Beginning Consonant Contrasts — A2 English Pronunciation Practice Test
About this practice test
Practise A2 English pronunciation: match consonants and short starting clusters in familiar spoken words.
What you’ll practice
Hear the difference
Recognise vowel and consonant contrasts in clear recordings.
Stress and rhythm
Identify strong syllables and emphasized words.
Listen and review
Replay each recording and learn from answer explanations.
What to expect:
8 questions with explanations to review after submission.
Study the questions and tasks
Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.
- Practice level
- A2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.
- Question formats
- Matching
How to approach this practice
Read the instructions and work through the questions before opening the answers.
Recording 1
Read the transcript
A. thin. B. tin. C. then.
Recording 2
Read the transcript
A. wet. B. van. C. fan.
Recording 3
Read the transcript
A. share. B. chair. C. jam.
Recording 4
Read the transcript
A. night. B. light. C. right.
Recording 5
Read the transcript
A. ship. B. zip. C. sip.
Recording 6
Read the transcript
A. home. B. coat. C. goat.
Recording 7
Read the transcript
A. pray. B. pay. C. play.
Recording 8
Read the transcript
A. train. B. rain. C. drain.
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Question 1 · Matching
Match each item to the correct choice.
Listen to words A, B and C. Match each recorded word to its first consonant sound.
Return to the passage, recording or visualAnswer choices
- Starts with /t/, as in tea
- Starts with /ð/, as in this
- Starts with /θ/, as in think
Items
- Recording A
- Recording B
- Recording C
Check answers and explanations
- 1. Recording A
- Starts with /θ/, as in think
- 2. Recording B
- Starts with /t/, as in tea
- 3. Recording C
- Starts with /ð/, as in this
Recording A: “thin” matches “Starts with /θ/, as in think”. Recording B: “tin” matches “Starts with /t/, as in tea”. Recording C: “then” matches “Starts with /ð/, as in this”.
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Question 2 · Matching
Match each item to the correct choice.
Listen to words A, B and C. Match each recorded word to its first consonant sound.
Return to the passage, recording or visualAnswer choices
- Starts with /v/, as in van
- Starts with /f/, as in fish
- Starts with /w/, as in we
Items
- Recording A
- Recording B
- Recording C
Check answers and explanations
- 1. Recording A
- Starts with /w/, as in we
- 2. Recording B
- Starts with /v/, as in van
- 3. Recording C
- Starts with /f/, as in fish
Recording A: “wet” matches “Starts with /w/, as in we”. Recording B: “van” matches “Starts with /v/, as in van”. Recording C: “fan” matches “Starts with /f/, as in fish”.
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Question 3 · Matching
Match each item to the correct choice.
Listen to words A, B and C. Match each recorded word to its first consonant sound.
Return to the passage, recording or visualAnswer choices
- Starts with /ʃ/, as in shoe
- Starts with /dʒ/, as in job
- Starts with /tʃ/, as in chair
Items
- Recording A
- Recording B
- Recording C
Check answers and explanations
- 1. Recording A
- Starts with /ʃ/, as in shoe
- 2. Recording B
- Starts with /tʃ/, as in chair
- 3. Recording C
- Starts with /dʒ/, as in job
Recording A: “share” matches “Starts with /ʃ/, as in shoe”. Recording B: “chair” matches “Starts with /tʃ/, as in chair”. Recording C: “jam” matches “Starts with /dʒ/, as in job”.
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Question 4 · Matching
Match each item to the correct choice.
Listen to words A, B and C. Match each recorded word to its first consonant sound.
Return to the passage, recording or visualAnswer choices
- Starts with /r/, as in red
- Starts with /l/, as in leg
- Starts with /n/, as in nose
Items
- Recording A
- Recording B
- Recording C
Check answers and explanations
- 1. Recording A
- Starts with /n/, as in nose
- 2. Recording B
- Starts with /l/, as in leg
- 3. Recording C
- Starts with /r/, as in red
Recording A: “night” matches “Starts with /n/, as in nose”. Recording B: “light” matches “Starts with /l/, as in leg”. Recording C: “right” matches “Starts with /r/, as in red”.
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Question 5 · Matching
Match each item to the correct choice.
Listen to words A, B and C. Match each recorded word to its first consonant sound.
Return to the passage, recording or visualAnswer choices
- Starts with /z/, as in zoo
- Starts with /s/, as in sun
- Starts with /ʃ/, as in shoe
Items
- Recording A
- Recording B
- Recording C
Check answers and explanations
- 1. Recording A
- Starts with /ʃ/, as in shoe
- 2. Recording B
- Starts with /z/, as in zoo
- 3. Recording C
- Starts with /s/, as in sun
Recording A: “ship” matches “Starts with /ʃ/, as in shoe”. Recording B: “zip” matches “Starts with /z/, as in zoo”. Recording C: “sip” matches “Starts with /s/, as in sun”.
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Question 6 · Matching
Match each item to the correct choice.
Listen to words A, B and C. Match each recorded word to its first consonant sound.
Return to the passage, recording or visualAnswer choices
- Starts with /ɡ/, as in go
- Starts with /k/, as in cat
- Starts with /h/, as in hat
Items
- Recording A
- Recording B
- Recording C
Check answers and explanations
- 1. Recording A
- Starts with /h/, as in hat
- 2. Recording B
- Starts with /k/, as in cat
- 3. Recording C
- Starts with /ɡ/, as in go
Recording A: “home” matches “Starts with /h/, as in hat”. Recording B: “coat” matches “Starts with /k/, as in cat”. Recording C: “goat” matches “Starts with /ɡ/, as in go”.
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Question 7 · Matching
Match each item to the correct choice.
Listen to words A, B and C. Match each recorded word to its full consonant group at the beginning.
Return to the passage, recording or visualAnswer choices
- Full starting consonant group /p/
- Full starting consonant group /pl/
- Full starting consonant group /pr/
Items
- Recording A
- Recording B
- Recording C
Check answers and explanations
- 1. Recording A
- Full starting consonant group /pr/
- 2. Recording B
- Full starting consonant group /p/
- 3. Recording C
- Full starting consonant group /pl/
Recording A: “pray” matches “Full starting consonant group /pr/”. Recording B: “pay” matches “Full starting consonant group /p/”. Recording C: “play” matches “Full starting consonant group /pl/”.
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Question 8 · Matching
Match each item to the correct choice.
Listen to words A, B and C. Match each recorded word to its full consonant group at the beginning.
Return to the passage, recording or visualAnswer choices
- Full starting consonant group /dr/
- Full starting consonant group /tr/
- Full starting consonant group /r/
Items
- Recording A
- Recording B
- Recording C
Check answers and explanations
- 1. Recording A
- Full starting consonant group /tr/
- 2. Recording B
- Full starting consonant group /r/
- 3. Recording C
- Full starting consonant group /dr/
Recording A: “train” matches “Full starting consonant group /tr/”. Recording B: “rain” matches “Full starting consonant group /r/”. Recording C: “drain” matches “Full starting consonant group /dr/”.
What to review next
Review the feedback and revisit the topics you found difficult before trying again.
A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.