Introduction
The NLTV A2 level builds on A1 foundations and tests your ability to communicate in familiar everyday situations using more varied grammar structures. At this level, you are expected to understand and produce simple sentences about topics like shopping, transport, daily routines, and personal relationships. The exam assesses four skills — listening, reading, writing, and speaking — all within practical, real-life contexts. Mastering A2 grammar patterns such as comparisons, aspect markers, and connectors is essential to passing this stage.
Exam Format
| Section | Duration | Questions | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | ~20 min | 15–20 | Short dialogues, announcements, everyday conversations |
| Reading | ~30 min | 15–20 | Signs, messages, short passages, schedules |
| Writing | ~20 min | 10–15 | Fill-in-blanks, sentence completion, short responses |
| Speaking | ~10 min | 5–8 | Self-introduction, daily topics, simple descriptions |
What You Need to Know
Grammar Points for A2
- Comparison structures: hơn, bằng, nhất — comparing two or more people, objects, or qualities (e.g., đắt hơn, nhanh nhất)
- Past time markers: đã … rồi — indicating that an action has already been completed (e.g., Tôi đã ăn rồi.)
- Future and intention: sẽ, định — expressing plans or predictions (e.g., Tôi định đi chợ., Trời sẽ mưa.)
- Progressive aspect: đang — describing an action currently in progress (e.g., Cô ấy đang nấu ăn.)
- Ability and possibility: có thể, biết — expressing what someone can do or knows how to do (e.g., Tôi biết nấu phở., Bạn có thể giúp tôi không?)
- Negation: không vs. chưa — không for general negation; chưa for actions not yet done (e.g., Tôi chưa ăn sáng.)
- Question words: bao nhiêu, bao lâu, bao xa — asking about quantity, duration, and distance (e.g., Bao xa từ đây đến bến xe?)
- Connectors: nhưng, vì, nên — linking clauses to show contrast, cause, and result (e.g., Tôi muốn đi nhưng tôi bận.)
- Directional verbs: đi, đến, về, lên, xuống, ra, vào — indicating direction or movement relative to a reference point
- Noun classifiers: cái, con, quyển, chiếc, bài — used before nouns when counting specific categories of objects
Essential Vocabulary Topics
- Shopping and prices (đắt, rẻ, mua, bán, trả tiền, giảm giá, siêu thị)
- Daily routine (thức dậy, ăn sáng, đi làm, tan ca, về nhà, nấu ăn)
- Family and relationships (anh chị em, bạn bè, hàng xóm, đồng nghiệp, người thân)
- Food and restaurants (gọi món, thực đơn, tính tiền, ngon, dở, chay, mặn)
- Transport and directions (xe buýt, xe máy, taxi, rẽ trái, đi thẳng, bến xe)
- Health and the body (đau đầu, bị ốm, đi khám bệnh, uống thuốc, nghỉ ngơi)
- Weather and seasons (nóng, lạnh, mưa, nắng, mùa mưa, mùa khô, gió)
- Work and study (làm việc, họp, văn phòng, bài tập, thi cử, lớp học)
Sample Questions
Listening Sample
A: Hôm nay bạn định đi đâu vậy?
B: Tôi định đi siêu thị để mua đồ ăn cho tuần này.
Question: What is person B planning to do today?
- A. Go to work at the office
- B. Go to the supermarket to buy groceries
- C. Go to school to study
Answer
Answer: B. Go to the supermarket to buy groceries Explanation: Person B says "định đi siêu thị để mua đồ ăn", meaning they intend to go to the supermarket to buy food. The structure định + verb expresses a plan or intention.
Reading Sample
Read the following message and answer the question:
Anh ơi, hôm nay em chưa nấu cơm vì em đi làm về muộn. Anh có thể mua phở về ăn không? Em sẽ về lúc 8 giờ tối.
Question: Why has the writer not cooked dinner?
- A. She does not know how to cook
- B. She got home late from work
- C. She is not hungry tonight
Answer
Answer: B. She got home late from work Explanation: The message says "chưa nấu cơm vì em đi làm về muộn" — she has not yet cooked because she came home late from work. Vì introduces the reason (cause), and chưa shows the action has not happened yet.
Writing Sample
Fill in the blank with the correct word: đã, đang, or sẽ
Tối qua tôi _____ xem phim với bạn. Bây giờ tôi _____ ăn sáng. Chiều nay tôi _____ đi học.
Answer
Answer: đã — đang — sẽ Explanation: Đã marks a completed past action (last night); đang marks an action happening right now (currently eating); sẽ marks a future action (this afternoon). Each time marker pairs with its corresponding time word in the sentence.
Study Tips
- Drill contrast pairs daily — practice đã/rồi vs. chưa, có thể vs. biết, and nhưng vs. nên in real sentences so the distinction becomes automatic before the exam
- Learn vocabulary in topic clusters — group words by theme (shopping, health, transport) and practice them together so they reinforce each other in context
- Mimic real dialogues — listen to short Vietnamese conversations at A2 speed and repeat aloud; this prepares you for both the listening and speaking sections simultaneously
- Write one sentence per grammar point — after studying each structure, write your own example sentence using your own name, city, or routine to make it memorable
- Use classifiers consistently — make a habit of always pairing nouns with the correct classifier (một cái bàn, hai con mèo, ba quyển sách) as this is a common mistake at A2 level