Polish B1 exam – listening comprehension

What the listening module tests

The listening module tests three skills: understanding the general meaning of a statement, recognising intention (whether someone is asking, refusing, advising or complaining) and picking out a detail, such as a time, a price or a place. According to the standard of requirements for B1, the recordings are spoken at normal speed, with standard pronunciation, in good but not perfect acoustic conditions – that is, the way ordinary conversation sounds, not a lesson from a textbook.

Listening is one of the five elements of the exam (four modules of the written part and the oral part). See how the whole exam runs and how points are counted, and you will find practical information about registration and dates in the guide to the B1 exam.

Which recordings you will hear

The regulation lists six types of listening texts at B1 level. The recordings may be made in a studio specially for the exam or come from authentic material – for example radio programmes, television programmes or films.

Example: a short phone call with a trap

The exercise below was written by the Pol-Langua editorial team – it is not a task from a Commission exam paper, but it shows the trap on which learners most often lose points.

The most common traps in the recordings

The authors of the tasks rarely check whether the candidate heard a specific word – more often whether they understood the meaning. That is why the recording contains information that sounds like a good answer but is not one.

If numbers are your weak point, revise how numerals are inflected – in the exam they appear in prices, dates, times and numbers.

How to listen so that you do not lose points

The best results come from a fixed procedure repeated for every task: first you read the questions, then you listen with a focus on specific information, and finally you check your answers.

1. Before the recording, read the instructions and all the questions. Underline the key words: who, when, where, why. Think about what information you are looking for – a number, a place, an opinion.
2. Predict. If the question is "Dlaczego Marek nie pojedzie na wycieczkę?" (Why won't Marek go on the trip?), expect the words bo, ponieważ, niestety.
3. While listening, take notes in shorthand – digits, the first letters of names, arrows. Do not write whole sentences, because you will miss the next piece of information.
4. Do not stop at an unknown word. A single word rarely decides the answer; the meaning usually comes from the whole sentence.
5. Mark your answer straight after the recording, while you still remember the details. Check any doubts at the next playing, if the instructions provide for one.
6. Do not leave blank fields. A blank answer will certainly not earn a point – it is better to choose the most likely option.

How to practise listening at home

You cannot make up for listening in a week – you need short but daily contact with spoken Polish. The plan below takes about 20 minutes a day and combines listening for pleasure with exam practice.

Once every few weeks, do the whole listening module against the clock. At a mock exam you will see whether you will pass listening with a margin or whether it still needs work. Listening comprehension is practised well together with reading comprehension, because both skills rely on the same strategies: predicting, paraphrase and looking for key words.

Tip: if you do not know where to start, take the placement test. It will show whether listening is your strong or weak side compared with your other skills, and at a trial lesson the teacher will suggest how to use this in your study plan.