A2 Key/B1 Preliminary 2020: Ideas and Strategies for the classroom

The A2 Key and B1 Preliminary exams will have large changes from 2020. It is worth knowing what these changes are so you can highlight useful strategies to help your students.

The Cambridge exams are regularly revised to stay relevant for the needs of learners. This is done to a) incorporate evolving approaches to assessment and learning; b) to address feedback from stakeholders (teachers, learners, parents and exam centre managers); and c) to align A2 Key/Key for Schools more closely with B1 Preliminary/Preliminary for Schools and higher levels exams to make the progression clearer and more coherent.

For A2 Key / Key for Schools Reading & Writing, the main changes are that in the 2020 exam there are now 7 parts where it had been 9; and what was previously 55 questions, next year will be shortened to 32. The duration of the exam has also been shortened by ten minutes to 1 hour.

In part 1, the multiple-choice task has been revised so that candidates now have to understand 6 short messages.

In part 4, the multiple-choice gap fill text has been revised to give a greater lexico-grammatical focus (in the current Parts 2 and 5).

In part 7, there is a new story task. Candidates are now required to write a story based on 3 pictures.

For the B1 Preliminary/ Preliminary for Schools Reading & Writing section, the old exam consisted of 5 reading parts and 3 writing parts but will now be 6 reading parts and 2 writing parts. What was 35 reading questions and 7 writing questions, will now be 32 reading questions and 2 writing questions.

The duration, which was 1 hour and 30 minutes, in 2020 will be 45 minutes for each paper.

Part 4 will have a new gapped text where candidates choose a correct sentence to test understanding of the gist and text structure.

Part 6 will have a new open cloze: candidates now have to read a text and write words in the gaps as a test of detailed understanding.

For more details, visit the website https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMQkQn6Jy7s