Platform 7 or Platform 12? A Station Announcement Under Time Pressure
Lena, a Junior Cycle German candidate, is practising a station announcement. The recording says: 'Der IC 2045 nach Hamburg-Altona fährt heute nicht von Gleis 7, sondern von Gleis 12. Abfahrt ist um 14:32, also etwa zehn Minuten später als geplant.' A second announcement follows: 'Der Regionalexpress nach Kiel fällt heute aus.' Lena's answer sheet reads: 'Gleis 7, 14:22, Kiel fährt.' She is confident because she heard the number 7 clearly and wrote it immediately. She has 30 seconds before the recording is played a second time, and the exam allows notes on the question paper. Her teacher has told her that she often 'loses the second half of long sentences'. In class she understands similar announcements when the teacher slows down, but in the exam the speaker's natural pace and the station echo make the key words harder to catch. She now has to decide what to change and how to listen differently on the replay.
1. Diagnose Lena's three answers. Which words in the announcement decide each one, and what should she write on the replay?
Read the worked answer
Platform: The decisive structure is 'nicht von Gleis 7, sondern von Gleis 12'. The negation cancels the first platform and 'sondern' introduces the replacement. Lena wrote the first number she heard and stopped processing; the correct answer is Gleis 12.
Time: The text says 'Abfahrt ist um 14:32, also etwa zehn Minuten später als geplant'. Lena wrote 14:22, which looks like subtracting ten minutes instead of adding them. The correct answer is 14:32.
Kiel: The second announcement says the Regionalexpress 'fällt heute aus', not that it 'fährt'. Lena transferred the verb from the first announcement. The correct answer is the train is cancelled ('fällt aus').
The pattern is consistent: in each case the information that changes the answer comes after the first number or the first verb. Lena is treating the start of the sentence as the answer rather than waiting for the contrast or the completion.
2. What listening strategy should Lena use in the 30 seconds before the replay? Give concrete actions, not general advice.
Read the worked answer
She should use the pause actively rather than simply waiting:
- Read the question stems first and label what type of answer each needs: a platform number, a time, a status (fährt / fällt aus / verspätet).
- Mark the trap next to the platform question: write 'nicht ... sondern' in the margin so she expects a correction.
- Do not write during the first half of a sentence. Keep the pencil still until the speaker reaches 'sondern', 'aber', 'Abfahrt' or 'fällt aus'.
- Use abbreviations on the replay: 'Gl. 12', '14.32', 'fällt aus'. This buys time to keep listening.
- Check polarity: for every answer, ask 'Is this the positive or the negative version?' A number alone is not an answer if the sentence contains 'nicht'.
The underlying fix is to listen for the sentence's turning point, not for the first familiar word.