Im Unterricht sollen wir nicht nur zuhören, sondern auch mitschreiben und später laut vorlesen.

Im Unterricht means in class or during class.

• im = contraction of in dem
• Unterricht = lesson, teaching, or class/instruction

So im Unterricht is an idiomatic way to say in class.

Notice that German often uses expressions like this where English might just say in class without an article.

Here, im is short for in dem, so it uses the dative case.

With in, German can use either:

• accusative for movement into something
• dative for location or being inside something

In this sentence, Im Unterricht describes the setting, not movement, so German uses the dative:

• in dem Unterricht → im Unterricht

You would not say in Unterricht because standard German normally needs an article here in this expression.

Not exactly. Sollen often means:

• to be supposed to
• to be expected to
• sometimes should

So sollen wir here suggests that this is what is expected of us in class.

It is usually softer than müssen (must / have to).

Compare:

• Wir sollen zuhören. = We are supposed to listen.
• Wir müssen zuhören. = We have to listen.

So sollen often implies a rule, instruction, or expectation coming from someone else.

Because Im Unterricht comes first, and German main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

The conjugated verb must be in the second position:

• Im Unterricht = first element
• sollen = second element
• wir = comes after the verb

So:

• Wir sollen im Unterricht ...
• Im Unterricht sollen wir ...

Both are correct, but the second version emphasizes in class by putting it first.

Because sollen is a modal verb, and with modal verbs, the other verbs usually go to the end in the infinitive form.

Structure:

• subject + modal verb + ... + infinitives at the end

So:

• wir sollen ... zuhören, mitschreiben und vorlesen

This is very common in German:

• Ich will schlafen.
• Sie kann gut kochen.
• Wir müssen jetzt gehen.

Because after a modal verb like sollen, German normally uses the bare infinitive.

So you say:

• Wir sollen zuhören. not
• Wir sollen zu zuhören.

The same applies to:

• können
• müssen
• wollen
• dürfen
• mögen

Example:

• Ich kann schwimmen.
• Du musst lernen.

This is a very common structure meaning:

• not only ... but also ...

In the sentence:

• nicht nur zuhören, sondern auch mitschreiben und später laut vorlesen

This means:

• not only listen, but also take notes and later read aloud

A few things to notice:

1. nicht nur introduces the first part
2. sondern auch introduces the contrasting/additional part
3. sondern is used after a negative idea like nicht nur

Examples:

• Er ist nicht nur nett, sondern auch lustig.
  • He is not only nice, but also funny.

Hören means to hear or to listen in a general sense.

Zuhören means to listen attentively, usually to someone or something.

So in a classroom context, zuhören is more natural because it means pay attention and listen.

Examples:

• Ich höre Musik. = I listen to music.
• Ich höre ein Geräusch. = I hear a sound.
• Ich höre dir zu. = I’m listening to you.

Also note that zuhören is usually used with dative when it has an object:

• dem Lehrer zuhören = listen to the teacher

Yes, zuhören is a separable verb.

When it is conjugated in a normal main clause, the prefix separates:

• Wir hören zu.

But after a modal verb, it stays together in the infinitive:

• Wir sollen zuhören.

The same is true for the other verbs here:

• mitschreiben → Wir schreiben mit.
• vorlesen → Sie liest vor.
• but with a modal: Wir sollen mitschreiben und vorlesen.

Mitschreiben means something like:

• to write along
• to take notes
• to copy down what is being said

In a classroom context, the most natural English meaning is usually take notes.

It is another separable verb:

• Ich schreibe mit. = I’m taking notes / writing along.
• Wir sollen mitschreiben. = We are supposed to take notes.

The prefix mit- often gives the idea of along with or together with.

Vorlesen means to read aloud to someone or to read out.

Laut means aloud or out loud.

So laut vorlesen emphasizes that the reading should be audible.

In many contexts, vorlesen already implies reading aloud, so laut adds extra clarity or emphasis:

• später laut vorlesen = read aloud later

You may also see:

• etwas laut lesen = read something out loud
• jemandem etwas vorlesen = read something aloud to someone

Später is an adverb meaning later.

It comes before the final verb phrase to show when the action happens:

• first zuhören
• also mitschreiben
• and later read aloud

German adverbs are quite flexible, but this placement is very natural:

• ... und später laut vorlesen

It groups später with the last action only, so it sounds like:

• listen
• take notes
• and then later read aloud

There is a comma before sondern because it connects two coordinated parts in the nicht nur ..., sondern auch ... structure.

Sentence:

• Im Unterricht sollen wir nicht nur zuhören, sondern auch mitschreiben und später laut vorlesen.

The comma helps separate:

• nicht nur zuhören from
• sondern auch mitschreiben und später laut vorlesen

This is standard punctuation in German.

It applies to all three verbs.

So the full idea is:

• we are supposed to listen
• we are supposed to take notes
• we are supposed to read aloud later

German often avoids repeating the subject when several infinitives belong to the same modal verb.

So this:

• sollen wir ... zuhören, ... mitschreiben und ... vorlesen

means we do all of those actions.

Yes. A more straightforward version would be:

• Wir sollen im Unterricht nicht nur zuhören, sondern auch mitschreiben und später laut vorlesen.

This has the same meaning, but it starts with Wir, which may feel easier for learners.

The original version:

• Im Unterricht sollen wir ...

just puts more focus on the setting: in class.