Goethe-Zertifikat B1 exam and online mock test

1. 1. Richtig — Katja answers the question 'Warum so spät?' herself: in Vienna she did not need a car ('dort braucht man wirklich kein Auto'). Two years ago the family moved to a small village in Styria, where the bus comes only twice a day and the nearest supermarket is eight kilometres away. The text never uses the word 'Grund', but it makes clear that she needed no licence before the move and needed one after it. At B1 the statements often sum up the text in other words, so look for the same information, not the same word.
2. 2. Falsch — The text is clear: 'Die Theorieprüfung habe ich gleich beim ersten Versuch bestanden.' The trap is in the next paragraph: 'Nur das Einparken hat erst beim zweiten Mal geklappt.' A second attempt is mentioned, but it concerns parking in the driving test, not the theory test. Check both pieces of information in the statement together: which test, which attempt? Spotting a familiar word in the text is not enough on its own to answer 'Richtig'.
3. 3. Richtig — You need to compare two numbers here: Katja took 28 lessons in total ('Insgesamt habe ich 28 Fahrstunden gebraucht'), while according to her driving school most learners need about 20 hours ('Laut meiner Fahrschule brauchen die meisten Fahrschüler etwa 20 Stunden'). 28 is more than 20, so the statement is true. 'Laut' (according to) names the source of a piece of information and is common in B1 texts.
4. 4. Falsch — The incident is in the text: while parking, Katja nearly drove into a postbox. But the instructor's reaction is the opposite of the statement: 'Er hat nicht einmal geschimpft' (he did not even tell her off), and just before that: 'ist aber immer ruhig geblieben'. 'nicht einmal' (not even) strengthens the negation. The situation in the statement is right but the reaction is wrong, so the answer is Falsch.
5. 5. Falsch — Last paragraph: 'Ein eigenes Auto kaufen wir vorerst nicht, das ist uns zu teuer.' 'vorerst' means for the time being, so there is no second car any time soon; Katja uses her husband's car on the days he works from home. 'bald' (soon) in the statement contradicts 'vorerst nicht' in the text. Watch the time adverbs: small words such as 'vorerst', 'noch nicht' and 'bald' change the answer.

In the real exam Teil 1 has one personal text (a blog post, a letter or an e-mail) and six statements; each correct answer is worth 1 point. The reading module has five parts and 30 items in 65 minutes; about 10 minutes are recommended for Teil 1, but you may start with any part. Your 30 raw points are converted to a score out of 100 using the official table; you pass the module with at least 60, i.e. 18 correct answers, and the other modules cannot make up for it. Mark 'Richtig' only if a passage supports the whole statement; if any part of it is wrong, the answer is 'Falsch'. Level Exams' full mock exams run on the real 65-minute clock.

1. 1. c) Herr Novak — After describing the system at home, Herr Novak says: 'Früher haben wir jeden Samstag über das Helfen gestritten. Das ist jetzt fast vorbei.' They used to argue every Saturday and that has almost stopped; 'weniger Streit' in the statement says the same in other words. Neither Frau Albrecht nor the moderator mentions arguing at all. In this part the statements rarely repeat a speaker's sentence word for word; get used to shifts within a word family such as 'gestritten' → 'Streit'.
2. 2. b) Frau Albrecht — Frau Albrecht reports what she sees in her counselling work: 'Kinder, die für Hilfe Geld bekommen, wollen das bald für alles. Dann heißt es sogar beim Tischdecken: Was bekomme ich dafür?' Children who are paid for helping soon expect something even for laying the table. Herr Novak is happy with his system and does not voice this worry. The distractor is that both guests use the words 'Geld' and 'Hilfe': don't follow the words, follow who holds which position.
3. 3. a) Moderatorin — This one belongs to the moderator, the option candidates forget most often in this task. She talks about her own childhood: 'Ich musste jeden Samstag das Treppenhaus putzen, und mein Bruder durfte zum Fußball. Das fand ich damals wirklich ungerecht.' Right after that Frau Albrecht speaks of 'klare Regeln, die für alle gelten'; the topic is the same (fairness), but she is talking about what families need today, not about her own family. 'früher' and 'in der eigenen Familie' in the statement point to a personal experience in the past.
4. 4. b) Frau Albrecht — Frau Albrecht is against paying for housework, but not against pocket money: 'Taschengeld finde ich übrigens sehr wichtig … Aber das Taschengeld sollte es immer geben, ganz egal, wie viel ein Kind im Haushalt tut.' So children should get it even if they help little. Herr Novak never mentions pocket money; he only talks about money for certain jobs. There are two kinds of money in this discussion, payment for work and regular pocket money: first work out which one the statement is about.
5. 5. c) Herr Novak — In his last turn Herr Novak narrows his system down: there is no money for tidying your own room or clearing the table ('das bezahle ich natürlich nicht'), and 'Geld gibt es bei uns nur für Arbeiten, die sonst meine Frau oder ich erledigen müssten.' 'Eine Aufgabe der Erwachsenen' in the statement means a job the parents would otherwise do. The trap is that he moves closer to Frau Albrecht ('Ganz so verschieden sind unsere Meinungen gar nicht'), but he is the only one who describes this payment rule.

