Despite the fact that English elementary in the generally accepted level system has the same marking as Beginner, that is, A1, this stage is both more demanding and more developmental. You start training with basic knowledge, but without a general understanding of speech construction, and you complete the stage with skills that are quite sufficient for communication at a simple everyday level, with the so-called stock of knowledge “for survival”. What allows you to achieve such results?
Who is English Elementary suitable for?
Before moving on to a description of the features of this level, it is necessary to determine who exactly it is suitable for. If you can try on at least one of the following points, then the elementary level is what you need:
- you have not actively studied the language before, thanks to which you have gained general knowledge, but do not know how to use it;
- you have a vocabulary of 400-500 words, but do not understand foreign speech by ear;
- you can read simple text passages, but are unable to perceive the general context;
- know basic English grammar, but do not speak a foreign language;
- have overcome the English Beginner stage.
What results will you achieve at this stage?
The elementary level involves improving the five main foreign language skills: reading, listening, speaking, writing, and grammar. And also, of course, working on vocabulary.
Reading. If at the initial stage adapted works were a kind of ceiling for the student, now you can take on more complex literature. Choose books marked A1, but not just simplified versions. Which works should you prefer? Find out from the article "". At this stage, it is important to learn the basic rules of reading, so that later, when working with new text, you can automatically reproduce words.
Speaking. The most important task at the elementary level is to learn how to compose simple dialogues, ask questions to your interlocutor, and also answer the questions yourself. Practice monologues: make up stories of up to 10 sentences about yourself, home, family, friends.
Letter. The goal at this stage is to learn how to write short essays on everyday topics and letters. Start with the simplest thing - work on individual sentences, and then put them together. It is also important to learn how to fill out various forms indicating personal data: first name, last name, address, education, nationality.
Grammar. You will master the following grammatical topics: types of nouns, modal verbs, articles, active/passive voices, degrees of comparison of adjectives, basic information about the Continuous, Perfect, and Perfect Continuous present/past/ future tense.
When starting to master a language at the English elementary level, be prepared to work hard to successfully complete the program. But the result of your work will please you - you will learn to communicate in a foreign language on everyday topics and lay a strong foundation for subsequent stages of learning.
| A - Basic Proficiency | B - Self-ownership | C - Fluency | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 | C1 | C2 |
| Survival level | Pre-threshold level | Threshold level | Threshold advanced level | Proficiency level | Native level proficiency |
| , Elementary | |||||
Do you want to know if your knowledge corresponds to the Elementary level? Take ours and get recommendations that will help you improve your English language skills.
The Elementary level of English is the foundation on which your knowledge of the English language will rest
In the European system of levels of proficiency in foreign languages, level A1 Elementary has the same letter designation as Beginner. However, it is the Elementary level of English that is considered the survival level. That is, the knowledge acquired at this level is enough to communicate in English at an everyday level. For example, if you are abroad, you can check directions with local residents, make purchases, book a hotel room, etc.
As a rule, students come to the Elementary level with a small amount of knowledge acquired in the Beginner course, at school or another educational institution. If you have previously studied English, it means that you already have at least some basic knowledge, even if it seems to you that you studied a long time ago and don’t remember anything. In fact, you have already “met” the English language, you know the letters and sounds, you can read, you can introduce yourself and say simple phrases about yourself, your friends, family, home. This is enough to start studying at the Elementary level.
We recommend starting to study English at the Elementary level if you:
- have studied English a little or briefly before and have acquired basic knowledge;
- speak almost no English, although you know basic grammar and about 300-500 words;
- you have a vague idea of English grammar and would like to understand all tenses and constructions;
- you have basic knowledge, but do not understand English by ear at all;
- have completed the Beginner level of training in English courses or with a personal teacher.
