The telc B1 German language exam is an important exam for everyone who wants to officially prove their German skills at B1 level. The telc German B1 certificate confirms that you can communicate independently in German in many everyday situations, at work, while travelling and in familiar conversations.
Many participants feel nervous before the exam. That is completely normal. The good news is: the telc B1 exam has a clear structure, can be prepared for well and tests exactly the skills that are practised in a B1 German course. If you know the structure, practise typical tasks and can confidently use important phrases, you will go into the exam much more relaxed.
In this article, we explain how the telc B1 German exam is structured, which content appears in the exam, what you need to be able to do at B1 level and how you can prepare specifically for the exam.
The telc German B1 exam is a standardised language exam at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It tests whether you can use German independently in everyday life, at work and in personal situations.
This means that you do not have to speak perfect German. At B1 level, it is important that you can express yourself clearly, understand and write simple connected texts, and react appropriately in conversations.
The telc B1 exam consists of two main sections:
Exam SectionContentWritten examReading, language elements, listening, writingOral examSpeaking in three parts
The exam therefore tests all important language skills: reading, listening, writing and speaking.
For the B1 German exam, you should be able to communicate independently in familiar situations. These include, for example, everyday life, family, work, education, leisure, travel, health, housing, appointments, authorities, shopping and personal experiences.
At B1 level, you should be able to:
understand simple and connected texts
write personal emails or semi-formal messages
talk about experiences, plans and wishes
express your own opinion on a topic
give simple reasons
hold conversations and respond to other people
understand important information from audio texts
correctly use familiar grammar structures
It is not important that every sentence is perfect. What matters is that your message remains understandable and that you show you can use typical B1 structures.
The telc B1 German exam is clearly structured. If you know the process, you can prepare more effectively and avoid unnecessary uncertainty on exam day.
In the reading section, you must understand different types of texts. These may include advertisements, short articles, letters, emails, notices or informational texts. You may need to find suitable headings, match statements or decide whether information is true or false.
The language elements section focuses on grammar and vocabulary. You have to insert suitable words, forms or expressions into gaps. This section tests whether you can use typical structures at B1 level confidently.
Typical topics include:
everyday life and leisure
work and education
travel and transport
health
housing
shopping
media and communication
family and social contacts
Tip: First read the task instructions carefully. Mark keywords and look for specific information in the text. Often, you do not need to understand every single word, but you do need to find the correct information.
In the listening section, you hear different short or longer audio texts. These may be conversations, announcements, news reports, interviews or everyday situations. Afterwards, you answer questions, for example multiple-choice questions or true/false tasks.
This section tests whether you can understand spoken German in typical situations.
Important questions are:
Who is speaking?
What is it about?
Which information is important?
Which statement matches the task?
Which details are mentioned?
Tip: Read the tasks carefully before listening. This way, you know what to pay attention to. Do not focus on every unknown word, but on the main information.
In the writing section, you usually write an email or a letter. You are given a situation and several points that you must include in your text. This can be a personal or semi-formal message.
Writing is not only about grammar. Your text is also assessed based on whether you complete the task fully, whether the text is logically structured and whether the greeting, introduction, main part and closing fit the situation.
A good structure for the telc B1 writing task looks like this:
For example:
Liebe Anna,
Lieber Ahmed,
Sehr geehrte Frau Müller,
Sehr geehrter Herr Schneider,
Do not begin directly with the first point. First write a short introduction that fits the situation.
Example:
Vielen Dank für deine E-Mail. Ich habe mich sehr darüber gefreut.
or:
vielen Dank für Ihre Nachricht. Gerne antworte ich Ihnen auf Ihre Fragen.
Include all points from the task. Each point should be clearly recognisable. Do not write only individual short sentences, but connect your ideas in a meaningful way.
End the text in a way that fits the situation.
Examples:
Ich freue mich auf deine Antwort.
Ich hoffe, dass wir bald einen passenden Termin finden.
Für Rückfragen stehe ich Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung.
Viele Grüße
Herzliche Grüße
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
It is helpful to prepare some sentence starters and useful phrases. They give your text structure and show that you can write at B1 level.
Useful phrases include:
Vielen Dank für deine/Ihre Nachricht.
Es tut mir leid, dass ich mich erst jetzt melde.
Ich freue mich sehr darüber, dass …
Leider kann ich nicht kommen, weil …
Meiner Meinung nach ist es wichtig, dass …
Ich finde, dass …
Außerdem möchte ich sagen, dass …
Deshalb schlage ich vor, dass …
Könnten wir vielleicht einen anderen Termin vereinbaren?
Ich freue mich auf deine/Ihre Antwort.
When writing, pay special attention to:
capitalisation
verb position in main clauses and subordinate clauses
commas before subordinate clauses
correct greeting and closing formula
appropriate tenses
articles and cases
clear connection between sentences
A good B1 text does not have to be complicated. However, it should be understandable, complete and well structured.
The oral exam consists of three parts. Usually, two participants speak together. The goal is not to give a perfect presentation. It is much more important that you communicate, react, ask questions, express your opinion and find solutions together.
