Ακρόαση και ανταπόκριση: Listening and responding
What this section tests
You will hear spoken Greek - announcements, interviews, phone messages, conversations - and must extract main ideas, specific detail, attitude and purpose. The skill is selective listening: deciding in advance what information the question needs, then listening for exactly that.
Concepts to master
Recognise discourse markers that signal structure: αρχικά, στη συνέχεια, ωστόσο, επομένως, τελικά, παρ' όλα αυτά. These tell you when a speaker is contrasting, concluding or conceding - precisely where inference questions sit. Learn register cues: the plural of politeness (μπορείτε, θα θέλατε), formal versus informal address, and hesitation markers (λοιπόν, δηλαδή, να σου πω) that signal an upcoming clarification. Practise numbers, times, dates and prices, which are frequently tested and easily misheard (εβδομήντα vs εβδομήντα πέντε; δεκαπέντε vs πενήντα).
Traps in questions
- Distractors that are mentioned but then rejected: 'Σκεφτόμασταν να πάμε την Παρασκευή, αλλά τελικά...' The answer is what comes after αλλά.
- Tone versus content: a speaker may sound enthusiastic while declining.
- Questions asking for the speaker's purpose (να παραπονεθεί, να ζητήσει πληροφορίες) rather than the topic.
- Numbers spoken quickly, and times using παρά (παρά τέταρτο = quarter to) versus και (και τέταρτο = quarter past).
Rule of thumb
Before the recording starts, underline the key word in each question and predict the type of answer (a time, a reason, a feeling). During the second hearing, confirm rather than re-transcribe - you are checking, not discovering.
Worked example
Question: 'Γιατί τηλεφωνεί ο ομιλητής;' Audio: 'Καλημέρα, σας παίρνω γιατί το ραντεβού της Τρίτης δεν με βολεύει. Μήπως μπορούμε να το αλλάξουμε;' The reason is not simply 'an appointment' but the request to reschedule: Θέλει να αλλάξει το ραντεβού. The word μήπως signals the request.