Material that a person should know at the Elementary level
If you think your English skills are slightly better than the categories described above, you may already be at the Elementary level. To verify this, check out the table below. It is considered that you know English at the Elementary level and can move to the level if you have the following knowledge:
| Skill | Your knowledge |
|---|---|
| Grammar (Grammar) | You understand how the verb to be is used (I am a student, It is cold). You know three simple tenses (Present, Future and Past Simple), the present continuous tense (Present Continuous), and have an idea of the present perfect tense (Present Perfect). Do you understand the difference between sentences in the future tense: I'm going to bake a cake (construction to be going to), I'll bake a cake (Future Simple), I'm baking a cake (Present Continuous to indicate future action) . You know the three forms of irregular verbs (drive-drove-driven). You can ask questions to your interlocutor (Word order in questions). Do you understand the difference between a cat and the cat (indefinite and definite articles). You are not surprised that you can say a cookie, but you cannot say a toast (toast, a toasted piece of bread) (Countable and uncountable nouns). You understand what lady’s dress, James’ house (Possessive Case) means. You know the degrees of comparison of adjectives (big-bigger-the biggest). Do you understand the difference between that cup, this cup, these cups, those cups (Demonstrative pronouns). You know object pronouns (me, him, her, us, them) and the rules for their use. You know some adverbs of frequency (often, usually, always, sometimes) and manner of action (well, quickly, hard). You know what There is no snow on the ground (There is/are/was/were) means. You know what the sentences I can read, I can’t swim, You should work (Modal verbs can/can’t/should) mean. You understand what I like reading, I hate shopping means (Construction like/love/hate + -ing). |
| Lexicon (Vocabulary) | Your vocabulary ranges from 1000 to 1500 words and phrases. You know commonly used words and phrases in English. |
| Speaking (Speaking) | You can introduce yourself, your family and your home in a few simple sentences. You know how to talk about your preferences and hobbies. You easily describe your workday and weekend rest. You can shop in a store abroad or communicate with staff at a hotel using vocabulary that is familiar to you. You can talk about simple everyday topics. You can answer simple questions on topics that are familiar to you. |
| Reading (Reading) | You understand adapted literature at your level. You can understand signs and announcements in public places or on the street. You can understand the essence of general news. |
| Listening (Listening) | You understand audio recordings adapted for your level. You understand what native speakers are saying to you if they speak slowly and use vocabulary that is familiar to you. |
| Letter (Writing) | You can write a simple personal letter to a friend. You can write a short text about yourself, your hobby, family, home. You can fill out simple personal information. |
If you are still not sure about the choice of level of study, we recommend testing your knowledge using ours.
The Elementary level program includes the study of such topics in the curriculum
| Grammar topics | Conversational topics |
|---|---|
|
|
How your speaking skills will develop in the Elementary course
In the Elementary course, as at other levels, you will work on four main skills: By speaking, Listening, By reading, By letter. You will become familiar with simple grammatical structures of the English language, expand your vocabulary with the most necessary words and phrases, and develop correct pronunciation and intonation.
Your main task at any level is to learn speak(Speaking). At the Elementary level, you will already be able to take part in small dialogues, ask questions within the framework of the topics you have studied and understand the answers to them, especially if the interlocutor does not use words that are unfamiliar to you. You will be able to tell a monologue of 5-10 sentences about yourself, your family, and hobbies.
At A1 Elementary level you will learn understand by ear (Listening) individual familiar words and simple phrases that sound rather slowly and clearly. Simple texts and dialogues are used as listening material, which will be fully understandable to you after the second listen.
Concerning reading(Reading), new texts in English will be present in almost every lesson. Each of these texts is a source of new words and expressions that you will learn at this level. In the Elementary course, you study basic vocabulary: you learn the words and phrases that are most necessary in everyday life. Also at this stage you will memorize the reading rules. You will learn to correctly read “automatically” all the letter combinations you encounter, without consulting a dictionary. Moreover, you will do this while reading an interesting text.
Concerning letters(Writing), then the training will begin with the simplest actions. You will learn to sign postcards, fill out small forms where you need to indicate your first and last name, nationality, and so on. By the end of the level, you will be able to write short essays and personal letters.
