Module code: 550

📚 A2 Past Simple vs Present Perfect

📚 Vocabulary Deep Dive

A2 – EMMA’S YEAR THIS YEAR

18 key termsStoryA2

🎯 Learning Priorities

Focus on these words based on their importance for understanding the text:

⭐ Essential for discussing education and learning activities, appears multiple times in Emma’s year of learning
coursenounneutral

A series of lessons or classes about a particular subject

📝 “In February, she took a Spanish course at the local college.”

Goes with: take a course, Spanish course, finish a course
Family: noun: course | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Italian ‘corso’ is cognate but students confuse with ‘curse’
⭐ Central to the travel theme running throughout the story, fundamental A1 travel vocabulary
tripnounneutral

A journey to a place and back again, usually for a short time

📝 “She entered a photo from her Portugal trip.”

Goes with: plan a trip, go on a trip, business trip
Family: noun: trip | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Italian ‘viaggio’ – students confuse ‘trip’, ‘travel’, ‘journey’, and ‘voyage’
⭐ Key verb for describing learning activities, critical for students to express their own language learning
practicedverbneutral

To do something repeatedly to improve your skill

📝 “She studied hard and practiced with other students.”

Goes with: practice English, practice with, practice every day
Family: noun: practice | verb: practice | adjective: practical
🇮🇹 Spelling: British ‘practise’ (verb) vs ‘practice’ (noun) confuses Italian learners
⭐ Essential for describing progress and development, directly relevant to students’ own learning journey
improvedverbneutral

To become better at something or make something better

📝 “Emma has improved her Spanish a lot this year.”

Goes with: improve skills, improve a lot, has improved
Family: noun: improvement | verb: improve | adjective: improved
🇮🇹 Italian ‘migliorare’ – students may overuse ‘ameliorate’ (too formal)
⭐ Core vocabulary for the travel/tourism theme, used in multiple contexts throughout the story
touristsnounneutral

People who visit places for pleasure or interest, usually on holiday

📝 “She helped tourists find information about the city.”

Goes with: help tourists, meet tourists, foreign tourists
Family: noun: tourist, tourism | verb: N/A | adjective: touristic
🇮🇹 Italian ‘turista’ is cognate but pronunciation differs significantly
⭐ Important workplace vocabulary and connects to the travel theme, useful for discussing jobs
travel agencynounneutral

A business that helps people plan and book trips and holidays

📝 “In January, she started a new job at a travel agency.”

Goes with: work at a travel agency, local travel agency, online travel agency
Family: noun: agency, agent | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 False friend: ‘agenzia’ exists but students may say ‘travel agent’ when they mean the place, not the person
⭐ Common workplace term students need for discussing work environments and professional relationships
colleaguesnounneutral

People you work with in the same company or office

📝 “She met her new colleagues and learned about the office.”

Goes with: meet colleagues, work colleagues, new colleagues
Family: noun: colleague | verb: N/A | adjective: collegial
🇮🇹 Italian ‘colleghi’ is similar but students often confuse with ‘college’ (education)
⭐ Useful for describing achievements and activities, appears in a memorable context (Emma winning)
competitionnounneutral

An event where people try to win by being the best at something

📝 “Emma won a photography competition at work.”

Goes with: win a competition, enter a competition, photography competition
Family: noun: competition, competitor | verb: compete | adjective: competitive
🇮🇹 Italian ‘competizione’ or ‘gara’ – similar but students may confuse with ‘competence’
⭐ Important life event vocabulary, culturally relevant and useful for personal narratives
weddingnounneutral

A ceremony where two people get married

📝 “In September, Emma’s brother got married. She went to the wedding.”

Goes with: go to a wedding, attend a wedding, wedding ceremony
Family: noun: wedding | verb: wed | adjective: wedded
🇮🇹 Italian ‘matrimonio’ – students may confuse ‘wedding’ (ceremony) with ‘marriage’ (state)
⭐ Valuable for expressing accomplishments and goals, though slightly above A2 level
achievedverbneutral

To successfully complete or reach something you wanted to do

📝 “Emma has achieved her dream of visiting Japan.”

Goes with: achieve a dream, achieve a goal, has achieved
Family: noun: achievement | verb: achieve | adjective: achievable
🇮🇹 Italian ‘raggiungere’ or ‘realizzare’ – students may overuse ‘realize’ instead
⭐ Extension vocabulary for discussing community involvement and unpaid work
volunteeredverbneutral

To work without payment to help others or support a cause

📝 “In August, she volunteered at a local community center.”

