Beginning English – Level 1 (Adults)

Overview

Level 1 (Adults) focuses on building a strong CEFR A1 foundation. Modules integrate communication, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation to prepare learners for everyday situations. By the end of Level 1, students demonstrate readiness for A2-level study.

Module 01: Foundations in English Communication

This module introduces adult learners to foundational English needed for everyday life and structured conversation. It focuses on core vocabulary, simple sentence patterns, polite expressions, and practical speaking skills. Learners practice grammar and pronunciation through controlled exchanges and guided role-plays. The module is tailored for Vietnamese adults with little or no English exposure and prepares them to confidently handle basic social and routine interactions.

Objectives

• Use greetings, introductions, and polite expressions in structured everyday interactions
• Ask and answer Wh- and Yes/No questions on personal information, routines, preferences, and locations
• Construct affirmative and negative present simple sentences with high-frequency verbs and personal context
• Distinguish between habitual actions and current activities using present simple and present continuous in controlled situations
• Describe people and objects using adjectives for appearance and basic comparisons with strong visual support
• Use numbers, days, months, and time expressions to ask and answer basic schedule-related questions
• Apply “a,” “an,” and “the” and use common prepositions of time/place in practical contexts
• Make, accept, and modify simple schedule requests using polite phrases and time expressions
• Improve pronunciation of key problematic English sounds for Vietnamese learners, including contrasting voiced and unvoiced consonant pairs and common vowel patterns
• Use controlled question-response drills and sentence frames to support fluency
• Participate in scaffolded role-plays focused on predictable social and routine contexts
• Build readiness for Module 02 through integrated skill recycling and extended supported speaking practice

Module 02: Everyday English for Real Life

This module helps adult learners use English confidently in everyday scenarios such as shopping, eating out, giving basic opinions, and handling simple problems. Building on the vocabulary and sentence patterns from Module 01, students practice asking for things politely, responding to common questions, and making short conversations in social or transactional settings. Listening and pronunciation focus on high-frequency sounds and forms that are challenging for Vietnamese speakers, including final consonants and consonant teams. The module prepares learners to interact independently in predictable, real-life situations using clear, polite English.

Objectives

• Talk about daily routines and habits using frequency adverbs and expressions like “once a week” or “every day.”
• Describe current actions using the present continuous tense and distinguish between habitual and ongoing activities.
• Form and respond to questions about frequency, quantity, and present activities, including “How often…?”, “How many…?”, and “What are you doing?”
• Use vocabulary related to food, routines, shopping, and places in town in structured conversations.
• Ask about and give prices using “How much is…?” or “How much are…?” and respond with full sentences using numbers and currency expressions.
• Use polite phrases and expressions in shopping and service situations, including common formulas for making requests or asking for help.
• Express likes, dislikes, and strong preferences using “like,” “love,” “do not like,” and “hate,” and give simple reasons using “because.”
• Use demonstratives and basic prepositions of place to talk about objects and locations in everyday contexts.
• Engage in short role-plays and practical conversations about shopping, making plans, describing routines, and asking for help or clarification.
• Improve pronunciation of final consonant sounds, voiced and unvoiced pairs, consonant clusters, long and short vowel sounds, and common consonant teams like /sk/ and /str/.
• Talk about feelings and be able to ask and answer questions regarding feelings and emotions.

Module 03: Describing the World Around You

This module helps learners describe people, places, and past experiences using expanded vocabulary and clearer sentence structure. Students learn to use the past simple tense to talk about recent actions and events, and to build descriptive noun phrases using adjectives and modifiers. Time expressions, linking words, and “there was/were” structures support the narration of real-world scenes. Vocabulary focuses on clothing, personality traits, places, and everyday past activities. Pronunciation work targets consonant clusters, vowel teams, glides, and syllable stress, with structured coverage across all units. Through guided dialogues, role-plays, and supported practice, learners gain the confidence to describe familiar situations fluently and prepare for future-oriented language in Module 04.

Objectives

• Describe people using vocabulary for physical features, clothing, and personality traits.
• Use expanded noun phrases with correct adjective order and modifiers (e.g., “a tall, friendly woman in a red dress”).
• Talk about past actions and experiences using regular and irregular past simple verbs.
• Ask and answer Wh- and Yes/No questions about past events using “Did…?”, “What…?”, “Where…?”, and “Who…?”.
• Use “there was/were” with prepositions of place to describe past locations or scenes.
• Use time expressions (e.g., yesterday, last night, last weekend) to situate events in the past.
• Join ideas using “and,” “but,” “because,” and “then” to describe and sequence past experiences.
• Participate in short conversations and guided role-plays describing past events, people, and places.
• Build fluency and accuracy in describing real-life scenes using short, complete sentences.
• Practice pronunciation of consonant clusters commonly used in descriptive and past-tense vocabulary (e.g., gl, cl, pl, st, nd).
• Distinguish vowel teams and glide combinations found in high-frequency A1–A2 words (e.g., ea, oa, ai, ou, oi).
• Identify and produce syllable stress in multisyllabic vocabulary related to people, clothing, activities, and past events (e.g., visited, yesterday, comfortable).