At the English Elementary level lexicon (Vocabulary) will expand to 1000-1500 words. Level A1 is full of the most useful words and phrases that are often used in all typical communication situations (shop, airport, on the street, etc.). Most words at this level are universal and can be used in written and oral speech, regardless of style. However, the volume of material to study will be quite large, because even for simple dialogues we will need to know a lot of words. But don’t be afraid that you will be forced to learn lists of words by heart. is aimed at mastering the language in the process of communication, so you will memorize new words through dialogues on the topic being studied.
Duration of study at the Elementary level
The duration of studying English at the Elementary level depends on the individual characteristics of the student and his initial knowledge. The average duration of training for the Elementary course is 6-9 months. Although this is one of the first levels of language proficiency, it covers a wealth of material that will enable you to express yourself in the most common everyday communication situations. At this stage of training you gain basic knowledge, which is why it is important to lay a strong foundation that will allow you to subsequently achieve high levels of English proficiency.
And for those who want to not only test their knowledge of the English language, but also improve it, we invite you to sign up for a course at our school. The teacher will determine your level, weaknesses and strengths and help you improve your knowledge.
Now let's talk about the next level - Elementary, which is also considered the initial stage. Today we'll figure it out:
Who is this level suitable for?
- what is the difference between the Elementary level and the Beginner level?
- what happens at this level
- what textbooks are there for the Elementary level?
And I also confess to some crime))
The difference between Elementary and Beginner
Both levels belong to the initial level of English. Both are designated by the same letter in the European classification (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages):
Elementary – A2
What then is the difference between Beginner and Elementary?
Beginner level - for those who have not studied English. From the word absolutely. From the word never. At the same time, perhaps Beginner knows a couple of words (hello, es, know, may name from - exactly in this form, yes)))
The Elementary level is for those who have some kind of base, even if it’s from school 30 years ago. Even if the person barely speaks at all. But he has an idea of the language system.
The most recent example. From point A to point B...
Group A and Group B started studying at the same time using the same textbook.
Two months later, group A mastered 2 units, and group B mastered 3 units. How did this happen?
It's simple - group A brought together those who did not study English at school. And in group B - those who were engaged.
Even if it was a long time ago and not true, the second group already had a foundation, albeit well forgotten. Therefore, all we needed was to remember the old things, work them out a little and move forward.
And with the first group we have almost everything - for the first time and again. We need a lot, a lot of practice and additional exercises, activities and other fun.
That's the whole difference.
Yes, in an amicable way with the first group it was necessary to take the Beginner level. But we want to avoid doing this in a bad way.
First of all, I don't like any Beginner level textbook.
Secondly, why waste time if you can take the Elementary level and simply adapt it to our abilities and needs? Go through the material a little more slowly, give a little more exercises and activities, a little more practice. Moreover, the content of the levels is almost the same.
In general, what am I talking about... I think even with complete beginners (English from scratch) you can take the Elementary level. Another thing is that, of course, the teacher will have to do a little magic))
I don’t know, maybe there is a methodological mistake in this crime. Colleagues, what do you think about this? Is it possible for complete beginners (Beginner) to take the Elementary level?
Textbooks for the Elementary level
I’ll say right away that in terms of content there is no big difference between the textbooks. Whatever Elementary textbook you take:
- Headway
- English File
- Speakout
- Cutting Edge
All textbooks offer the same material - grammar, vocabulary, a set of situations (communicative). What can you do, standards!
Look through and compare the contents of the two textbooks - and:
So you should choose a textbook according to your aesthetic taste - go to a bookstore, touch the beauty, look through several textbooks, look at the pictures, the organization of the textbook. Or trust the choice of your teacher.