Goes with: volunteer at, volunteer for, volunteer work
Family: noun: volunteer, volunteering | verb: volunteer | adjective: voluntary
🇮🇹 Italian uses ‘fare volontariato’ – students may struggle with the verb form
⭐ Professional vocabulary useful for stronger students, less immediately relevant to A2 learners
conferencenounneutral/formal

A large meeting where people discuss professional topics and share ideas

📝 “In July, she went to a travel conference in Berlin.”

Goes with: attend a conference, go to a conference, travel conference
Family: noun: conference | verb: confer | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Similar to Italian ‘conferenza’ but pronunciation differs
⭐ Culturally interesting phrase for travel contexts, enriches discussion of tourism
ancient templesnoun phraseneutral

Very old religious buildings from long ago

📝 “She saw Mount Fuji and visited ancient temples.”

Goes with: visit ancient temples, ancient temple ruins, Buddhist temples
Family: noun: temple, antiquity | verb: N/A | adjective: ancient, old
🇮🇹 Italian ‘tempio antico’ – word order differs from Italian
⭐ Modern, relevant vocabulary but not essential for basic communication
blognouninformal/neutral

A website where someone writes regularly about their experiences or interests

📝 “In November, she started writing a travel blog.”

Goes with: write a blog, travel blog, start a blog
Family: noun: blog, blogger, blogging | verb: blog | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Same in Italian but pronunciation differs – students say ‘blog’ with Italian sounds
⭐ Expressive adjective for emotions, slightly advanced but useful for personal reflection
gratefuladjectiveneutral

Feeling thankful and happy about something good that happened

📝 “She feels grateful for everything.”

Goes with: feel grateful, be grateful for, very grateful
Family: noun: gratitude | verb: N/A | adjective: grateful
🇮🇹 Italian ‘grato’ – students may confuse with ‘great’ or use ‘thankful’ exclusively

📖 Complete Vocabulary Reference

All vocabulary items organized by theme:

Work and Career Vocabulary

Words related to employment, professional activities, and workplace experiences

travel agencynounneutral

A business that helps people plan and book trips and holidays

📝 “In January, she started a new job at a travel agency.”

Goes with: work at a travel agency, local travel agency, online travel agency
Family: noun: agency, agent | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 False friend: ‘agenzia’ exists but students may say ‘travel agent’ when they mean the place, not the person
colleaguesnounneutral

People you work with in the same company or office

📝 “She met her new colleagues and learned about the office.”

Goes with: meet colleagues, work colleagues, new colleagues
Family: noun: colleague | verb: N/A | adjective: collegial
🇮🇹 Italian ‘colleghi’ is similar but students often confuse with ‘college’ (education)
conferencenounneutral/formal

A large meeting where people discuss professional topics and share ideas

📝 “In July, she went to a travel conference in Berlin.”

Goes with: attend a conference, go to a conference, travel conference
Family: noun: conference | verb: confer | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Similar to Italian ‘conferenza’ but pronunciation differs
volunteeredverbneutral

To work without payment to help others or support a cause

📝 “In August, she volunteered at a local community center.”

Goes with: volunteer at, volunteer for, volunteer work
Family: noun: volunteer, volunteering | verb: volunteer | adjective: voluntary
🇮🇹 Italian uses ‘fare volontariato’ – students may struggle with the verb form

Learning and Education Vocabulary

Words related to studying, courses, and acquiring new skills

coursenounneutral

A series of lessons or classes about a particular subject

📝 “In February, she took a Spanish course at the local college.”

Goes with: take a course, Spanish course, finish a course
Family: noun: course | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Italian ‘corso’ is cognate but students confuse with ‘curse’
practicedverbneutral

To do something repeatedly to improve your skill

📝 “She studied hard and practiced with other students.”

Goes with: practice English, practice with, practice every day
Family: noun: practice | verb: practice | adjective: practical
🇮🇹 Spelling: British ‘practise’ (verb) vs ‘practice’ (noun) confuses Italian learners
improvedverbneutral

To become better at something or make something better

📝 “Emma has improved her Spanish a lot this year.”

Goes with: improve skills, improve a lot, has improved
Family: noun: improvement | verb: improve | adjective: improved
🇮🇹 Italian ‘migliorare’ – students may overuse ‘ameliorate’ (too formal)
language appsnounneutral

Mobile or computer programs designed to help you learn languages

📝 “She watched video lessons and used language apps.”

Goes with: use language apps, download apps, language learning apps
Family: noun: app, application | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Italian uses ‘app’ too, but full form ‘application’ may confuse (job application vs software)

Travel and Places Vocabulary

Words describing travel activities, destinations, and tourism

countrysidenounneutral

Land outside cities and towns, with fields, farms, and nature

📝 “In March, Emma visited her grandmother in the countryside.”