In the real exam Teil 4 is a radio discussion between a moderator and two guests. You read eight statements and decide who says each one; the discussion is played twice, and you have 60 seconds to read the statements before it starts. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. The listening module has four parts and 30 items and takes about 40 minutes; recordings play twice in Teil 1, once in Teile 2 and 3 and twice again in Teil 4. Your 30 raw points are converted to 100, and you pass the module with at least 60, i.e. 18 correct answers. On the first listening note each speaker's position; use the second to check the details. Don't forget the moderator, who may share an opinion or an experience too. In Level Exams' full mock exams the audio cannot be paused and plays the set number of times, as in the real exam; the player on this page can be replayed freely.

In the real exam the writing module has three tasks in 60 minutes: this personal e-mail of about 80 words (40 points, about 20 minutes recommended), an opinion piece of about 80 words (40 points) and a short formal e-mail of about 40 words (20 points). In Teil 1 the three points always ask for the same functions: describing something (beschreiben), giving reasons (begründen) and making a suggestion (einen Vorschlag machen). Four criteria are marked separately: task fulfilment (Erfüllung), coherence and e-mail structure (Kohärenz), vocabulary (Wortschatz) and structures (Strukturen), each scoring 10, 7.5, 5, 2.5 or 0. Watch out: if Erfüllung scores 0, because the text is shorter than half the required length (under 40 words) or off-topic, the whole task scores 0. The model text has 89 words, covers the three points in the order given and has a greeting, an opening and a closing; 'weil', 'denn' and a relative clause ('die auch für Anfänger passt') show enough range for B1. You pass the module with at least 60 of 100 points. On Level Exams your text is scored by AI against these criteria.

• Folie 1: Thema und Aufbau „Ich spreche heute über das Thema „Kleidung aus zweiter Hand“. Zuerst erzähle ich von meinen eigenen Erfahrungen. Danach berichte ich, wie die Situation in der Türkei ist. Dann nenne ich Vor- und Nachteile, und am Ende sage ich meine Meinung.“ — On the first slide, name the topic and give the plan of your talk: 'Zuerst … Danach … Dann … Am Ende …'. These sequencing words also help with the coherence criterion, because listeners know where you are going. Opening with a question works too: 'Haben Sie schon einmal gebrauchte Kleidung gekauft?'
• Folie 2: Eigene Erfahrungen „Ich kaufe seit ungefähr drei Jahren gebrauchte Kleidung. Meine Lieblingsjacke habe ich zum Beispiel auf einem Flohmarkt gefunden, für nur zehn Euro. Am Anfang war ich skeptisch, aber inzwischen bin ich ein großer Fan.“ — Tell your experience in the Perfekt ('habe … gefunden'); a habit that is still going on takes the present tense with 'seit': 'Ich kaufe seit drei Jahren …'. A concrete detail (a jacket, a price, a place) makes it vivid and believable. If you have no experience yourself, talk about someone you know: 'Eine Freundin von mir …'.
• Folie 3: Situation im Heimatland „In der Türkei gibt es in vielen Städten Märkte, auf denen man auch gebrauchte Kleidung findet. Junge Leute verkaufen ihre Sachen heute oft über Apps. Meine Großeltern kaufen dagegen lieber neu. Für sie hat gebrauchte Kleidung früher bedeutet, dass man wenig Geld hat.“ — For the situation in your home country, a general statement plus an example works well. You don't need exact statistics; phrases like 'viele Leute' or 'junge Leute' and an example from your family are enough. 'dagegen' (by contrast) is a short way to compare two groups, and adding a comparison with 'im Vergleich zu Deutschland' is a good plus at B1.
• Folie 4: Vor- und Nachteile, Meinung „Ein großer Vorteil ist der Preis, denn man spart viel Geld. Außerdem ist es gut für die Umwelt, weil weniger neue Kleidung produziert werden muss. Ein Nachteil ist, dass man oft lange suchen muss, bis etwas passt. Ich persönlich finde die Vorteile wichtiger. Nur Schuhe kaufe ich lieber neu.“ — This slide does the most work: advantages, disadvantages, your opinion and examples. Note 'Ein Vorteil ist …', 'Ein Nachteil ist, dass …' and 'Ich persönlich finde …' during the preparation time. In clauses with 'weil', 'dass' and 'bis' the verb goes to the end: 'weil weniger neue Kleidung produziert werden muss'. Ending your opinion with a small limitation ('Nur Schuhe kaufe ich lieber neu') makes it sound balanced and believable.
• Folie 5: Abschluss und Dank „Damit bin ich am Ende meiner Präsentation. Vielen Dank, dass Sie zugehört haben! Wenn Sie Fragen haben, beantworte ich sie gern.“ — The closing can be short, but don't skip it: full marks for task fulfilment require all five slides. Thanking the audience and inviting questions is a natural transition, because in Teil 3 you then respond to your partner's feedback and question.

In the real exam the speaking module starts with 15 minutes of preparation, during which you take notes on your own and may use them in the exam. In Teil 2 you choose one of two topics and speak for about 3 minutes, following five fixed slides; the example here is for Thema 1. This part is worth 40 points: Erfüllung 12, Kohärenz 4, Wortschatz/Register 12, Strukturen 12. Full marks for Erfüllung require content on all five slides; covering only 3–4 means a lower band. Pronunciation (Aussprache) is assessed once for all three parts together, out of 16 points. After your talk, in Teil 3 (16 points), you respond to your partner's feedback and question, then give feedback on their presentation and ask a question. The speaking module is worth 100 points and is passed on its own with at least 60. On Level Exams an AI partner plays the other candidate and your speech is scored against these official criteria; the pronunciation score is an AI estimate.