What is covered at the Elementary level
|
Grammar |
(Communicative) situations, practical skills |
|
|
Verb to be (affirmations, negatives, questions) Personal pronouns Possessive pronouns Article a/an Plural This, these, that, those Adjectives Imperative mood Possessive "s Present Simple (statements, negatives, questions) Prepositions of time and place Adverbs, their place in a sentence Present Continuous Present Simple vs. Present Continuous Object pronouns me/him/her There is/there are/there was/there were Some and any, countable and uncountable nouns Degrees of comparison of adjectives Going to: plans and forecasts for the future Verbs requiring an infinitive |
Days of the week Countries and nationalities Phrases used in class Everyday items Colors and adjectives Feelings and states Set phrases with verbs Daily routine Professions Family members Seasons and weather Word formation Expressions for the past tense Set phrases with verbs go, get, have Rooms in the house and pieces of furniture Prepositions of place and movement Food and types of packaging Places in the city Internet |
Check into a hotel Carrying on a conversation Instructions and invitations Find out and tell what time it is Find out the cost and order drinks in a cafe Find out what the weather is like Reading travel brochures Shopping at a clothing store Reading adapted literature in English Expressing Preferences Get directions Rental of property Reading the menu and ordering in a restaurant Compare objects, phenomena, cities, etc. Find out and tell about plans Make a forecast for the future Order a taxi To buy a ticket Filling out forms and profiles Informal letters Description of the apartment for the housing search site Official letter – hotel reservation |
And a few examples of pages from the textbook for clarity:
Grammar
- Present Simple
- Difference between
The Basic English course is suitable for those who are familiar with the basics, but want to improve their level and strive for fluency. During the course, students will master more than a thousand new words, study several standard conversational topics, and deal with modal verbs, articles and adjectives.
The online platform will help you achieve the Elementary level of English, devoting only half an hour a day to classes. In a couple of months, students will be able to communicate with foreign interlocutors on simple topics, write letters to them and read simple adapted texts, i.e. they will master basic English. Constructions of simple tenses, interrogative sentences and forms of formation of the future tense will be brought to automatism.
❶ They had already started learning English: at school, at college, perhaps, they studied on their own;
❷ Do you want to quickly restore forgotten skills and move forward in learning English;
❸ We completed the first stage of learning English online on our website - the course “From Scratch - Beginner;
Well "For Beginners - Elementary"- real Basic English! It was developed by a professional methodologist especially for you. Performing original exercises voiced by native speakers is a guarantee that the language barrier will soon cease to be a problem.
What does the basic English course Elementary English include?
The basic English course “For Beginners - Elementary” consists of 2 parts and 36 lessons. It contains short, funny stories on a variety of topics. All materials are specially selected according to difficulty level. Learning English for beginners with the help of this course will refresh your knowledge, you will learn to understand by ear and read short texts, correctly compose sentences, and speak simple phrases with good pronunciation.
All English Elementary level lessons include 5 interactive exercises. They are aimed at improving the basic skills needed to learn English: listening, reading, writing, vocabulary, translation and correct pronunciation. By completing one lesson from the course a day, you steadily increase your knowledge. You will soon notice how English becomes a second language for you. You can easily write, read, and most importantly, understand and speak on any topic.
Grammar load. By studying Elementary English, you will master three simple tenses: Present, Past and Future Simple. Understand the use of the verb to be. You will practice asking questions and answering in affirmative and negative forms. You will practice the use of articles, degrees of comparison of adjectives, categories of countable and uncountable nouns. Study the revolutions there is and there are. As well as the plural of nouns and the use of modal verbs can, may, must. This is the necessary basic knowledge of English for the elementary level, which will help you understand the language and serve as the foundation for its further development.
As a lexical load in the English language course “For Beginners - Elementary”, mainly words from the frequency dictionary are used. You will learn the order 1000-1500 words. Vocabulary from the main conversational topics is used here: weather, nature, school, family, animals, shopping. The numerals of the first and second tens are used.
By completing the “For Beginners - Elementary” course, you can easily expand your active vocabulary in 350 words. Expanding your vocabulary is an important skill in learning any language. On the site, learning English is methodologically structured so that you gradually enrich your vocabulary. Therefore, each course is additional words to your vocabulary, found in different environments and combinations.
