Basic Level (A2)

This examination is based on the Waystage specifications worked out by the Council of Europe and assesses how well the candidate can meet the most basic communication demands of everyday life. Passing the examination requires 150-250 hours of. A successful Waystage level examination creates the foundation for further progress towards the Threshold level.

The examination assesses the language skills in the following way:

Reading comprehension

The candidates read one long or two short texts and solve different types of tasks (filling gaps in texts, multiple choice tests or information transfers, etc). The texts are the kind the candidate can meet in the environment of the target language at a very early stage of language learning (simple instructions, transport information, a short personal letter, etc). The texts are followed by a series of tasks consisting of 20 units.

Listening comprehension

The task is to listen to several short texts read in a slower and more articulate way than normally and to do the related tasks. The texts are related to the most basic language functions and the most necessary topics (eg announcements at a railway station or at an airport, weather forecast, etc). Authentic texts are adapted by the examiners according to the requirements of the given level. The text can also be a partly edited dialogue with an everyday topic. The texts are followed by a series of tasks consisting of 20 units.

Speaking

The candidates can express themselves in the most basic situations (asking for information and giving it, stating simple facts, etc).

In the oral examination the examiners have a short conversation with the candidates about personal issues, which is followed by a simple role play about a situation in everyday life involving one of the examiners on the basis of Hungarian instructions on a sheet chosen at random.

Writing

The candidates can do basic written tasks (asking for information and giving it, stating simple facts, etc) The candidates do a short, simple written task, for example they fill a short form, write down a few pieces of information on their own or compose a short written message.

Weighting of components

The weighting of speaking skills is 50%, while the other 50% is equally distributed among the other skills.

Results

The examination is evaluated on a pass/fail basis. The examination centre issues an official certificate both in case of failure and of passing, and mails it to the candidate.