The Coffee Theory:
Staying calm in the telc exam

Imagine a man. The man has an important exam today. He must be on time. In the morning he drinks a coffee. Suddenly the cup tips over. The coffee is now on his shirt.

What happens now? The man gets angry. He is very upset. He has to change his shirt. But he cannot find a clean shirt. He gets nervous. He arrives late. At the exam he is stressed. The exam goes badly.

But wait: what was the problem? Was it the coffee? No. The problem was not the coffee. The problem was the reaction. The man got too upset. So a small mistake turned into a big problem.

That is the Coffee Theory. In English it is called the Spilled Coffee Theory. The idea is simple: small problems always happen. We cannot change that. But we can change our reaction. And the reaction is often more important than the problem itself.

In the exam there is always a coffee moment too. Something goes wrong. That is normal. It happens to almost everyone.

Maybe you do not understand a listening text. Maybe you forget a word when speaking. Maybe one task in Lesen is very hard. That is your coffee. That is just a small stain.

The danger is not the mistake. The danger is the panic. When you panic, the same thing happens as with the man. You lose your concentration. You can only think about the mistake. And then you make even more mistakes. So a small stain becomes a big problem.

But here comes the good news. You do not have to be perfect. In telc exams you usually need to reach about 60 percent. That means: you are allowed to make many mistakes and still pass the exam. A single mistake is never the end.

The telc B1 exam has several sections: Lesen, Sprachbausteine, Hören, Schreiben and Sprechen. In every section the coffee can tip over. That is not a disaster. Here are real examples and simple solutions.

In Hören

You do not understand a text. Stay calm. Do not stop. Move on to the next task. Good news: just guess! If you leave an answer blank, you get zero points. But if you guess, there is a good chance you will get the right answer.

In Sprechen

You forget a word. No problem. Simply explain the word differently. Use easy words. Keep talking. The examiners want to see that you can speak.

In Schreiben

A sentence does not sound good. Leave it as it is. Keep writing. One sentence is not the whole letter. What matters is that you write all the points.

In Lesen

One task is too hard. Skip it. Do the easy tasks first. Come back to it later. That way you collect points quickly.

The telc B2 exam is harder than B1. The texts are longer. The words are harder. In telc B2 you often hear the texts only once. That is why staying calm is even more important here. Anyone who looks back misses the next task.

In Sprachbausteine

One gap is very hard. Do not think about it for too long. Choose an answer and move on. You can check again at the end.

In Lesen

A long text is hard. Do not read every word. Read the questions first. Then look only for the important words in the text. That saves time.

In Hören

You miss a sentence. Do not stop. The text keeps going. Listen forward, not backward. The next answer is coming right away.

In Sprechen with your partner

Your partner speaks fast. Or you do not understand something. Stay calm. Ask politely. You are allowed to say: Kannst du das bitte wiederholen?

In Schreiben

One part of your email or Forumsbeitrag is not so good. Write all the parts to the end anyway. A complete text with small mistakes is better than a half-finished text without mistakes.

When the coffee tips over in the exam, these six tips will help. They are very simple.

1. Breathe. Take one deep breath in and out. That takes only three seconds. But it helps a lot.
2. Say a sentence to yourself. Say quietly in your head: A mistake is just a stain. That will calm you down.
3. Move on. Do not stay with the hard task. Do the next task.
4. Think about the points. You do not need 100 percent. About 60 percent is often enough. You are allowed to make mistakes.
5. Think forward. The mistake is over. The next task is what matters now.
6. Move something in your hand. Turn a pen or pencil in your hand. Or wear a ring that presses a little. When you turn these small things in your hand, it helps the brain to calm down and takes away the tension.