We recommend spending time learning English 30 minutes a day. How to determine effectiveness? If you have correctly determined your level of difficulty, then Elementary level English lessons will be effective, and it will take exactly that amount of time to complete one lesson.
Course Objectives
Learn to speak and understand English
The most important skill needed to communicate with foreigners is understanding what they are talking about. The Lim-English method allows you to actively train this ability. This is achieved through professional voice-over of all exercises by native speakers. By doing the exercises on our website, you can easily get used to the sound of English speech and quickly learn to understand it by ear.
In order for English to be firmly grasped and not forgotten, it is necessary to practice reading and writing skills. When performing a complex training consisting of five exercises: listening, dictionary, dictation, translation and oral translation, more meaningful and effective memorization of the language occurs. With this method, auditory, visual and speech receptors work during the learning process.
Create a knowledge base for further language learning
Learning English is a long and labor-intensive process that requires gradualness and methodicalness. If you jump straight into difficult texts, you risk losing interest in studying. Therefore, we recommend sequential study with increasing levels. This will create a solid base and open up endless opportunities for you to further improve your knowledge.
What does the Elementary English level provide?
Opportunity to communicate on everyday topics.
After completing the course to the English Elementary level, students will easily be able to understand the general meaning of statements, respond to them and conduct a simple dialogue with native speakers. The program is based on the principle “from simple to complex”; grammatical and lexical aspects are trained repeatedly, while the examples in the exercises become more complex from time to time.
Short essay writing skills.
Thanks to the competent construction of tasks for the Elementary level, in each lesson the student must complete a written exercise - this is how he learns to correctly construct phrases in writing, fill out questionnaires, write a resume, and thereby constantly develops in the epistolary genre.
Knowledge of 1000 to 1500 new words.
In the process of acquiring basic knowledge of the English language, the platform will provide the opportunity to learn more than a thousand new words on the most common topics. It's all about the method of presenting the material, which involves the inclusion of small interesting stories, grammatical structures using new expressions, and interesting dialogues.
Well “For Beginners - Elementary” is what will help you!
How to take the Elementary (basic English) course?
To start taking basic English classes, first register on the resource. Next, it is recommended to complete test tasks; they will help determine your current level of knowledge.
After making sure that your expectations and reality coincide, feel free to select the “Elementary” item from the list and begin to study the rules and complete the proposed tasks.
Don't forget to use your personal dictionary and review your progress log. We also advise you to “pull up” your grammar with the help of a special course, which can be taken even in parallel with the basic one.
Will I be able to take this course?
Course difficulty level:
ELEMENTARY
To take the “For Beginners - Elementary” course, you will need basic knowledge of English: you know the English alphabet, have a small vocabulary in your arsenal, and can compose a basic sentence in English. Learning basic English on our website will allow you to move to a new level of knowledge and move on freely. Get started now!
Aegeus is about to marry his cousin Berenice. He is flattered by the thought that his wife will be a beautiful, cheerful girl, radiating the light of the soul and vital energy. He is in love with her features, he is attracted by her shiny luxurious curls, slim figure and radiant smile. But such a girl does not remain for long. A terrible disease takes over her body, her beauty fades, her hair loses its shine, her eyes dim, she periodically falls into a lethargic sleep, and is seized by attacks.
