Is your Spanish A1 or A2?

Complete the tasks without a translator, prepared script, or answer key. You may use a Spanish dictionary after the first attempt, but mark where you needed it. Record the speaking tasks so that you judge what you produced, not what you meant to say.

Use a slow, clear beginner recording for the listening task. Needing slower speech is normal at these stages. The question is whether you can identify the situation and useful details when the topic is familiar.

1. Introduce yourself for 45 seconds

Say your name, city, work or study situation, languages, interests, and one plan. A short memorised introduction is an A1-type task. Adding connected, flexible details without losing the basic sentence structure points towards A2 study readiness.

2. Ask and answer personal questions

Ask six questions about name, origin, family, routine, preferences, and weekend plans. Then answer the same questions in a different order. Notice whether you understand the question words and can change the answer rather than repeat one memorised pattern.

3. Find details in an everyday text

Use a short menu, timetable, event notice, shop message, or personal profile. Find the date, time, place, price, and main action. A1 reading often depends on familiar words and predictable formats. A2 readiness appears when you can follow short connected information and identify the main point as well as individual details.

4. Write a personal message

Write to a Spanish-speaking friend. Introduce yourself, describe a normal day, say what you like, and suggest a simple plan. Do not choose a target word count. Judge whether you can connect the ideas clearly with basic verbs, time expressions, and simple connectors.

5. Describe a room or neighbourhood

Say what exists with hay, then explain where familiar places or objects are with estar and basic prepositions. Add one thing you like and one change you want. If you can name only isolated objects, review A1 foundations.

6. Explain your routine

Describe a weekday from morning to night. Include approximate times, common present-tense verbs, and a few sequence or frequency words. You do not need advanced grammar. You do need enough control to keep the account understandable.

7. Express preferences and give a reason

Talk about food, music, study, travel, or free time. Use gustar or another suitable expression, compare two options, and give a short reason. Moving beyond a single phrase such as me gusta is a useful sign that A2 work may be appropriate.

8. Tell a simple past event

Explain what you did yesterday or during a recent weekend. The exact tense is less important here than whether you can place the event in the past and connect a few actions. If past reference is completely unavailable, A1 consolidation may be the safer route before an A2 programme.

9. Understand a short recording

Listen to a slow one-minute exchange about a familiar situation. After the first listen, state who is speaking, where they are, and what they need. After the second listen, note two details. Do not count recognition from a transcript as listening ability.

10. Manage a simple transaction

Role-play buying something, ordering food, or asking for travel information. Greet the other person, make a request, understand or confirm a number, ask one follow-up question, and close the exchange. A2 readiness means you can keep the task moving with simple language when the response is slightly different from your script.

A1 is probably the safer study choice if most answers are isolated phrases, personal questions need translation, or you can perform speaking tasks only from a fixed script. It is also the safer choice when reading feels manageable but listening and interaction regularly break down.

A2 may be the better study choice if you can handle routine exchanges, connect short ideas, write a clear personal message, and understand the main point of slow, clear speech on familiar subjects. Errors are expected. The key difference is that communication continues.

You may be between A1 and A2 if the result changes sharply by skill. Choose the lower level for independent study when core verbs, questions, and listening are unreliable. You can move faster through familiar sections while repairing the weak ones.

Do not turn the check into a points test. One polished introduction cannot cancel an inability to understand basic questions, and one difficult recording cannot erase reliable everyday communication. Look for a consistent pattern across the tasks.

A workbook can show that you recognise a tense or select a correct option. Real communication also requires retrieval, comprehension, and adjustment. If you know the rule for a verb but cannot understand it in a slow question or use it in your own sentence, that ability is not yet dependable.

The Instituto Cervantes inventories describe language resources and communicative functions at A1 and A2, while the CEFR links levels to broader performance. Use both views: learn the forms, then test whether they help you complete a real task.

If A1 is the safer fit, begin with greetings, personal information, articles, core present-tense verbs, questions, numbers, dates, places, preferences, needs, and simple plans. The 30-day A1 study plan gives those foundations an order.

If A2 is the better fit, keep the A1 functions active while expanding connected speech, past reference, everyday exchanges, reading length, and listening independence. Check your progress through tasks, not chapter completion alone.