Goethe A1 Hören: How the Listening Part Works, and How to Practise

What the Hören part looks like

Hören takes about 20 minutes and has three parts with 15 questions in total:

• Teil 1 (questions 1–6): short everyday conversations. You choose a, b or c. You hear each text twice.
• Teil 2 (questions 7–10): public announcements, for example at a train station, an airport or in a shop. You decide: Richtig or Falsch. You hear each text only once.
• Teil 3 (questions 11–15): short messages, for example on an answering machine. You choose a, b or c. You hear each text twice.

Teil 2 is the part people underestimate

In Teil 2 there is no second chance to listen. That is why you should read the statement before the announcement starts, so you know exactly which fact you are waiting for.

For example, the statement says: „Die Fahrgäste sollen im Zug bleiben.“ (The passengers should stay on the train.) Now you only need to hear one thing: stay on the train, yes or no.

What the questions are really about

Most A1 listening questions ask about one small detail:

• numbers and prices: neunzehn Euro or neunzig Euro?
• times and days: Dienstag or Donnerstag? um halb drei?
• places: Gleis 7, im zweiten Stock, an der Information

Watch out: the wrong answers often contain words you really hear in the text. Don't pick an option just because you recognised a word. Listen for the answer to the question.

Before each text: read the question first

You usually have a few seconds before each text. Use them to read the question and find the question word:

• Wann? → listen for a time or a day
• Wo? → listen for a place
• Wie viel? → listen for a number or a price

This turns a long, fast text into a search for one piece of information.

Train your ear for numbers and times

Many points are lost on numbers that sound similar. Practise these pairs out loud for five minutes:

• dreizehn (13) – dreißig (30)
• vierzehn (14) – vierzig (40)
• siebzehn (17) – siebzig (70)

And one classic trap: „halb drei“ means 2:30, not 3:30. In German, „halb“ looks forward to the next hour.

Practise like the exam

DeutschWeg has free A1 listening exercises for all three types: conversations (like Teil 1), announcements (like Teil 2) and voicemails (like Teil 3). In the exercises you may listen more than once. To practise for the real exam, try this: answer the announcement exercises after the first listen, like in Teil 2. Then listen again and check.

Your 10 minutes today

• 2 minutes: say the three number pairs above out loud.
• 4 minutes: do one announcement exercise and answer after one listen.
• 4 minutes: do one conversation exercise. Before you press play, read the question and find the question word.

Then notice what you caught: one number, one time, one place. That is what A1 Hören asks for.