LanguageCert A2 Speaking and Listening practice

Free practice tests

• LanguageCert A2 practice test 1

  Questions about work, shopping and weather, role plays with a neighbour and a shop, a picture of a market, a talk about Daniel's job, and a talk about your job or studies.

  Start practice test 1

• LanguageCert A2 practice test 2

  Questions about free time, family and holidays, role plays about a birthday and a train ticket, a picture of a station, a talk about Grace's town, and a talk about a place you like.

  Start practice test 2

What happens in the A2 exam

1. Part 1: Questions about you · 1½ to 2 minutes

   After the name check and spelling your family name, the examiner names a topic, such as daily life or travel, and asks one question from each of three topics. Expect questions about the past as well as the present.

2. Part 2: Role plays · about 1½ minutes

   Two everyday situations with a small problem or request, such as returning something to a shop. The examiner starts one and you start the other, with about two short turns each. At A2, say what you want and why.

3. Part 3: Two pictures · 1½ to 2 minutes

   You and the examiner each describe and ask about a different picture of the same place. A2 answers say where things are and what people are doing, not only what is there.

4. Part 4a: Listen and answer · 2½ to 3 minutes

   The examiner reads a talk about an everyday event or plan, twice, while you make notes if you want. Then you answer three questions out loud, often about a time, a place or a reason.

5. Part 4b: Your talk · 2 to 2½ minutes, with questions

   You get a topic, 30 seconds of preparation, then up to one minute of talk. Follow-up questions ask for a little more detail about what you said.

How LanguageCert marks the test, with the five marking criteria.

How to prepare

• Give a reason with "because". "I prefer shops, because I can try things on." A reason turns a short answer into an A2 answer.
• Practise the past tense. Many questions ask about last weekend, your last holiday or your last purchase. "I went", "I bought", "It was".
• In role plays, say why. When you start a situation, say what you want and why: "I bought these shoes yesterday, but they're too small."
• Ask about the examiner's picture. Part 3 is an exchange. After you answer, ask a question back: "Is it sunny in your picture too?"
• Plan your one-minute talk in five notes. What, where, when, who with, why you like it. Five short notes are enough for one minute.

For each part in detail, with useful phrases, common mistakes and a study plan, see our LanguageCert A2 tips.

Worked example: Part 4a at A2

A short talk written for this page in the style of Part 4a, with three questions and how to note the answers across the two readings.

1. The talk

   "Hi, I'm Daniel. Next Saturday our football club is having a family day at Riverside Park. It starts at eleven, and there will be games for children and a barbecue at one o'clock. Tickets cost five pounds for adults, but children are free. If it rains, we will move everything to the sports hall on King Street."

2. Before it starts

   You see the questions: Where is the family day? How much is an adult ticket? Where will it be if it rains? Each needs a place or a price, so you know what to listen for.

3. First reading

   Write one or two words per answer: Riverside Park, £5, sports hall. Ignore the details the questions do not ask about, such as the barbecue.

4. Second reading

   Check and add: sports hall on King Street. The second reading is for catching the detail you missed, not for starting again.

5. Your answers

   "At Riverside Park." "Five pounds." "In the sports hall on King Street." Short answers are enough, and each one matches the question word.

Common mistakes at A2

At A2 the examiner listens for the past tense, reasons and polite requests. These slips are the most common ways to lose those marks.

• Not: "Last summer I go to Spain."

  Better: "Last summer I went to Spain."

  Part 1 and Part 4b often ask about the past. Practise the irregular verbs you will need: went, saw, bought, ate, had, took.

• Not: "I am agree."

  Better: "I agree."

  Agree is a verb on its own, so it needs no am in front of it.

• Not: "I want to change this shirt." (and nothing more)

  Better: "I'd like to change this shirt, please. It's too big."

  In a role play, a polite request plus a reason is what an A2 answer sounds like. I'd like is softer than I want.

• Not: "I live here since three years."

  Better: "I've lived here for three years."

  For goes with a length of time. Have lived connects the past to now.

• Not: "In my picture is a woman."

  Better: "In my picture there is a woman. She's sitting on a bench."

  Use there is to say something exists, then add what the person is doing. That second sentence is the step from A1 to A2.

• Not: A one-minute talk that is three sentences long.

  Better: Five notes, one or two sentences each.

  Thirty seconds was enough at A1. At A2, plan what, where, when, who with and why to fill the minute.

Sample A2 talk, explained

Topic: a place you visited. You have 30 seconds to make notes and then talk for up to one minute. Notes: Edinburgh, last spring, train, castle, cold, want to go again.

I want to talk about Edinburgh. I went there last spring with my husband and our daughter. We travelled by train, and the journey was about four hours. On the first day we visited the castle. It is on a hill, so you can see the whole city from there. The weather was quite cold, but it was sunny. My daughter loved the old streets and the shops. I would like to go again, maybe in the summer, because I want to see the festival.

Why it works

• It opens by naming the place, which gives the talk a clear start.
• Each note becomes one or two sentences, so the six notes fill about a minute.
• It is mostly in the past tense (went, travelled, visited, loved), which is right for a past visit.
• So, but and because join ideas, and each one adds a reason or a contrast.
• The last sentence moves to the future with I would like to, which shows range without being difficult.

Questions

How long is the LanguageCert A2 Speaking and Listening test?

9 to 11 minutes. The biggest change from A1 is your own talk, which doubles to up to one minute.

Who needs the LanguageCert A2 test?

LanguageCert lists A2 Speaking and Listening for family route applications for further leave to remain after 2½ years in the UK. Whether your own extension needs it depends on your route, which the GOV.UK guidance for your visa explains.

I passed LanguageCert A1. Is A2 very different?

The four parts are the same, but the answers need to be longer and joined with words like because, but and then. Part 1 adds questions about the past, and the talk in Part 4b is twice as long.

What kind of topics come up at A2?

Everyday ones: daily life, travel, shopping, free time, food and your town. Prepare to talk about what you usually do and about one time in the past, such as your last holiday.

Official sources

• LanguageCert: A1 Speaking and Listening test (SELT)
• LanguageCert: A2 Speaking and Listening test (SELT)
• LanguageCert: B1 Speaking and Listening test (SELT)
• LanguageCert: International ESOL (Speaking & Listening) qualification handbook
• GOV.UK: Prove your English with a secure English language test (SELT)

TestWise Prep is independent and is not connected to LanguageCert or PeopleCert. Format checked against LanguageCert's SELT pages, practice papers and handbook on 14 October 2026; every practice question, situation, talk and example answer here is our own.