In the A2 Key matching listening task you hear one conversation in which several people are each connected to something — a present, a job, a place, a day. You match each person to one option from a list. The list is longer than the number of people, so some options are never used. This page trains the routine that keeps you with the recording.
Say each option word to yourself so that you will recognise it when it is spoken. Options are usually short everyday nouns.
The people are usually discussed in the order they are listed. Keep your pencil on the name you are waiting for.
Each option is normally used once. Crossing off shrinks the list and makes the last matches much faster.
Conversations often mention an option and then reject it for that person. The words no, not, instead and actually mark the change.
Do not wait to be sure. Write the letter lightly and change it later if you need to; the recording will not pause.
Find the next name on your list and wait for it. Trying to catch up with the part you missed loses the rest of the task.
There are always more options than people. Never force an extra option in because it is left over.
Check the matches you were unsure of and fill any blanks. Leave the confident ones alone.
Not thisMatching a person to the first option mentioned near their name.
ThisWaiting until the speakers finish talking about that person.
The first option is often the one that is rejected, and the real match comes one sentence later.
Not thisUsing every option because the list is there.
ThisLeaving the extra options unused.
The list is deliberately longer than the number of people, and forcing a match breaks a correct answer elsewhere.
Not thisStopping to think when you lose one name.
ThisMoving straight to the next name.
The recording continues, so one missed match becomes three if you stay behind it.
Not thisWriting the option word instead of its letter.
ThisWriting the letter.
Words take too long to write while listening and may not match the answer format the task requires.
Not thisLeaving blanks after the first listening.
ThisGuessing with an unused letter.
A guess from the remaining options has a real chance of being right, and a blank has none.
Not thisChanging three answers in the last ten seconds.
ThisChanging only what you have a clear reason to change.
Late panic usually moves correct letters onto the wrong names.
40 original questions. The first 10 are open to everyone. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class as it is.
1Complete the sentence.
3Complete the sentence.
5Complete the sentence.
8Complete the sentence.
9Explain in one or two sentences why you read the option list in the pause.
One good answer
Saying each option word to myself means I recognise it the moment it is spoken, which is the difference between following the conversation and hearing only noise.
11Complete the sentence.
12Complete the sentence.
15Complete the sentence.
17Complete the sentence.
19Complete the sentence.
20Explain in one or two sentences what you do on the second listening of a matching task.
One good answer
I check only the names I was unsure about and fill any blanks, and I leave the answers I was confident about exactly as they are.
21Complete the sentence.
23Complete the sentence.
25Complete the sentence.
26Complete the sentence.
29Complete the sentence.
31Complete the sentence.
32Write one sentence explaining why the first option you hear near a name is often wrong.
One good answer
Conversations usually mention an idea and then reject it, so the real match comes after words like no, not, actually or instead.
33Complete the sentence.
35Complete the sentence.
36Complete the sentence.
40Explain in one or two sentences how crossing off options helps you.
One good answer
Each option is normally used once, so every letter I cross off makes the remaining list shorter and the last two matches nearly automatic.
Note
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No. There are always more options than people, and leaving one or two unused is the expected outcome.
Wait for the end of that part of the conversation. One is being rejected, and the words around it will tell you which.
Pencil for the question paper, so you can change a letter quickly, and follow the instructions for the answer sheet.
Skip to the next name on the list and wait for it. Staying behind the recording is what turns one lost answer into several.
Listen to any conversation involving several people and write down who did what. The skill is holding names and facts together, and it improves quickly with practice.