4, sondern von Gleis 9.“
The statement „Der Zug fährt von Gleis 4.“ is falsch.
Teil 3: telephone messages (played twice)
- Read the question and work out who is calling and why. Is it a doctor’s office, a friend or a shop?
- First listening: catch the reason for the call. Messages follow a fixed pattern: greeting, name, reason, details, request, goodbye.
- Second listening: confirm the detail the question asks for, such as a day, a phone number, a time or a place.
Typical trap: the old and the new appointment.
„Ihr Termin am Dienstag geht leider nicht. Können Sie am Donnerstag um zehn kommen?“
If the question is Wann ist der neue Termin?, the answer is Thursday.
Time management. There is no fixed reading time, but there are pauses between texts. Use every pause to read the next question, not to worry about the last one. If you missed an answer, guess. There is no penalty for a wrong answer.
Useful vocabulary for A1 listening
Numbers, times and days decide most points. Practise them out loud until you can understand them instantly.
| German | English | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| fünfundzwanzig (25) | twenty-five | German says the units before the tens: “five-and-twenty” |
| Viertel nach drei | quarter past three (3:15) | |
| Viertel vor vier | quarter to four (3:45) | |
| halb vier | half past three (3:30) | Not 4:30! |
| zwei Euro fünfzig | €2.50 | |
| das Gleis / der Bahnsteig | platform / track | Station announcements |
| die Verspätung | delay | … hat zehn Minuten Verspätung |
| im ersten / zweiten Stock | on the first / second floor | Department stores and doctors’ offices |
| das Erdgeschoss / das Untergeschoss | ground floor / basement | |
| das Angebot / im Angebot | special offer / on sale | Supermarket announcements |
| der Termin | appointment | Telephone messages |
| Rufen Sie bitte zurück. | Please call back. | |
| die Telefonnummer / die Vorwahl | phone number / area code | Often read in pairs: null-sechs-neun, zweiunddreißig … |
| Montag … Sonntag, am Wochenende | Monday … Sunday, at the weekend | |
| morgen / übermorgen | tomorrow / the day after tomorrow |
Signal words that tell you the answer is about to change: aber (but), leider (unfortunately), doch (actually / after all), nicht … sondern (not … but), lieber (rather), schon weg (already gone).
Practice set: transcript exercise
Read each transcript once, at normal speed, and answer without looking back. Then check. The full exams with audio are in our online German mock exams. The texts below are for reading practice of the listening patterns only.
Part A: conversations (like Teil 1)
1. Wo ist die Apotheke? a) neben der Post b) gegenüber vom Bahnhof c) neben dem Supermarkt
Frau: Entschuldigung, gibt es hier eine Apotheke? – Mann: Ja, aber nicht am Bahnhof. Gehen Sie hier geradeaus. Die Apotheke ist neben der Post. – Frau: Neben der Post, danke!
2. Was kostet das T-Shirt? a) 9 € b) 15 € c) 19 €
Kunde: Was kostet das T-Shirt? Neunzehn Euro? – Verkäuferin: Nein, heute ist es im Angebot. Nur fünfzehn Euro. – Kunde: Prima, dann nehme ich es.
Part B: announcements (like Teil 2), richtig or falsch?
3. The train to Hamburg leaves on time.
„Achtung am Gleis 2: Der Regionalexpress nach Hamburg, Abfahrt 10:12 Uhr, hat heute circa fünfzehn Minuten Verspätung.“
4. Children’s clothes are on the second floor.
„Liebe Kundinnen und Kunden, heute alle Kinderkleider zwanzig Prozent billiger! Sie finden unsere Kinderabteilung im zweiten Stock.“
Part C: telephone messages (like Teil 3)
5. Wann soll Herr Weber kommen? a) Montag, 9 Uhr b) Mittwoch, 9 Uhr c) Mittwoch, 11 Uhr
„Guten Tag, Herr Weber, hier ist die Praxis Dr. Klein. Ihr Termin am Montag um neun Uhr geht leider nicht. Können Sie am Mittwoch kommen? Um elf Uhr? Bitte rufen Sie uns kurz an. Danke!“
6. Was soll Paula mitbringen? a) Getränke b) einen Salat c) Brot
„Hallo Paula, hier ist Tim. Am Samstag grillen wir im Park. Brot und Getränke habe ich schon gekauft. Kannst du vielleicht einen Salat mitbringen? Bis Samstag!“
Answer key
- a: neben der Post. The station is mentioned, but negated with nicht.
- b: 15 €. The price of 19 € is corrected (im Angebot).
- falsch: Verspätung means it is late.
- richtig: im zweiten Stock.
- c: Wednesday at 11. Monday at 9 was the old appointment.
- b: Tim already has bread and drinks.
Common mistakes in A1 Hören
- Choosing the first number you hear. Wait for the end of the text. The first number is often the wrong one.
- Swapping the digits. dreiundsechzig is 63, not 36. Write the units digit first when you take notes.
- Misreading halb. halb neun = 8:30. Think “half towards nine”.
- Ignoring negation. kein, nicht and nicht mehr turn a statement around, so a richtig item becomes falsch.
- Not reading ahead in Teil 2. The text plays once. If you are still reading when it starts, the point is usually lost.
- Trying to understand every word. At A1 you only need the key detail. Unknown words around it don’t matter.
- Leaving blanks. An empty box is always 0 points. A guess has a one-in-three or one-in-two chance.
Weekly practice plan
- Daily (10 min): numbers, prices and times. Have someone read them aloud, or use a number generator with text-to-speech, and write down what you hear.
- Mon/Wed: one Hören Teil from a mock exam. Then read the transcript and mark the trap.
- Tue/Thu: listen to short real announcements or slow news for learners. Write down one place, one time and one number from each.
- Fri: leave yourself a German voicemail (name, reason, time, request) and play it back. It trains the Teil 3 pattern from both sides.
- Weekend: a full timed Hören section in the exam simulator.
Next steps
- Take a full, timed A1 mock exam (Goethe and telc formats) with audio.
- Practise under exam conditions in the exam simulator.
- Build your foundations in the German A1 course.
- Continue with the other A1 guides: Lesen, Schreiben, Sprechen.
FAQ
How many times do I hear each text in the A1 listening exam?
In both Goethe and telc A1, the texts in Teil 1 (conversations) and Teil 3 (telephone messages) are played twice. The announcements in Teil 2 are played only once.
How many points do I need to pass Goethe A1 Hören?
Goethe A1 has no separate pass mark for Hören. Your 15 raw points are multiplied by 1.66 and added to the other sections. You need 60 of 100 points overall, and you need at least 35 points in the written part (Hören, Lesen, Schreiben) to be allowed to take Sprechen. For telc Deutsch A1, the pass mark is 36 of 60 points in total. For the latest rules, check the official provider.
Is telc A1 Hören harder than Goethe A1 Hören?
Not really. Both have the same three parts, 15 items and about 20 minutes, and the same play pattern. The main visible difference is that telc prints no example in Teil 3. Practise both styles to get used to the layout.
Can I take notes during the listening test?
Yes. You can write on your question sheet while you listen. Just remember to transfer your answers to the answer sheet before the time is up.