Cate's Base Camp: Wake up your English
«Cate's Base Camp» – the start of a new English learning path: You wake up the English you already know – school things, family words, numbers, colours and hobbies. You train am, is and are with the right pronouns, listen to a short dialogue and find out what you can already do. Level A1.
Das lernst du hier
- I can introduce myself and say my name, my age and my hobby.
- I can name school things, family words, numbers and colours in English.
- I can use am, is and are with the right pronoun.
- I can understand a short, simple dialogue when I listen.
Liechtensteiner Lehrplan (LiLe): FS1E.1.A.1 (Die Schülerinnen und Schüler können verschiedenartige Hörtexte und Gespräche verstehen (Sachtexte, ästhetische Texte, Texte im Schulalltag, Gespräche im Kontakt mit Englisch sprechenden Personen).), FS1E.5.B.1 (Die Schülerinnen und Schüler verfügen über einen angemessenen Wortschatz, um sich mündlich und schriftlich zu äussern.), FS1E.5.D.1 (Die Schülerinnen und Schüler können grammatische Strukturen in Texten erkennen und für das Verständnis nutzen sowie beim Sprechen und Schreiben anwenden.), FS1E.4.A.1 (Die Schülerinnen und Schüler können verschiedene Texte verfassen (Sachtexte, ästhetische Texte, Texte im Schulalltag, im schriftlichen Kontakt mit Englisch sprechenden Personen).)
Welcome to Base Camp!
Great to see you! A base camp is the place where mountain climbers rest before a big tour. They get ready there. This is what we do with your English. You heard, sang and spoke a lot of English in primary school. Most of it is still there – we just wake it up again.
In this module you will:
- wake up words you already know: school things, family, numbers, colours and hobbies,
- practise am, is and are with the right pronouns,
- listen to a short dialogue and show what you understand,
- introduce yourself in English in a few sentences,
- do the «Where do I stand?» check at the end and see what you can already do.
Important: Nobody is perfect here. Maybe you had a lot of English in primary school, maybe only a little. Base Camp is the same starting point for everyone. Mistakes are okay. Trying again is okay. Let's go – have fun!
Match A: School things
Six school things, six pictures. Tap a word, then tap its picture – the pair gets the same number. Wrong pair? Tap it again.
Tippe ein Element links und eines rechts an, um ein Paar zu bilden – mit welcher Seite du beginnst, ist egal. Nochmaliges Antippen wählt ab; Antippen eines verbundenen Elements löst das Paar wieder.
Bildnachweise: Eigene Darstellung, EveryCate, CC BY-SA 4.0
Match B: Family words
Do you remember the family words? Match each English word to its German translation.
Tippe ein Element links und eines rechts an, um ein Paar zu bilden – mit welcher Seite du beginnst, ist egal. Nochmaliges Antippen wählt ab; Antippen eines verbundenen Elements löst das Paar wieder.
Exercise: Numbers and colours
Drag the right word into each gap (on a phone: tap the word first, then the gap). Careful: two words in the list fit nowhere.
Tippe zuerst ein Wort an und dann die Lücke, in die es gehört. Antippen einer gefüllten Lücke legt das Wort zurück.
Grass is . One plus one is . Snow is . Eleven plus one is . A strawberry is . One week has days.
Exercise: Alina introduces herself
Alina is telling you about herself. Drag the right word into each gap. Careful: two words in the list fit nowhere.
Tippe zuerst ein Wort an und dann die Lücke, in die es gehört. Antippen einer gefüllten Lücke legt das Wort zurück.
Hi! I am Alina and this is my : my mum, my dad and my little brother Nino. I am years old. My favourite is blue. My favourite sport is – I play it every Saturday. I also like – look at my pictures! At school my favourite subject is – I love the language!
Grammar check: am, is, are
to be means sein in German – and it is the most important verb in English. You only need three forms: am, is and are. The right form depends on the pronoun – the word for the person or thing:
| pronoun | form | example |
|---|---|---|
| I (ich) | am | I am happy. |
| you (du) | are | You are my friend. |
| he / she / it (er / sie / es) | is | She is my sister. |
| we (wir) | are | We are in the classroom. |
| you (ihr) | are | You are funny. |
| they (sie, Mehrzahl) | are | They are at home. |
In short: am goes with I – is goes with he, she and it – are goes with you, we and they.
When people speak, they often use short forms: I'm = I am, she's = she is, we're = we are. In the exercises here we write the long forms. The picture below shows you the rule.
am, is or are?
Exercise: Which pronoun?
Drag the right pronoun into each gap (on a phone: tap the word first, then the gap). Every pronoun is used exactly once.
Tippe zuerst ein Wort an und dann die Lücke, in die es gehört. Antippen einer gefüllten Lücke legt das Wort zurück.
This is my brother. is nine years old. This is my sister. is at school. Look at the cat! is on the chair. My dad and I like football. play on Saturday. My grandparents are nice. live near us. are my best friend, Anna.
Exercise: Type am, is or are
Now type the right form of to be into each gap. Write the full form (am, is or are), not the short form.
I eleven years old. My best friend in my class. We at school. My parents at work. The school bag green. You very funny.
Listening: Emma and Leo
Press play and listen carefully. Emma and Leo meet and talk. You can listen more than once. Then answer the questions below.
What did you hear?
Frage 1 von 4Four questions about Emma and Leo. You can go back and listen again before you answer.
How old is Leo?
Now you: introduce yourself
Now it is your turn – like Alina, Emma and Leo.
Erkläre in eigenen Worten – so merkst du am besten, was du schon verstanden hast.
Deine Antworten werden auf diesem Gerät gespeichert und gehen mit deinem nächsten Fortschritts-Report an die Lehrperson.
Write three or four sentences about yourself: your name, your age, your family or your hobby. Use am, is and are.
When you are done, check your text with this list:
- I wrote my name and my age.
- I wrote one sentence about my family or my hobby.
- I used am, is or are in every sentence.
- Every sentence starts with a capital letter.
Tipp anzeigen
You can start like this: «Hi! I am …» – «I am … years old.» – «My hobby is …» – «This is my …»
Where do I stand?
Frage 1 von 8This check is only for you. It is not a test. It shows you: What do I know? What can I practise again? Nobody sees your result – only you. Eight questions from the whole module – take your time!
Which word means «Lineal»?
Extra challenge: have got
Finished already? Then this extra part is for you – you do not need it to finish the module.
have got means haben. Maybe you remember the forms:
- I / you / we / they have got … → I have got a blue school bag.
- he / she / it has got … → My aunt has got two cats.
To make a question, you simply move have or has to the front:
- Have you got a pet? – Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.
- Has your brother got a bike? – Yes, he has. / No, he hasn't.
Maybe you noticed: In the dialogue, Emma asks «Do you have brothers or sisters?» – that is also correct English. Here you practise the second way: the question with have got.
Now it's your turn: a small writing task is waiting below.
Challenge: Three questions with have got
A little writing challenge for fast climbers – optional, but fun!
Deine Antworten werden auf diesem Gerät gespeichert und gehen mit deinem nächsten Fortschritts-Report an die Lehrperson.
Write three questions with have got – about family, pets or school things. Then write a short answer for each question (Yes, … / No, …).
When you are done, check your text with this list:
- I wrote three questions with have got or has got.
- Every question starts with Have or Has and ends with a question mark.
- Every question has a short answer (Yes, … / No, …).
- Every sentence starts with a capital letter.
Tipp anzeigen
You can start like this: «Have you got …?» – «Has your sister got …?» – «Has your teacher got …?» Useful words: a pet, a bike, a red pen, a big family, a little brother.