The oral telc B1 exam typically consists of these parts:
PartTaskPart 1Getting to know each other and talking about personal topicsPart 2Talking about a topic and expressing your own opinionPart 3Planning something together
In this part, you talk about personal topics. For example:
name
origin
place of residence
family
job or school
learning German
hobbies
languages
leisure time
This part is about having a normal conversation. Do not answer with only one word. Add some short extra information.
Not ideal:
Ich komme aus Syrien.
Better:
Ich komme aus Syrien, aber ich lebe seit drei Jahren in Deutschland. Zurzeit wohne ich in Leipzig und besuche einen Deutschkurs.
In this part, you receive a topic or a short opinion on a topic. You are expected to talk about it, summarise the information and express your own opinion.
Typical topics may include:
travel
family
work
school
leisure
media
health
environment
learning
living together
A good structure is:
name the topic
briefly say what it is about
express your own opinion
give reasons
give an example
react to the other person
Useful phrases:
In dem Text geht es um …
Die Person sagt, dass …
Ich bin der Meinung, dass …
Ich sehe das ähnlich, weil …
Ich bin nicht ganz einverstanden, denn …
Aus meiner Erfahrung kann ich sagen, dass …
Bei mir war es so, dass …
In the third part, you plan something together with your partner. This could be a party, a trip, a meeting, a course celebration or a shared activity.
This section tests whether you can make suggestions, react, ask questions and come to an agreement.
Important phrases:
Was hältst du davon, wenn wir …?
Ich schlage vor, dass wir …
Wir könnten vielleicht …
Das ist eine gute Idee.
Ich bin damit einverstanden.
Ich finde den Vorschlag gut, aber …
Vielleicht wäre es besser, wenn …
Wer übernimmt diese Aufgabe?
Dann machen wir es so.
Important: Do not speak alone. The task is called “planning together”. Ask questions, react to suggestions and agree on a result at the end.
The telc B1 exam is assessed according to fixed criteria. This is an advantage because the assessment is not arbitrary. It is checked whether you complete the tasks, communicate understandably and whether your language matches level B1.
In writing, the most important criteria are:
task achievement: Have you addressed all points?
communicative design: Is the text structured appropriately?
formal accuracy: Are grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation understandable and sufficiently correct?
In speaking, the most important criteria are:
ability to express yourself
task achievement
formal accuracy
pronunciation and intonation
You do not have to speak or write without any mistakes. What matters is that you complete the task and remain clearly understandable.
Many mistakes do not happen because participants know too little German, but because they do not pay close attention to the task instructions.
Typical mistakes are:
not addressing all points in the task
writing answers that are too short
not using an appropriate greeting
mixing formal and informal language
not writing a clear closing in the writing section
reacting too little to the partner in the oral exam
thinking too long about an unknown word in the listening section
spending too much time on one single text in the reading section
You can avoid these mistakes by practising model tests and becoming familiar with the exam format.
Good telc B1 exam preparation is not only about learning grammar. You should train all exam sections specifically.
Work with telc model tests. This helps you become familiar with the task formats, time limits and typical exam situations.
Write short emails on typical B1 topics several times a week. Make sure you always use a greeting, an introduction, all guiding points and a suitable closing.
Prepare phrases for opinions, reasons, suggestions, agreement and disagreement. These are especially helpful in the oral exam.
The oral exam is a conversation. Therefore, do not only practise alone, but also with other people. Planning something together is especially important.
For B1, the following grammar topics are especially important:
subordinate clauses with weil, dass, wenn, obwohl
perfect tense and simple past
modal verbs
accusative and dative
prepositions
sentence structure
connectors
separable verbs
articles and endings
Regularly listen to German dialogues, podcasts, news or videos at B1 level. It is important to learn how to recognise main information and important details.
Many participants are afraid before the exam, especially before the speaking part. This fear is understandable, but it is usually greater than the exam itself.
The telc B1 exam is not a mystery. It follows a fixed structure and tests situations that you know from your German course and everyday life. If you practise the typical tasks, prepare important phrases and simulate the exam once completely, you will know exactly what to expect.
Remember: You do not have to be perfect. You have to show that you can communicate understandably in German.
As a provider of language courses, further education and tutoring, we support you specifically in your preparation for the telc B1 German language exam. In our German courses and exam preparation courses, you train exactly the areas that are important in the exam: reading, listening, writing and speaking.
We help you to:
understand the exam structure
solve typical tasks confidently
write emails at B1 level
speak more confidently
review important grammar
practise useful phrases for the oral exam
go into the exam with more confidence
If you would like to take a telc B1 exam or prepare specifically for your German B1 certificate, we will be happy to advise you on suitable courses, exam dates and preparation options.
The telc B1 German exam is manageable if you know what to expect. Clear preparation, regular practice and a good understanding of the exam structure are important.
Especially important are:
knowing all exam sections
practising typical task formats
addressing all guiding points in the writing section
actively reacting to your partner in the speaking section
using important phrases confidently
reviewing grammar and vocabulary specifically
practising with model tests under exam conditions
With the right preparation, you can approach the telc B1 exam more confidently, calmly and successfully.
Would you like to prepare for the telc B1 German exam? Feel free to contact us. We support you with suitable German courses, exam preparation and individual consultation.
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