If you want to know all about the Russian A2 test or, to give it its official name, the Test of Russian as a Foreign Language (TORFL) Basic Level exam, you’re in the right place. This post lifts the lid on the format of this important “upper beginner” Russian language exam, known in Russian as Test po russkomu iaziky kak inostrannamu, bazovoi uroven’ / Тест по русскому языку как иностранному. Базовой уровень (TRKI – TBU)). Together, we’ll get clear on just what this A2 Russian exam itself involves. That’ll help you decide whether it’s for you (and flag alternatives). If it is, you’ll know what the task is going to involve and we’ll finish with some quick (but important) preparation tips.
What’s the level of the Russian A2 test / TRKI Basic Level exam?
A2 is a level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. That’s a set of ability standards used by educators in Russian and many other languages. There are two CERFL “Basic” levels. A1 (“Breakthrough”) is the lower beginner level. Then, for upper beginners, comes A2 (obscurely called “Waystage”).
How good does your Russian have to be to pass the TORFL Basic Exam? In short, applying the CEFRL scale at A2 you need to be able to:
- understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment)
- communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters
- describe in simple terms aspects of their background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need
Sure, what you can say and understand at this level is still rather limited to expressing basic needs, communicating on the most common, everyday topics. You will still often only catch some of the main points of what’s being said, even if it’s expressed in clear speech that isn’t that fast.
But pause to reflect for a moment.
You’ll have covered many of the most frequent Russian grammatical patterns. You should be aiming for a vocabulary of about 1,300 words. With an active command of a lot of these words and patterns and a passive understanding of more of them, you can expect to be able to deal well with some important real-live situations when travelling.
Altogether, you have developed a wonderful skill that will help you connect with Russian-speaking people all over the world. This will transform your experience in countries where Russian is widely spoken.
For more information on where in Russian and abroad you can take the TRKI Basic level (A2) exam and for new possibilities to take it online, check out my overview post on Russian language exams.
Let’s look at the format of each section in turn!
But first…
My sources of information on the exam
I’ve based this post on two published “model” papers as guidance. First, the Russian Ministry of Education’s published sample paper (2001), which I call the Ministry Sample. Second, St Petersburg University’s Language Centre’s example paper (no date, but much more recent). I call this the St Petersburg Sample. I’ve also looked at the book TRKI na 100%. A2 published in 2020 (ISBN: 9785907123540) by Zlatoust’ publishers with St Petersburg University. This volume contains two complete past papers (actually used in testing centres).
Together, these give a good idea of the type of tasks and the level but there are some differences of allotted time and format between them. I’d be inclined to go with the St Petersburg Sample and TRKI na 100% as they are the most up-to-date. TRKI na 100% is, in the main, consistent with the St Petersburg Sample but there are one or two differences (e.g. 10 minutes more than the St Petersburg Sample for the reading sub-test).
Given the differences between the sample papers and that the formats may change, be sure to check the most up-to-date format for yourself with your teacher / exam testing centre. Do this in good time before the exam, so that you don’t have any disconcerting surprises on exam day.
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Deep dive into the Russian TRKI Basic Level exam: section by section
The Russian A2 test is split into five parts called “sub-tests”. Let’s look at each one in detail.
Vocabulary and grammar sub-test
- Time allowed: 50 minutes
- MInistry Sample: 110 questions, St Petersburg Sample / TRKI na 100% – 100 questions
The questions are multi-choice with, variously, two, three or four possible answers to choose from.
Topics tested would typically include picking the right verb (tense and verbal aspect could be important here), choosing a noun in the correct case, choosing the missing preposition with the correct case ending, expressions of time.
The time pressure will be on. Even if we go with the St Petersburg Sample / TRKI na 100% (“only” 100 questions instead of 110), you’ll only have thirty seconds per question.
