Cambridge A2 Key (KET) common mistakes
Cambridge A2 Key (KET) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In Reading and Writing Part 1 (signs and notices), the candidate picks the option that repeats the most words from the sign, e.g. choosing 'You can buy a bike here' for a notice saying 'Bikes for sale' when the correct option is 'Someone wants to sell a bicycle.'
At A2 level candidates match on surface vocabulary rather than meaning; recognising an identical word feels like confirmation, so they stop reading the other options.
What to do instead
Train paraphrase matching: for every sign the candidate meets, cover the three options and produce their own sentence first, then choose the option closest in meaning. Build a personal list of common swaps (buy/sell, borrow/lend, closed/open, free/cost).
In the open cloze (Part 6), the candidate writes two words in a gap, writes a word that is grammatically possible but wrong for the meaning, or leaves gaps blank rather than guessing.
Candidates do not identify what kind of word is missing (preposition, article, auxiliary, pronoun) before choosing, and they fear a wrong answer more than a blank.
What to do instead
Teach a fixed routine: read the whole sentence, decide the word class needed, then supply one word only. Drill high-frequency A2 gaps (in/on/at, a/an/the, do/does/did, because/but/so, much/many). Instruct that a blank is always wrong, a guess is sometimes right.
In the email reply (Part 9), the candidate writes a long message that answers only one or two of the three notes, does not include a greeting or closing, or writes far beyond the 25-word target.
Candidates treat it as free writing and focus on sounding fluent; they also run out of time and rush the last task in the paper.
What to do instead
Rehearse a fixed frame: greeting, one sentence per note, closing, and tick each note off with a pencil as it is answered. Time-box the task at about 8 minutes and practise to 25-35 words so length becomes automatic.
In multiple matching (Part 7) and the long text (Part 8), the candidate reads every text word by word from the start, runs out of time and leaves later questions unanswered.
Classroom reading habits encourage full translation; candidates have not been taught that skimming for topic first is faster and sufficient at A2.
What to do instead
Practise a two-pass method: read the questions/headings first, skim each short text for its general topic in about 20 seconds, match, then re-read only the text they chose to confirm. Do timed sets of four texts in six minutes.
In Listening Parts 1 and 2, the candidate writes the answer as soon as they hear a matching word, and is then caught by the correction that follows ('Actually, make it the 3.30, not the 2.30').
They listen for isolated words rather than the whole utterance, and A2 recordings deliberately include the first-mentioned distractor.
What to do instead
Train the candidate to keep the pencil off the paper until the speaker finishes the turn, and to listen for correction signals (but, actually, sorry, I mean, instead). Do short drills where two numbers, times or prices are said and only the second counts.
In the gap-fill listening tasks, the candidate writes more than one word or number where the rubric allows one, misspells common names and days, or writes '15' for '50' and 'Tuesday' for 'Thursday'.
They transcribe what they think they heard without checking the word limit, and they have never drilled the letters and number pairs that are hard to distinguish at speed.
What to do instead
Before each recording, have them underline the word limit in the rubric and say it aloud. Run regular dictation of names, days, months, prices and phone numbers, and require answers to be spelled correctly, since spelling errors lose the mark.
The candidate misses one answer and stops listening while trying to work out what it was, so the next two or three answers are also lost.
They are still processing the previous question when the recording moves on, and they do not accept that a single lost mark is survivable.
What to do instead
Rehearse the recovery rule until it is automatic: put a cross, look immediately at the next question, and rejoin the recording there. Use the pause before each part to pre-read and predict what kind of answer is coming (a time, a place, a name).
In the Speaking test the candidate answers only what is asked ('Yes.' 'No.' 'Football.') and offers nothing further, so the examiner has no evidence of range.
Short answers feel safe and correct to a nervous A2 candidate, and in many school systems a minimal answer has never been penalised.
What to do instead
Train the answer-plus pattern for every question: answer, then one extra sentence giving a reason, place, time or opinion ('Yes, I like football because I play with my brother at the weekend'). Practise until adding a second sentence is a reflex.
In Speaking Part 2 the pair work in silence, one candidate answers everything while the other says nothing, or they talk over each other and never ask a question.
Candidates do not realise Part 2 is assessed as an interaction and think the aim is to give a good answer, not to hold a conversation.
What to do instead
Rehearse a small set of turn-taking phrases (What about you?, Do you agree?, Me too, Really? Why?) and do paired practice with a rule that each candidate must ask at least two questions. Record it and count the questions afterwards.
When the candidate does not know a word in the Speaking test, they stop, switch to their own language, or say 'I don't know' and wait for the examiner to rescue them.
They have been taught vocabulary as lists to recall exactly, and have no strategy for expressing a gap in English.
What to do instead
Teach three paraphrase moves and drill them on pictures: describe the function ('the thing you use to cut bread'), give the category ('a kind of fruit'), and give an example ('like a banana but bigger'). Ban silence and first-language words in practice so the strategy is used under pressure.