Exam tip B1 luisteren: don't jump to conclusions!

Before the fragment: read and predict. Use the reading time for every question. Read the question and the options, and figure out what question word fits the answer: wie, wat, waar, wanneer, waarom, hoeveel? Now you know what to listen for: a person, a time, a reason, a number.

It's not possible to replay a fragment in the B1 exam. It's important to keep focus and move on quickly after making a mistake.

Don't jump to conclusions. Don't give the answer before finishing the audio, because sometimes the information changes ("We zien elkaar zaterdag! O, sorry, ik bedoel, zondag!").

During the fragment: listen for the answer, not for every word. Questions usually follow the order of the fragment. Listen for spoken signals:

• importance: "het belangrijkste is…", "let op…";
• contrast: "maar…", "toch…", "eigenlijk…";
• corrections: "nee sorry, ik bedoel…", "o wacht…". The last version usually counts.
• decisions: in a conversation, the plan often changes. Wait for the end: "dan doen we het zo".

News gives the most important facts (wie, wat, waar, wanneer) in the first sentence of each item. Explanations give steps and exceptions: "eerst…, daarna…", "behalve…", "alleen als…". Conversations are usually about what someone wants and what they agree on.

Notes: keywords and numbers only. Are you using the scrap paper? Write down only keywords, so that you don’t lose your concentration. Times (11.15), dates (3 - 11), amounts (€ 10), names, and one or two keywords.

Not sure about the answer? Guess and move on. A guess has a one-in-three chance; worrying to long about a question costs you the next one too if you loose focus.

Practise without pausing. On The Dutch Online Academy, play each fragment once and don't use the transcript until you have answered.

Component · Luisteren

• Task type · Nieuws (radio news, reports), gesprekken (conversations at work, with a landlord, at a counter), uitleg (explanations, instructions, information sessions) and mededelingen (announcements, voicemails)
• What the real task looks like · 90 minutes, about 40 multiple-choice questions on 5 or more listening texts plus a few video clips. Speakers talk about situations at work, during study and in daily life. For each question you get 25 seconds to read the question and its 3 options. Each fragment plays once, but it's possible to replay. No dictionary.

Most common mistakes

1. Hearing a word and choosing the option with that word, while the speaker used it for different information (spoor 5 is the old platform, spoor 8 the new one).
2. Missing the correction or the final decision: "om drie uur, nee sorry, om half vier"; "we wilden naar Texel, maar we gaan toch naar Maastricht".
3. Trying to understand every word and losing the thread.
4. Writing full sentences in your notes and missing the next part.
5. Not reading the question first, so you don't know what to listen for.