Listening comprehension (Κατανόηση προφορικού λόγου) - Ellinomatheia B1
The B1 listening paper (Κατανόηση προφορικού λόγου) checks whether you can follow standard Modern Greek at close to natural speed on everyday topics: transport announcements, phone messages, service encounters, short dialogues and radio items. At B1 the recordings are longer than at A2 and the items ask for inference - what a speaker intends, decides or feels - not just for literal wording.
Τύποι εργασιών
- Short announcements or answering-machine messages followed by form-filling, multiple choice or True/False statements.
- Two- or three-speaker dialogues where you identify who said what, where the conversation takes place, or what the speakers finally decide.
- Matching several short extracts to statements, pictures or speakers.
- Each recording is normally heard twice; use the first listening for gist and the pause to re-read the items.
What the level demands
- Numbers, times, dates and prices: εβδομήντα (70), ενενήντα (90), τετρακόσια (400), μισή ώρα, και τέταρτο, παρά δέκα.
- Paraphrase: the item almost never reuses the words of the audio, so match meaning, not sound.
- Change of plan: τελικά, μάλλον, άκυρο, το αλλάζω, τελικά δεν πάμε.
- Attitude markers: ενθουσιασμένος, διστακτικός, ενοχλημένος, αδιάφορος.
- Discourse signals that organise the message: λοιπόν, δηλαδή, παρεμπιπτόντως, ωστόσο, γιατί.
Worked example
Recording: «Το τρένο των 8:15 για τη Θεσσαλονίκη θα αναχωρήσει με είκοσι πέντε λεπτά καθυστέρηση. Οι επιβάτες παρακαλούνται να περιμένουν στην αποβάθρα 3 και όχι στη 2, όπως είχε ανακοινωθεί.» Item: Πότε φεύγει το τρένο και από ποια αποβάθρα; Reasoning: 8:15 is the timetable, not the departure - «με καθυστέρηση» adds 25 minutes, so 8:40. The platform is mentioned twice; «και όχι στη 2» cancels the earlier announcement, so platform 3. The phrase «όπως είχε ανακοινωθεί» is the signal that the first piece of information is a distractor.
Παγίδες
- Two numbers in the text, one question: decide which number the question is actually about.
- Negation buried mid-sentence: «Δεν είναι και τόσο ακριβώς έτσι...».
- A speaker thinks aloud and changes their mind; the mark goes to the final decision, not the first idea.
- Writing what you hear instead of what is asked - a filled gap that answers a different question scores zero.
- Still writing during the pause and missing the opening of the second listening.