Reading sub-test
- Time allowed: Ministry Sample and TRKI na 100% – 50 minutes; St Petersburg Sample 40 minutes
- Ministry Sample: 30 questions in three parts; St Petersburg Sample / TRKI na 100% – 30 questions in four parts
- Bilingual or Russian-only (paper-based) dictionary allowed
Part One of the Reading sub-test in the Ministry Sample starts with five short declarations of the sort you might find on an official notice board and you have to say what action is required to comply. For example: “Please do not smoke in the corridor”. The answer could be: (a) “Do not smoke in the corridor”, (b) “You may smoke in the corridor” or (c) “Everyone smokes in the corridor”.
Questions 6 to 10 are statements and you have to choose what follows logically. For example: “It’s so cold here”: (a) “Please close the window” (b) “Please turn the light on” or (c) “Please don’t smoke here”.
Part One of the St Petersburg Sample and TRKI na 100% – Questions 1 to 5 – are of the same type as Questions 6 to 10 in the Ministry Paper (and there’s no equivalent of the “noticeboard announcements” in the Ministry Sample).
In the St Petersburg Sample and TRKI na 100%, Questions 6 to 10 are a separate section, Part Two. There are five short texts of roughly 60 to 90 words each. You have to identify what each text is about (three possible answers). This deviation means that there is more text to read here than in the Ministry Sample.
Part Two of the Ministry Sample (Questions 11 to 25) is a longer text: synopses of three Russian films. You have to choose the film to which each of fifteen statements applies. This is Part Three of the St Petersburg Sample and TRKI na 100% (Questions 11 to 25) but they neverthless follow the same format at the Ministry Sample, with texts about three other films (in TRKI na 100% the topics are “Attitudes of young people towards sport” and “How people spend national holidays in Russia”). The total length is very roughly 300 to 350 words).
Part Three of the Ministry Sample (Questions 26-30) or Part Four for the St Petersburg Sample / TRKI na 100% is another chunky text (again, about 300 to 350 words) and there are five multi-choice questions to test your understanding.
Listening Sub-Test
- Time allowed: 30 minutes
- Ministry Sample: 30 questions in five parts; St Petersburg Sample / TRKI na 100% – 25 questions in five parts
According to TRKI na 100%, you will be given time to familiarise yourself with the written questions before the audio is played.
All three of my sources come with transcripts of the audio and TRKI na 100% has QR codes for you to access the actual audio recordings online.
In Part One of both Samples and TRKI na 100% (Questions 1 to 5) you hear phrases and have to choose which of three options conveys the same information. For example was it “She came from America”, “She loves America” or “She was born in America” (Ministry Sample).
Part Two (Questions 6 to 8) you have to identify what two people are talking about in a short dialogue or where they are, for example “at home”, “in a restaurant”, “in a shop” (St Petersburg Sample) .
In Part Three (Questions 9 to 13), you have to identify what the “basic aim” of the dialogues is, which seems to mean the key information conveyed. There is a choice of three answers, such as “Lena goes to work…” (a) by car, (b) by bus or (c) by metro.
Ministry Sample Part Four (Questions 14 to 23) involves listening to one longer dialogue and answering comprehension-checking multi-choice questions (with two or three options). The format is slightly different in the St Petersburg Sample (Questions 13 to 19). You have to listen to the dialogue and then fill in one piece of missing information in a grid. For example Question 18: “Elena Sergeevna is interested in (what?)” or Question 18: “Andrei will visit Elena Sergeevna (when?)”. However, TRKI na 100% (Questions 13 to 19) is back with the Ministry Sample format: comprehension checking questions (three multi choice options for each answer).
Ministry Sample Part Five (Questions 24 to 30) is a “text” (presumably a reading). There’s a choice of three answers for each question. In the St Petersburg Sample (Questions 20 to 25), there is also just one speaker, a tour guide (presumably giving a set spiel, so similar to a reading). As in Part Four of the St Petersburg Sample, you have to fill in your answer in a grid. Part Four of TRKI na 100% (Questions 20 to 25) is also a monologue (e.g. a radio advert), with three-option multi-choice questions.
