DTZ Ratgeber

DTZ Listening and Reading: Task Types at a Glance and How to Practice

Von PreparaioAktualisiert am July 11, 2026

Listening and Reading are the two “receptive” parts of the DTZ. They are evaluated automatically according to a fixed scoring key, meaning there is no assessment by examiners – only “correct” or “incorrect”. Knowing the task types can help you score many reliable points in these sections.

This article covers the typical task formats that appear in the official practice set from g.a.s.t./telc and provides a concrete training strategy for each area.

Inhalt

Hören: Overview

The Hören section lasts about 25 minutes in total. You will listen to several recordings from everyday life – from answering machines to radio broadcasts – and answer multiple-choice questions about them. The recordings will be played once or twice depending on the part.

Typical task types are:

Short announcements and public address messages (e.g., train station, answering machine) – usually listen once, tick the correct answer.
Everyday dialogues (e.g., at work, in an office, at the doctor's) – understand content, identify details.
Longer recordings such as interviews or radio broadcasts – grasp main ideas and specific information.

Hören: Training Strategy

The most common mistake in Hören is trying to understand every word. You don't need to – and you won't be able to in the Prüfung anyway. Selective listening is important: read the task before the recording, then listen specifically for the information requested.

Read the tasks BEFORE the recording starts. Mark keywords.
For short announcements: Listen for numbers, times, places, names – these are often the answer.
For dialogues: Pay attention to signal words for opinions (“ich finde”, “meiner Meinung nach”) and for contradiction (“aber”, “trotzdem”).
Training: Listen to news in simple language (e.g., tagesschau in einfacher Sprache), podcasts for German learners, short everyday videos. Not continuously – 10 minutes focused listening is more effective than an hour of passive listening.
Practice with the official model tests from g.a.s.t./telc under Prüfung conditions: listen once, tick immediately, no pause.

Lesen: Overview

The Lesen section lasts about 45 minutes and consists of several parts with various everyday text types. Task types include matching, true/false, and multiple choice.

What to expect (based on official practice set 1 from g.a.s.t./telc):

Part 1: Short everyday texts such as advertisements, notices, notes – usually matching: Which advertisement fits which person?
Part 2: Emails or short letters – extract detailed information.
Part 3: A factual or newspaper article – understand main ideas and details.
Part 4: Brochure texts (e.g., health insurance, parenting guide, consumer protection, Job-Center leaflet) – evaluate statements as true or false.
Part 5: A letter with six gaps (Cloze); for each gap, there are three multiple-choice options. This format tests vocabulary, grammar, and contextual text comprehension.

Lesen Part 5 in Detail: The Letter Cloze

Part 5 is often underestimated because it looks short. You get a letter with six gaps and choose the most suitable option out of three for each gap. The Cloze often tests:

Grammar in the sentence (connector, preposition, article, verb form).
Vocabulary in context (which verb/noun fits semantically here?).
Text logic (which word fits the rest of the letter?).

Lesen: Training Strategy

First, quickly skim the text (headline, first sentences, bold words), then read the tasks, then search specifically.
For True/False: “Is this really stated in the text?” – Turn off prior knowledge. Only what is in the text counts.
Time management: Plan about 8–10 minutes per part, so there's still time for Part 5 (Cloze).
Training: Read short everyday texts daily (5–10 minutes is enough). For Part 5, specifically work on Cloze exercises – quantity is important here, as this format rewards pattern recognition.
Between exercises, review your mistakes and read the text again. Just ticking off tasks without follow-up work hardly improves anything.

Common Mistakes in Hören and Lesen

Not reading the task – answering what you think is asked, instead of what is actually written.
Guessing too much – without text evidence, choosing what “sounds logical” instead of what the text says.
Losing time on a difficult task. Better: mark it, move on, come back to it at the end.
No answer sheet training – correctly transferring answers at the end takes time if you haven't practiced it.

How to Prepare Effectively

Hören and Lesen reward regularity more than long weekend sessions. Ten to twenty minutes per day with real Prüfung material will get you further than three hours on a Sunday.

If you want to find out exactly where you stand in Hören and Lesen and which parts are most worth training, a structured initial check can help – it will show you concretely whether, for example, you are already close to B1 in the Cloze or if you still lack A2 basics.

Häufige Fragen

How many times are the listening recordings played?

Once or twice, depending on the task part. Details are provided at the beginning of each part in the Prüfung instructions.

Am I allowed to take notes during Hören?

Yes, you may make notes on the task sheet. At the end, you must mark your answers on the answer sheet.

How many tasks does Lesen Part 5 have?

Six tasks. For each gap in the letter, there are three multiple-choice options.

Is there a grammar section in the DTZ?

Not a standalone one. Grammar is tested across the four skills – particularly noticeable in Lesen Part 5.

What is the best text type to practice for Lesen Part 4?

Brochures and leaflets from everyday life – health insurance, Job-Center, consumer centers, parenting guides. You can find such texts for free on the respective websites.