Brothers Edward and Julian returned from the African wasteland to their native lands. The first one is less happy to lead his usual lifestyle due to his creepy appearance. This is how the curse placed on him affected him. A man does not want to hide from people for the rest of his life. He only looks like a monster in appearance, but in his soul the hero remains a man. Edward, hiding in the castle, summons Trench, who is a lawyer, to his chambers and orders him to bring an intelligent doctor. He is deceiving
A noble lady turns to the police with a request to return the stolen letter to her and punish the criminal. She casts a shadow of guilt on a certain Minister D, who was present in her house on the day of the theft. The attacker resorts to blackmail, which worries the victim even more. The prefect, on his personal instructions, sends a detachment of police officers to the minister's house. They intensively search for the document using all the most famous search methods. There is no result. Distressed prefect turns to private investigator
Otto Lidenbrock is no longer young, but extremely inquisitive and impatient. He comes across a document according to which there is confirmed data about the possibility of reaching the very center of the earth. He and his nephew Axel hire a guide and go to the Icelandic volcano, which should lead travelers into the bowels of the planet. The boy is terribly afraid to go deep, putting forward a lot of assumptions about the incredible consequences. But uncle is relentless. Long
Edmond Dantes is tasked with delivering a letter to Paris. Here the position of captain of the ship awaits him, and he will also be engaged to his beloved Mercedes. But envious people report the hero to the prosecutor. The letter is evidence in the coup case. Dantes is arrested on his wedding day and sent to prison. Desperate, he decides to starve himself. One day, hearing a knock behind the wall, he begins to dig in the direction of the next cell and gets to another prisoner. It turns out they are
Spain. A convict whiles away his time in prison. Painful torture does not produce results, the criminal is sentenced to death. But not a simple easy death, but a longer and more painful one. Like a rat, the prisoner is thrown into a cell, in the darkness of which neither the walls nor nearby objects are visible. The inquisitors have come up with a trap, the only way out of which is death. The narrator moves along the wall in pitch darkness, trying to measure the space in which he
The narrator tells the reader about the events that happen to him in a drunken stupor. His beloved black cat becomes the victim of an angry man who has no control over his behavior. The animal loses an eyeball, and then ends up hanged in the garden near the house. That same night the house is engulfed in fire. The building collapses, leaving only one wall motionless. It clearly shows the image of a hanged cat. The man explains his cruel behavior to his wife due to the effects of alcohol, to him
Roderick Usher lives in an old mansion on the lake. His sister Madilaine is also in the house. Both suffer from a disease unknown to medicine. Of the obvious symptoms, chronic fear, fear of light, heightened hearing and vision are particularly prominent, which makes it difficult to contemplate the bright light emanating from outside the building. Brother and sister live separately, whiling away their days and nights within the walls of a gray and dull home. In order to brighten up the melancholy and loneliness, the owner of the estate invites his old friend,
The barbarian king establishes new orders and laws in his state. The system of punishing convicts is especially popular. In part, this is not the administration of justice, but a game of roulette. The punishment is death, the justification is marriage. This method is original, and at the same time cruel. The trial is carried out in the arena like a gladiator. Here the prisoner is faced with a choice. Behind one of the two doors is hidden the bride, who, according to the ruler, is the most worthy of a man. Behind
Philip Reeder is a lonely hunchback artist. He moves into an abandoned lighthouse to paint landscapes and care for migratory birds. A 12-year-old girl, Frita, comes to him from the village. She asks for help caring for an injured goose. During a storm, the bird lost its route and ended up in these parts, and not in its native Canada, where its species lives. Frita spends the entire winter helping the 30-year-old man care for the Princess, as they named the goose, until she finally recovers.
A young girl is invited to work as a nanny for a wealthy aristocratic family. Her main responsibility is caring for two orphans, a girl, Flora, and a boy, Miles. After the death of their parents, they were transferred to the care of their uncle, who, for a decent fee and all the conveniences of staying in a luxurious estate, entrusted responsibilities to the newly-made nanny and numerous servants. He himself completely avoided raising children, and ordered him not to be disturbed on any issues. Miles
Orphan John meets two villagers after Sunday service. They claim to be inspecting houses after an overnight flood. But the guy suspects that the men are looking for the ghost of Blackbeard and a precious diamond. He had previously heard sounds coming from the crypt where members of the Mohun family were buried. Water washed out the funnel at the burial site. The guy descends through the resulting passage and ends up in a tomb that serves as a hideout for smugglers. He finds an old medallion in which he is hidden