Goethe C1 Hören Übungen: Listening Practice with Audio

The four Teile: what you hear and how often

Plenty of practice material online still follows the format valid until the end of 2023. For the modular C1 (since 1 January 2024), check that a listening test has four Teile with 30 items and the play pattern in the table.

The practice items on this page are read aloud once by your browser’s German voice. Zertifly’s sets use exam-like recordings and play each Teil as often as the exam does.

Teil 1: podcast – heard once

Teil 1 is a podcast (items 1–6) that you hear only once. In our practice sets the podcast presents three things – books, exhibitions or projects, for example – and you decide which one each statement refers to.

Because there is no repeat, Teil 1 rewards preparation: the statements are your map of what to listen for.

• Use the reading time to turn each statement into a short question: Who has changed? What is criticised? What is new?
• Write the three names or titles as column headings and put ticks under them while you listen.
• Expect paraphrase: „hat sich im Laufe der Zeit verändert“ in the statement may be „inzwischen kümmern sich vor allem …“ in the audio.
• If you miss something, let it go and listen for the next statement – the audio will not wait.

• Try Hören Teil 1 (first set free) →Podcast, 6 items, played once

Teil 2: radio interview – heard twice

Teil 2 is a radio interview (items 7–15) that you hear twice. In our practice sets you decide for each statement: stimmt, stimmt nicht or dazu wird nichts gesagt.

The hardest distinction is between „stimmt nicht“ and „nichts gesagt“. A statement is false only if the speaker says the opposite; if the point does not come up at all, it is „nichts gesagt“ – however plausible it sounds.

• First listening: mark what you are sure of and put a question mark next to the rest.
• Second listening: concentrate only on the question marks.
• Watch the qualifiers – vereinzelt, eher, nicht pauschal. They often turn a statement from true to false.
• Do not answer from general knowledge: if the guest never mentions costs, a statement about costs is „nichts gesagt“.

• Try Hören Teil 2 (first set free) →Radio interview, 9 items, played twice

Teil 3: conversation in four sections – each heard once

Teil 3 is a conversation with several people (items 16–23). You hear it in four sections, each only once; in our practice sets every section has two items with three options.

The challenge is keeping the speakers apart: who holds which position, and who only reports what others think?

• Before each section, read its two items and note which person each item is about.
• Write each speaker’s name with a one-word position: pro, contra or „it depends“.
• Listen for contrast markers – eher, vor allem, allerdings. They flag the speaker’s actual main point.
• Decide right after each section; the next one moves on to a new phase of the conversation.

• Try Hören Teil 3 (first set free) →Conversation, 8 items, each section played once

Teil 4: talk or lecture – heard twice

Teil 4 is a talk or lecture (items 24–30) that you hear twice. The items ask about the speaker’s aim, main points, examples and conclusions.

Lectures signpost their structure: „In meinem Vortrag geht es um …“, „Erstens …“, „Daraus folgt …“. These phrases tell you where the answers sit.

• First listening: note the structure – topic, points, conclusion – in a few words each.
• Second listening: check details and the speaker’s own stance.
• Questions about the aim of the talk are answered in the introduction and often again in the conclusion.
• Options that are true in themselves but are not the speaker’s point are the classic trap.

• Try Hören Teil 4 (first set free) →Lecture, 7 items, played twice

Note-taking for the once-only Teile 1 and 3

In Teil 1 and Teil 3 there is no second chance. Good notes here are not a transcript: they are a grid you prepare before the audio starts, so that while listening you only add ticks and key words.

Practise this under real conditions. The Zertifly simulation runs the whole module in one timed pass, with each Teil played as often as in the exam.

• Teil 1: three columns (one per book, project or exhibition) and one row per statement – fill in ticks, not sentences.
• Teil 3: one line per speaker with name, position and one keyword for the reason.
• Use symbols: ↑ more, ↓ less, ≠ disagrees, + advantage, – disadvantage, ? doubt.
• Write key words in German as you hear them – translating while listening costs time.
• Decide at the end of each statement or section; never leave an item open in the hope of hearing it again.

• Open the Hören simulation (Pro) →About 40 minutes under exam conditions
• Plan your C1 preparation →Personal C1 study route on the dashboard

Official sources

The exam rules and figures in this guide were checked against the official sources below.

• Goethe-Institut: Durchführungsbestimmungen Goethe-Zertifikat C1 (Stand 1. September 2025, PDF)
• Goethe-Institut: Goethe-Zertifikat C1 – Prüfungsinformationen
• Goethe-Institut: Goethe-Zertifikat C1 – Übungsmaterialien

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