Goes with: in the countryside, visit the countryside, beautiful countryside
Family: noun: countryside, country | verb: N/A | adjective: rural
🇮🇹 Italian ‘campagna’ – students may say ‘campaign’ by mistake
ancient templesnoun phraseneutral

Very old religious buildings from long ago

📝 “She saw Mount Fuji and visited ancient temples.”

Goes with: visit ancient temples, ancient temple ruins, Buddhist temples
Family: noun: temple, antiquity | verb: N/A | adjective: ancient, old
🇮🇹 Italian ‘tempio antico’ – word order differs from Italian
touristsnounneutral

People who visit places for pleasure or interest, usually on holiday

📝 “She helped tourists find information about the city.”

Goes with: help tourists, meet tourists, foreign tourists
Family: noun: tourist, tourism | verb: N/A | adjective: touristic
🇮🇹 Italian ‘turista’ is cognate but pronunciation differs significantly
tripnounneutral

A journey to a place and back again, usually for a short time

📝 “She entered a photo from her Portugal trip.”

Goes with: plan a trip, go on a trip, business trip
Family: noun: trip | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Italian ‘viaggio’ – students confuse ‘trip’, ‘travel’, ‘journey’, and ‘voyage’

Life Events and Achievements

Words describing important personal experiences and accomplishments

competitionnounneutral

An event where people try to win by being the best at something

📝 “Emma won a photography competition at work.”

Goes with: win a competition, enter a competition, photography competition
Family: noun: competition, competitor | verb: compete | adjective: competitive
🇮🇹 Italian ‘competizione’ or ‘gara’ – similar but students may confuse with ‘competence’
prizenounneutral

Something valuable you receive for winning a competition or doing well

📝 “She received a prize of two hundred euros.”

Goes with: win a prize, receive a prize, first prize
Family: noun: prize | verb: prize | adjective: prized
🇮🇹 Italian ‘premio’ – students may confuse ‘prize’ with ‘price’
weddingnounneutral

A ceremony where two people get married

📝 “In September, Emma’s brother got married. She went to the wedding.”

Goes with: go to a wedding, attend a wedding, wedding ceremony
Family: noun: wedding | verb: wed | adjective: wedded
🇮🇹 Italian ‘matrimonio’ – students may confuse ‘wedding’ (ceremony) with ‘marriage’ (state)
achievedverbneutral

To successfully complete or reach something you wanted to do

📝 “Emma has achieved her dream of visiting Japan.”

Goes with: achieve a dream, achieve a goal, has achieved
Family: noun: achievement | verb: achieve | adjective: achievable
🇮🇹 Italian ‘raggiungere’ or ‘realizzare’ – students may overuse ‘realize’ instead
blognouninformal/neutral

A website where someone writes regularly about their experiences or interests

📝 “In November, she started writing a travel blog.”

Goes with: write a blog, travel blog, start a blog
Family: noun: blog, blogger, blogging | verb: blog | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Same in Italian but pronunciation differs – students say ‘blog’ with Italian sounds
gratefuladjectiveneutral

Feeling thankful and happy about something good that happened

📝 “She feels grateful for everything.”

Goes with: feel grateful, be grateful for, very grateful
Family: noun: gratitude | verb: N/A | adjective: grateful
🇮🇹 Italian ‘grato’ – students may confuse with ‘great’ or use ‘thankful’ exclusively

🎮 Practice Activities

 

Gap Fill

Complete the sentences with the correct word from the box: course, trip, colleagues, tourists, practiced, improved, wedding, prize

Last summer I went on a _____ to Italy for two weeks.

She _____ her English by speaking with native speakers every day.

I’m taking a Spanish _____ at the local college this semester.

My new _____ at work are very friendly and helpful.

The city center was full of _____ taking photos of the monuments.

Word Formation

Complete the sentences using the correct form of the word in brackets

Emma showed great _____ (improve) in her Spanish this year.

She feels very _____ (gratitude) for all the opportunities she had.

The _____ (compete) was very difficult but she won first place.

She _____ (volunteer) at the community center every Saturday.

Her _____ (achieve) this year include learning Spanish and visiting Japan.

Gap Fill

Choose the correct word to complete each sentence about Emma’s year

In January, Emma started working at a travel _____ where she helps people plan holidays.

She _____ her Spanish by using language apps and speaking with other students.

Emma visited _____ temples in Japan and learned about Japanese culture.

She won a photography _____ at work and received 200 euros.

In November, she started writing a travel _____ to share her experiences online.