Listening and Reading Comprehension: Understanding German
Practise extracting key points, details and opinions from German listening and reading prompts.
Practise it before the paper, not after
Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
Understanding German
Comprehension means taking a German prompt apart: main message first, then details, then opinion or time clues.
Key German
These words help you track time and opinion.
Main idea and detail
Good comprehension separates what the text is about from the small details that prove it.
Listen for travel detail
Listen to the short travel sentence.
- They travel by train tomorrow.
- They cycle today.
- They stay at home.
Match German to meaning
- morgen
- am Wochenende
- interessant
- langweilig
- tomorrow
- at the weekend
- interesting
- boring
Do not translate every word first
For GCSE comprehension, find the message and the evidence. Unknown words are less dangerous when the main clue is clear.
Complete the notes
Complete the notes: _____ means tomorrow. _____ means at the weekend. _____ means interesting. _____ means boring.
Comprehension order
Use this order on a short German prompt.
- Find the topic
- Find time or place clues
- Find opinion words
- Answer using evidence
Two accurate choices
Which TWO are useful comprehension clues?
- morgen tells you when something happens.
- interessant gives an opinion.
- One unknown word means the whole answer is impossible.
- Ignore time words in listening.
Spot the evidence
Tap the TWO useful evidence words.
- morgen
- interessant
- und
- ich
Find the evidence
Choose the clue type.
- The prompt says morgen.
- The prompt says interessant.
- The prompt says in Berlin.
Explain comprehension strategy
Explain how to answer a German listening or reading question using evidence.
- Start with the main idea
- Use a time or opinion clue
- Say how the evidence supports the answer