Part 3: Planning something together

How to plan together successfully

In Part 3 (Gemeinsam etwas planen) you plan a concrete activity with your partner – in telc’s official practice test, for example, a farewell party. You discuss things like the date, place, getting there, tasks and budget. A good performance is a real conversation: you make suggestions, react to the other person, give reasons for agreeing or disagreeing and confirm a joint decision at the end. A long monologue without reactions does not fulfil the task. The conversation takes about 6 minutes and is worth up to 30 points.

Phrases for each stage of the conversation

• Suggestion: „Wie wäre es, wenn wir …?“ (How about if we …?)
• Agreeing: „Das finde ich gut, weil …“ (I like that because …)
• Alternative: „Ich würde lieber … Was meinst du dazu?“ (I’d rather … What do you think?)
• Clarifying: „Wer kümmert sich um …?“ (Who will take care of …?)
• Decision: „Dann machen wir es so: …“ (Then let’s do it like this: …)

Go through the key points one by one, but stay flexible. If you don’t agree straight away, compare two options and find a compromise. At the end, briefly repeat the date, place and who does what. Guided scenarios are available in the speaking trainer (in German); the telc B1 exam overview links to all other parts of the exam, and Part 2 is the conversation about a topic.