Module 04: Making Plans & Solving Problems

This module builds learners’ ability to make future plans, respond to everyday challenges, and solve problems using polite, clear English. Learners use “going to” and “will” to talk about upcoming events, and modal verbs such as “can,” “should,” and “must” to give advice, make suggestions, and express obligations. Functional language includes making and responding to invitations, setting appointments, explaining problems, and requesting help. Vocabulary covers everyday activities, transportation, errands, and social planning. Pronunciation work targets r-controlled vowels, final consonant sounds, and short vowel contrasts (e.g., “pull” vs “pool”, “bit” vs “beat”) especially before “l.” Learners also revisit difficult consonants and glides such as “x,” “j,” “g,” and “ch.” By the end of the module, students can manage simple conversations about future plans and everyday problems with increased fluency and confidence.

Objectives

• Use “going to” and “will” to describe future plans, intentions, and predictions.
• Ask and answer questions about future plans using time expressions like “tomorrow,” “this weekend,” and “next week.”
• Use modal verbs “can,” “should,” and “must” to give advice, make suggestions, and describe rules or obligations.
• Make, accept, and decline invitations politely using appropriate expressions.
• Propose and agree on meeting times, places, and shared activities using controlled sentence patterns.
• Describe simple problems related to transportation, schedules, or health using basic present or past structures.
• Offer and request help using polite, formulaic phrases.
• Use linking words such as “and,” “but,” “because,” and “so” to explain plans and problems.
• Participate in structured conversations and role-plays involving planning, suggesting, helping, and solving problems.
• Build confidence speaking about future events and daily challenges without relying on scripted language.
• Distinguish r-controlled vowels in everyday vocabulary (e.g., “car,” “turn,” “bird,” “hair”).
• Identify and contrast short vowel sounds in high-frequency minimal pairs (e.g., bit/bet, sit/set, cup/cap).
• Recognize how long versus short vowels influence final /l/ pronunciation in words like “pull,” “pool,” “feel,” and “fill.”
• Revisit and produce problem consonants including “x” (e.g., “box,” “example”), and distinguish “g,” “j,” and “ch” in high-frequency words (e.g., “go,” “job,” “choose”).

Module 05: Fluency & Independence in Conversation

This capstone module strengthens learners’ ability to speak clearly and independently across familiar everyday topics. Students consolidate grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation targets from previous modules through structured speaking tasks, guided role-plays, and real-time conversation practice. Activities focus on expressing opinions, giving reasons, asking follow-up questions, and managing small talk. Grammar targets include flexible use of present, past, and future tenses, modals, and sentence connectors. Vocabulary is recycled and reinforced from earlier modules. Pronunciation work targets the most challenging features from the level, including r-controlled vowels, vowel + “l” combinations, and voicing pairs. Special focus is given to final consonant clusters, especially three-consonant combinations (e.g., next, helped, texts), -nd endings, and plural “s” forms (e.g., seconds, dogs, watches). By the end of the module, learners demonstrate readiness for A2 interaction through confident, intelligible communication in real-life contexts.

Objectives

• Participate in short, prompt-free conversations using clear, complete sentences.
• Ask and answer follow-up questions about familiar topics, preferences, and past experiences.
• Express personal opinions, give simple reasons, and compare ideas using connectors.
• Initiate and maintain everyday social exchanges including greetings, small talk, and checking understanding.
• Use present, past, future, and modal structures accurately in familiar contexts.
• Repair communication breakdowns by rephrasing, asking for clarification, or repeating key information.
• Apply vocabulary and sentence structures from previous modules across diverse speaking tasks.
• Build confidence and fluency in real-time conversation without relying on scripts.
• Identify and pronounce r-controlled vowels in common A1 words (e.g., car, bird, turn, hair).
• Recognize how long versus short vowels affect words ending in “l” (e.g., feel/fill, pool/pull, tale/tell).
• Distinguish voicing pairs and stop–fricative contrasts in key A1 vocabulary (e.g., fan/van, bat/bad, sip/zip, sheep/cheap/jeep).
• Produce final consonant clusters accurately, including three-consonant endings (e.g., next, helped, texts), -nd endings (e.g., friend, stand, second), and plural “s” forms (e.g., dogs, watches, clothes).