Writing Sub-Test
- Time allowed: 50 minutes
- Two tasks
- Bilingual or Russian-only (paper-based) dictionary allowed
Task One of the Ministry Paper is “Your friend is thinking of changing jobs. Write to him about how the hero of the story “How Victor chose his profession” solved this problem. There is then a list of six questions around which you may (should?) organise your answer. For example “What did Victor’s school friends say?” and “Why couldn’t Victor matriculate straight away at the Leningrad Institute?”
This seems problematic. It’s not absolutely clear whether they require a letter (seems so). There’s no guidance as to length. Plus, there’s a rather long text to read in what’s supposed to be a test of your writing skills. That said, you’ll have a chunk of correct, “on message” Russian in front of your eyes as you do your own writing.
In the St Petersburg Sample and TRKI na 100% , you have to write a letter to a friend (in TRKI na 100% Paper One the letter is about a recent trip you’ve made, in Paper Two – about your favourite sport. You have to write “not less than 12 phrases” and there are five things specified that you have to cover (e.g. How long your trip lasted; Why you chose this sport). There are also three things you have to ask your friend in the letter (e.g. Would s/he like to come to training with you? Where does your friend want to go on a trip?).
Task Two of the Ministry Sample is to write a letter to somebody living in Russia. You have to talk about yourself in not less than ten phrases. There are then ten questions to help you, such as “What is your name?”, “Where do you live at the moment”. These are clearly included as helpful prompts.
Task Two of the St Petersburg Sample is to write a note. You’re going to be ten to fifteen minutes late to meet a friend. You have to ask the friend to wait for you in the agreed place. The note should be “not shorter than five phrases”. In a rather bizarre twist, it says that the message is “to be given over the phone” (dlia peredachu po telefonu). Who scripts their phone calls in real life (or leaves a message for somebody else to give over the phone)? In TRKI – na 100% Paper One the task is similar (but you’re writing a Whatsapp message).
Speaking sub-test
- Time allowed: Ministry Sample 50 minutes; St Petersburg Sample and TRKI na 100% – 25 minutes
- Ministry Sample: 4 tasks, thirteen “points of view”; St Petersburg Sample / TRKI na 100% – three tasks
- Bilingual or Russian-only (paper-based) dictionary allowed for the preparation of St Petersburg Sample / TRKI na 100% task 3
TRKI A2 na 100% says that you take the sub-test in a one-to-one format with the examiner and your performance is recorded.
MInistry Sample Tasks 1 and 2 (positions 1 to 5) (3 minutes, no preparation time). No preparation in advance. For some reason, the Ministry Sample calls the first five “positions” “Tasks 1 and 2”, even though it looks more like one task. The examiner will give you a prompt. For example: “Today you are miserable. What’s wrong with you? Why do you feel bad today?” Your task is to respond (and you should give a full answer, don’t just answer “Yes” or “No”).
Task One of the St Petersburg Sample and TRKI na 100% is similar (five questions, ten minutes in total, including Task Two, below, no preparation time): you have to respond to the five prompt questions (repliki) with a “full answer” (not just “yes” or “no”). For example: “Do you often go to exhibitions, to museums?”.
Ministry Sample Task 3 (positions 6 to 10)(4 minutes, no preparation time). You are given five situations and you have to come up with an opening salvo in a dialogue. E.g. “You’ve come to the library to borrow a magazine. Explain to the librarian what you want”.
Task Two of the St Petersburg Sample / TRKI na 100% is similar (five situations, ten minutes in total including Task One, above, no preparation time). You are given five situations and have to start a dialogue on each one. For example: “You don’t know when your friend started college. Ask him.”
