16.06.2021
Elementary — your foundation in learning English
The Elementary level is designed as A1 and follows the Beginner level. After graduating at the Elementary stage, you will have a minimum set of knowledge sufficient to communicate at the everyday level in the country of the language being studied. This level is also sometimes called the “Survival level”. To understand whether you should start studying from this level, take a free test on our website.
Who does the Elementary level suits
To determine without a test is this English level suits you, you can take a look at this criteria:
- you have some base English knowledge after school;
- you have completed the Beginner courses;
- you can answer the most basic questions, or at least you understand them, but can barely make a sentence;
- you know the English alphabet and can count up to a 100;
- you can tell your name, age, and sare some information about you;
- you barely can understand English even when spoken slowly;
- you know around 300-500 English words, and have some basic grammar knowledge.
What will you learn after this course
At this level, you will learn a lot of new things, some of the topics will seem familiar to you from the Beginner level, but the vocabulary and grammar will be more complex and complete at the same time. In the grammar part, you will get acquainted with the tenses of the Present group — Simple, Continuous, Perfect, as well as simple future and past tenses. Find out what the word order should be in different types of sentences. You will learn demonstrative and object pronouns, degrees of comparison of adjectives, definite and indefinite articles, plural of nouns, adverbs of frequency and mode of action. Among the more complex topics are the modal verbs “can” and “should”, and the gerund.
As for the lexical component, you will be able to talk about yourself and your family, talk about topics such as holidays, weather, personal preferences, sports, music and movies, food, transport, travel. You will also have sufficient vocabulary to make purchases in the store or make an order in a cafe.
How will your skills develop during the Elementary level
As at any other stage, at the Elementary level special attention is paid to the comprehensive development of all skills at once: vocabulary, reading, speaking, writing, listening. Having mastered this course, you will get acquainted with the basic grammatical constructions and basic words and phrases that will help you maintain communication in everyday life.
- Your vocabulary will increase to 1000-1500 words, and these will be the most useful words and phrases that will allow you to conduct a dialogue almost anywhere (shop, post office, airport). The vocabulary at this stage is universal, i.e. you can use it both in written and oral speech, regardless of style.
- You will be able to read simple adapted texts: fairy tales, short stories. You will understand what is written in the restaurant menu or on signs and advertisements. You will be able to understand a simple personal letter.
- One of the main tasks of any level is to learn to speak. Having mastered the Elementary course, you will be able to compose a monologue of 5-10 sentences, participate in a simple dialogue, understand what is said based on the context and asking questions yourself.
- You will learn how to perform the simplest written actions: fill out questionnaires, sign postcards, write small personal letters and short texts about yourself.
- It will be easy for you to understand by listening what the interlocutors are saying if they do it slowly and use words and phrases that are familiar to you. Adapted audio recordings will be understandable to you mainly after the second listening.
How long does the Elementary level course take
It takes about 3 months to master the Elementary level language skills, depending on the schedule. It is also necessary to take into account the student’s basic knowledge and abilities. To achieve good results you will need to study with a teacher and do some homework.
We hope our article was useful for you. We invite you to take our English courses for adults at our school to start learning English or to improve your knowledge. Take an English level test on our website and sign up for a free trial lesson of English online. With EnglishPapa, you will definitely begin to speak English!
