CILS A2 common mistakes
CILS A2 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In the listening section, the candidate starts answering while the audio is still playing and stops following the track, so the answer for the next item is missed entirely.
A2 audio is played only twice and candidates fear losing the first item, so they write during the first pass instead of using it to locate the relevant passage and identify the speakers' intent.
What to do instead
On the first listening, mark only the item number where each answer is heard and note one keyword; write the full answer on the second listening. Practise with two-pass drills where the first pass is pencil-only.
The candidate answers a listening item with a word they heard in the audio rather than with the information the question asks for, for example picking a time or price that belongs to a different speaker or a different part of the dialogue.
At A2 the candidate recognises isolated lexical items but does not yet track who says what, and distractors in CILS listening items are built exactly from these recognisable words.
What to do instead
Before listening, underline the question word (chi, quando, quanto, dove, perché) and predict the type of answer needed. During the second pass, confirm the speaker and the sentence context before choosing.
In the oral production tasks, the candidate produces a memorised monologue that does not answer the prompt, or stops after two or three sentences and waits for the examiner to rescue the interaction.
Candidates prepare set speeches and lack strategies for the interactive part of the test, where the examiner asks follow-up questions and the candidate must react and keep the exchange going.
What to do instead
Prepare flexible chunks rather than full scripts: openings, opinions, reasons, and requests for clarification. Rehearse with a partner who asks unpredictable follow-up questions and practise adding one reason or example to every statement.
The candidate reads the whole reading text word by word before looking at the questions, runs out of time, and guesses the final items.
A2 readers still decode slowly and treat unknown words as blockers, so a full linear reading consumes the time budgeted for all the items.
What to do instead
Read the questions first, then scan for the paragraph containing the relevant keyword. Skip unknown words unless the question depends on them, and set a strict per-item time limit in practice.
On true/false and matching reading items, the candidate marks 'true' whenever the text contains words from the statement, even when the text says the opposite or refers to a different person.
Surface lexical overlap feels like comprehension, and A2 texts often restate the same idea with a negation, a different subject, or a synonym that changes the meaning.
What to do instead
For each statement, locate the exact sentence and check three things: who the subject is, whether there is a negation, and whether the verb tense matches. Underline the evidence sentence before marking the answer.
In the written production, the candidate writes far more than the required length, runs out of time, and leaves the second task unfinished or unrevised.
Candidates believe length earns marks and do not know that CILS written tasks specify a target length; extra sentences also multiply errors.
What to do instead
Practise writing to the stated length in a timed setting, counting words. Reserve the final minutes for revision of agreement, articles, and verb endings instead of adding content.
The candidate uses a single tense throughout the written task, typically the present, even when the prompt requires narrating a past event or describing a future plan.
Under exam pressure the candidate falls back on the most automatised form and has not consolidated passato prossimo, imperfetto, and futuro semplice well enough to select among them while composing.
What to do instead
Before writing, list the two or three tenses the prompt needs and write one model sentence for each. Build a short repertoire of past-time markers (ieri, la settimana scorsa, due anni fa) and future markers (domani, il prossimo mese) to anchor the choice.
In the structures section, the candidate answers by ear, choosing the option that sounds familiar, without checking article-noun and subject-verb agreement or the preposition required by the verb.
A2 learners have strong formulaic chunks but incomplete paradigms, so a wrong form can sound acceptable, especially with irregular plurals, articulated prepositions, and verbs that govern a fixed preposition.
What to do instead
For each item, verify the noun's gender and number, then the article, then the verb ending. Keep a personal list of high-frequency verb-plus-preposition combinations and drill them in short sentences.
The candidate confuses the passato prossimo auxiliary and past participle agreement, producing forms like 'ho andato' or 'siamo mangiato', and mixes up imperfetto and passato prossimo in the same narrative.
Auxiliary choice depends on transitivity and on verbs of motion that can take either auxiliary, and the aspectual difference between the two past tenses is not yet automatic at A2.
What to do instead
Learn verbs in pairs with their auxiliary (ho mangiato / sono andato) and drill a fixed list of motion and reflexive verbs. For aspect, practise contrasting background description in the imperfetto with completed events in the passato prossimo in short paragraphs.
The candidate leaves multiple-choice items blank or changes correct answers at the last minute without a reason, losing points that partial knowledge would have earned.
Negative marking is feared and time pressure at the end of the structures section triggers anxious second-guessing.
What to do instead
Answer every item, eliminating options by checking gender, number, and preposition first. Only change an answer when a concrete rule or piece of evidence justifies it, and practise full timed sections to build a stable finishing routine.