Ministry Sample Task 4 (positions 11 to 12)(up to 25 minutes. It says 15 minutes preparation and “up to 8 minutes” for the answers but 15 + 8 is not 25 (!)). To answer both you have to read one text (roughly 300 words).. Position 11 is to explain the “problem that interests the author”, which is how a young male student would tell a young female student that he loves her. In the text, he asks three people what they think a young person would say but they all give different answers. Position 12: you must say what you would advise the author if he asked you how a young person would respond.
Ministry Sample Task 5 (position 13) (10 minutes preparation, up to 10 minutes to answer). You are given a situation to read about and have to prepare a statement (10 to 12 phrases). You can write a plan but you shouldn’t read out. The sample scenario is this: “A journalist who’s writing about how young people relax in their free time has come up to you on the street and asks you about this. You explain what you normally do during the holidays or on vacation.” There are then six quite detailed prompts of information that the journalist needs to hear in what you say. For example: “about what you do when the weather is good and bad”.
In the St Petersburg Sample /TRKI na 100% Task 3 (10 minutes preparation, bilingual or Russian-only dictionary allowed; 5 minutes to answer). You are given a scenario with five prompts as to aspects that you need to mention in your verbal report. For example “Sport in my life”. You can prepare notes but only for use as a prompt. Don’t try to read something you’ve written out.
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Where to take the Russian ToRFL A2 exam
You can take the Russian A2 test at different language testing centres (Russian universities or their local and international partners). Each will have their own timetables throughout the year. The large centres in Russia may run the test several times a month, some foreign centres may do so only once a year.
According to TRKI A2 na 100% you normally take the A2/Basic Level Russian test over two days. This is also the usual pattern at the Russian Language Centre in London, where I have taken the TRKI 2nd and 3rd Certificates (a partner centre of St Petersburg University).
On the first day it’s writing, reading and vocabulary/grammar sub-tests. On the second day: listening and speaking. However, if you have a good reason and inform the organisers in advance, it is also possible to take all the sub-tests in one day.
One result of the COVID crisis was to give a spur to online learning and the Language Testing Centre of St Petersburg University now also offers the exam online (also over two days).
Remember, always double check with your exam centre what their arrangements are.
Pass marks and certification
You need to get at least 66% in each section to pass. If you fail one section with a result of not less than 60%, you will still get a certificate and the breakdown transcript will indicate “unsatisfactory” for this sub-test but the overall result will still be “satisfactory” (according to TRKI na 100%). There is no grading other than “satisfactory” / “unsatisfactory” but the breakdown transcript will include your percentages for each sub-test and overall.
Alternatives to the TRKI Basic Level Exam
Don’t forget that the ToRFL Basic Level is not your only Russian option at this level. TELC is one of the leading language exam bodies in Germany and they offer a the TELC A2 Russian exam. Also the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute in Moscow has its own exams at all levels. You can find out more on both providers in my overview post on Russian language exams.
How to prepare for the Russian TRKI Basic Level A2 exam
You now have an in-depth sense of what the TRKI Basic Level Russian A2 test involves but how do you prepare for it?
We’ve already talked about some of the practicalities around testing centres and where and when they hold the exam. You can find out more in my overview post on Russian language exams.
Before you get any deeper into the practical side, you need to ask yourself whether you have the required level of Russian to pass the exam. My post on the grammar and vocab that you need for A2 for this level will help you there.
It would also make sense to talk to a teacher who is capable of assessing your level.
If you are already at the requisite level across all the skills, your main task is to practise the format of the five sub-tests.
If your Russian still needs more work, then set a realistic date when you’d like to do the exam. Then you’ll have a great goal to keep you motivated. All you need then is a plan, the right materials to get stuck into and some help (especially for feedback on your written work and speaking practice).
Interested in consolidating and revising your A2-level Russian grammar as part of your preparation? Then check out my popular Focus in Five A2 Russian Grammar Revision Course.
| Looking for a great way to brush up your Russian grammar skills? Check out my "Focus in Five" upper beginner course |
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