A1 Movers, explained
The step where reading and writing start to carry real weight
Pre-A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers are Cambridge English Qualifications. Cambridge is a trademark of Cambridge University Press & Assessment; AylaraTalks is not affiliated with or endorsed by it.
A1 Movers is the middle test of the three, and the jump from Starters is larger than most families expect. The vocabulary roughly doubles, but the real change is what a child has to do with it: read a short text and answer about it, write words rather than choose them, and hold a spoken story across several pictures instead of describing one.
It is still built to be kind. There is still no pass or fail, still a certificate with shields, still a friendly examiner. But a child who sailed through Starters on listening alone will feel this one, because listening alone is no longer enough.
The coverage table below shows which of our free topic packs match the themes this level is organised around — and, just as usefully, which themes we have no pack for at all.
📄 The official word list
We do not reproduce the official word list on this page. Cambridge publishes it free as a PDF, it is the only version that is current, and it is the one to work from — the link is right below. What you will find here is our own topic packs, honestly matched to the themes the level is built around.
🗂️ Our coverage of this level's themes
The themes this level's vocabulary is organised around, and our free packs for each. Rows marked as a gap are themes we do not cover.
Animals
The body and health
Clothes
Food and drink
The home
Places and directions
School
Sports and leisure
Transport
Weather
Work and jobs
The world around us
Materials
We do not cover thisA gap. Words for what things are made of — glass, metal, paper — have no pack of their own here, and you will need another source for them.
Time, days and dates
We do not cover thisA gap for vocabulary, though our teaching clock handles telling the time itself. Days, months and dates need to come from elsewhere.
🌟 Practice and printables for this level
Each pack has a tap-to-hear word wall and four printable sheets; the practice link turns it into a five-minute listening quiz a child can do at home.
🕰️ On the day itself
- The spelling matters now. In the writing tasks a word spelled wrong is a word not counted, so practise writing the common ones rather than only recognising them.
- The story-telling task rewards connecting pictures, not describing them. Teach then, next and after that — three words that turn five descriptions into one story.
- Read the question before the text. It is a skill, it is teachable in ten minutes, and it saves more marks at this level than extra vocabulary would.
- Practise saying "I don't know" and "Can you say it again?" in English. An examiner can help a child who says something; they cannot help silence.
- Keep the last week light and familiar. Confidence is worth more on the day than five extra words.
❓ Common questions
How big is the jump from Starters to Movers?
Bigger than the names suggest. The vocabulary roughly doubles, and reading and writing go from a supporting role to a real one. Most children need a full year of ordinary lessons between the two, not a term of exam practice.
Should we skip Starters and go straight to Movers?
It is allowed, and for an older child who already reads it can be sensible. For a younger one, the point of Starters is the experience of sitting a test happily — skipping it saves a fee and spends something harder to buy back.
What are the shields on the certificate?
A picture of how a child did in each part, rather than a mark out of a hundred. More shields is better, and the lowest result still comes with a certificate — that is the design, and it is worth explaining to a child in advance.
Can we use this site instead of a course?
No. We are free playful practice for vocabulary, listening and spelling — genuinely useful alongside official preparation, and no substitute for it. For the test itself, work from Cambridge's own materials and past papers.
Pre-A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers are Cambridge English Qualifications. Cambridge is a trademark of Cambridge University Press & Assessment; AylaraTalks is not affiliated with or endorsed by it. cambridgeenglish.org