Reading and listening in the A2 exam — 50 points of the written part

Reading and listening are two modules of 25 points each in the A2 exam — 50 points together, more than everything else in the written part combined. They are also the only modules where an answer is either right or not: they are marked mechanically, without a marker's judgement. That is good news, because it means they can be trained precisely.

What is published and what is our model

There is no national exam blueprint in Slovakia. The guidance of the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of 27 October 2025, issued under § 54(4) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll., sets out who may examine, which skills are tested and the pass mark — at least 70 % of the total points for the written and oral parts together. It does not set the number of tasks, the distribution of points or the timings, so centres genuinely differ.

The figures below come from the published model test of Studia Academica Slovaca (Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava), which our sample tests are built to follow:

Module	Tasks	Points	Time
Reading comprehension and grammar	5	25	30 min
Listening comprehension	4	25	25 min

There is no separate grammar module — grammar is part of the reading module. This is something several commercial sites state incorrectly.

The specific task types below are our reconstruction from the model test, not a binding prescription. Your centre may assemble the test differently; check the exact composition in your invitation letter.

Reading: five tasks, five different skills

It is not the same thing five times over. Each task tests something else and each has a trap of its own.

Task	Type	Points	What to watch for
1	matching statements to four short texts	5	at least one statement belongs to each text
2	multiple choice from three options on one email (~140 words)	6	the questions follow the order of the text — read straight through
3	grammar: the word in brackets in the correct form	5	no options, no word list
4	matching classified ads with distractors (4 requests → 6 offers)	4	two options are surplus
5	short notices and signs — where you would see them	5	everyday public signage

Task 3 is the decisive one. You write the form of the word, you do not choose from options — in our sample tests it covers, for instance, the genitive after an expression of quantity and after the preposition z, the genitive after a noun (fľaša vody, a bottle of water), the locative after the preposition v, and the instrumental with the verb platiť (to pay). And a strict rule applies: diacritics count. V chladničke yes, v chladnicke no.

Task 4 is the second most common place to lose points, because two of the ads are surplus on purpose. Match "whatever is left over" and you wreck the preceding items as well.

Listening: four tasks, each with a different kind of recording

Task	Type	Points	What to watch for
1	six short announcements → twelve options A–L	6	six options are surplus
2	supply one word or number	7	the form of the word counts
3	choose an appropriate reply to a line of dialogue	5	this tests pragmatics, not information
4	a longer dialogue — true / false	7	the distribution is not regular

Two things worth knowing in advance:

Task 2 wants the correct form. Od prvého apríla (genitive, from 1 April), dostanete tašku (accusative, you will get a bag), na prvom poschodí (locative, on the first floor). Numbers may be written in figures or in words, but diacritics count here too.

Task 3 is not about finding information. All three options are usually grammatically correct and on topic — they are wrong only as an answer to that particular line. Listen for keywords here and you lose. You have to listen for the sense.

At the exam the recordings are usually played twice. Give the first listening to the whole, the second to the items still missing — not the other way round.

Where points are lost

• Not reading the instructions to the end. "You will not need two of the options" is information, not decoration.
• A skipped item. A blank answer scores zero; a guess has a chance. In multiple-choice tasks never leave a blank.
• Diacritics. In both supply tasks they are part of the correct answer.
• The wrong case. You are supplying a word into a sentence, not into a list — it has to fit grammatically.
• Listening for keywords. That is exactly the trap of listening task 3 and of the distractors in reading.
• Poor time management. Thirty and twenty-five minutes is not much. If you get stuck somewhere, move on and come back.

How to practise

These two modules are the only ones where practising by volume makes sense — the answer is unambiguous, so you learn from every mistake immediately.

• Reading: read short real-life texts, not coursebook ones. Notices in the entrance hall, signs on public transport, leaflets from the shop, short emails. That is precisely the A2 level.
• Grammar: do not drill individual cases in isolation. Do gap-fills in whole sentences — that is how it works in the exam.
• Listening: play short recordings twice, exactly as in the exam. The first time without looking at the text.

All the tasks in their real format are in the sample tests: Reading and grammar and Listening, with a second set in pack 2. They are marked automatically, so you see the result at once. Written production we cover in the article on writing and the whole marking scheme in the article on marking and procedure; further questions are in our FAQ.

Where to check this

The marking rules are in the Ministry guidance, the statutory basis in Act No. 404/2011 Coll. and the format of the written modules in the model test of Studia Academica Slovaca. Confirm the exact composition of the test, the timing and the fee directly with the language school where you register.

We are not an examination centre or a law firm and we do not administer exams; this is not legal advice. Last verified 5 October 2026.