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A2 Key for Schools study materials
A2 Key for Schools study resources

A2 Key for Schools: Listening - A2 Key for Schools

A2 Key for Schools · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Listening - A2 Key for Schools

What the paper contains

The A2 Key for Schools Listening paper lasts about 30 minutes and has 5 parts, 25 questions. Each recording is played twice. The tasks use short dialogues and monologues set in school, family and everyday situations. Listening is worth 25% of the total marks.

Core rules by part

  • Part 1 (5 questions): three-option multiple choice with pictures. The options look similar, so identify the difference before you listen - price, time, place, activity or person.
  • Part 2 (5 questions): matching. You hear several options mentioned; the correct one is the final choice, often supported by a reason.
  • Part 3 (5 questions): multiple choice on a longer conversation or interview. Questions follow the recording order.
  • Part 4 (5 questions): note completion. Write one or two words or a number for each gap. Spelling must be correct.
  • Part 5 (5 questions): matching on a longer conversation. Listen for the person’s final decision, not the first idea mentioned.

Worked example

Note: The school trip is on ______. Recording: “We’re going to the science museum on Thursday, not Wednesday as I said before.” Answer: Thursday. The speaker corrects an earlier day. Wednesday is a distractor because it is mentioned, but not cancels it. The second listening confirms the correction.

Traps that cost marks

  • Hearing a word from an option and choosing it without checking the whole meaning.
  • Missing correction signals such as actually, sorry, not and instead.
  • In Part 4, adding extra words or making spelling errors in a word you know.
  • In matching tasks, choosing the first option mentioned rather than the final decision.
  • Losing your place because you did not read the question before the recording started.

How to prepare

Read the question stems in the pause before each recording and predict the answer type: a number, a day, a place, a name or an activity. During the first listening, mark your answer; during the second, check it against the exact words in the recording. For note completion, copy the word as you hear it and keep within the word limit.