Cambridge Movers: Sports, Leisure and Health -- Vocabulary and Exam Practice

Cambridge YLE Movers tests children at A1 level on a wide range of everyday topics. Sports, leisure activities and health are among the most common topics in the exam. This guide gives you all the key vocabulary, grammar points, and practice exercises your child needs to feel confident on test day.

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Why This Topic Matters in Movers

In the Movers exam, children need to read short texts, understand conversations, and speak about pictures. Sports and health vocabulary appears in:

• Reading and Writing Part 1 (definitions)
• Reading and Writing Part 2 (cloze stories)
• Listening Part 3 (choose A, B, or C)
• Speaking Part 1 (Spot the Difference)
• Speaking Part 3 (Odd One Out)

Knowing this vocabulary well helps children score points across multiple sections.

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Part 1: Sports Vocabulary

Study these sports words carefully. For each one, learn the verb you use with it.

Memory tip: Use "play" with ball games and games with rules against another person. Use "go" with activities ending in -ing that you do alone or with friends informally. Use "do" with individual sports and martial arts.

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Part 2: Leisure Activities

These activities often appear in listening stories and reading texts.

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Part 3: Health Vocabulary

Health words are very common in Movers Listening and Reading sections.

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Part 4: Grammar Focus -- Present Continuous vs. Simple Present

One key grammar point in Movers is knowing when to use the present continuous tense (for actions happening NOW) and the simple present (for habits and routines).

Present Continuous (happening now)

• "She is playing tennis." (right now, at this moment)
• "They are swimming in the pool." (now)
• "He is doing karate." (now)

Form: subject + am/is/are + verb-ing

Simple Present (habits and routines)

• "She plays tennis on Fridays." (every Friday, a habit)
• "They go swimming every weekend." (regular routine)
• "He does karate on Mondays and Wednesdays." (schedule)

Form: subject + verb (add -s for he/she/it)

Quick Test Yourself

Look at these sentences. Which is correct?

"She is playing / She plays football every Saturday." (Answer: She plays)

"Look! He is swimming / He swims in the pool." (Answer: He is swimming)

"They go / They are going cycling right now." (Answer: They are going)

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Exercise 1: Vocabulary Match (Movers Reading Part 1 Style)

Match each definition on the left to the correct word on the right. Write the letter.

Definitions:

You use this to find out if someone has a high temperature. ___

A sport where you ride a bike. ___

You do this sport on snow and mountains. ___

This is a pain in your head. ___

A sport with a net, rackets, and a ball. ___

You wrap this around a hurt arm or leg. ___

Words: A. skiing B. tennis C. bandage D. thermometer E. cycling F. headache

Answers: 1-D, 2-E, 3-A, 4-F, 5-B, 6-C

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Exercise 2: Choose A, B, or C (Movers Reading Part 2 Style)

Read the story. Choose the best word for each gap.

Tom's Saturday

Tom wakes up at eight o'clock on Saturday. He always (1) ___ football with his friends in the park. After football, he feels tired and (2) ___. He drinks some water and (3) ___ a sandwich. In the afternoon, his sister asks him to go (4) ___ with her. Tom does not want to go. He has a (5) ___ and wants to rest at home. His mum gives him some (6) ___ and he feels better by the evening.

A) play    B) plays    C) playing

A) well    B) better    C) thirsty

A) eat    B) eats    C) eating

A) swim    B) swimming    C) to swim

A) headache    B) toothache    C) stomach ache

A) thermometer    B) bandage    C) medicine

Answers: 1-B, 2-C, 3-B, 4-B, 5-A, 6-C

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Exercise 3: Odd One Out (Movers Speaking Part 3 Style)

Look at each group of four words. Which word does NOT belong? Write your answer and give a reason using "because."

Set 1: football, tennis, swimming, hospital Your answer: ___ is the odd one out because ___

Set 2: headache, toothache, stomach ache, skiing Your answer: ___ is the odd one out because ___

Set 3: doctor, nurse, thermometer, cycling Your answer: ___ is the odd one out because ___

Set 4: dancing, running, basketball, medicine Your answer: ___ is the odd one out because ___

Sample answers:

• Set 1: Hospital is the odd one out because it is a place, not a sport.
• Set 2: Skiing is the odd one out because it is a sport, not a health problem.
• Set 3: Cycling is the odd one out because it is a sport, not a health/medical word.
• Set 4: Medicine is the odd one out because it is a health word, not a sport or activity.

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Exercise 4: Write About the Picture (Movers Reading Part 6 Style)

Imagine a picture showing: a park with children playing. A boy is playing football near a tree. A girl is doing gymnastics on the grass. Two children are cycling on the path. An old man is sitting on a bench watching.

Write 3 or more sentences to describe what you see. Use the present continuous tense.

Example sentences:

• "A boy is playing football near a tree."
• "A girl is doing gymnastics on the grass."
• "Two children are cycling on the path."
• "An old man is sitting on a bench."
• "The children are having fun in the park."

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Speaking Practice: Spot the Difference

In Movers Speaking Part 1, children look at two nearly identical pictures and find the differences. Here is a description of a practice pair:

Picture A: A girl in a red shirt is playing tennis. A boy is swimming in the pool. There is a doctor standing next to the pool.

Picture B: A girl in a blue shirt is playing tennis. A boy is cycling in the park. There is a nurse standing next to the pool.

How to describe the differences:

• "In picture A, the girl is wearing a red shirt. In picture B, she is wearing a blue shirt."
• "In picture A, the boy is swimming. In picture B, the boy is cycling."
• "In picture A, there is a doctor. In picture B, there is a nurse."

Practice tip: Always say what is happening in BOTH pictures. Do not just say "the shirt is different." Say the full comparison.

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App and Game Activities

Sports Quiz Tapping Game

In the CubLearn app, the "Sports Quiz" game shows a picture of someone doing a sport. Tap the correct word from three choices. This builds fast recognition of sports vocabulary -- exactly what is needed in Movers Listening Part 3.

How to use it: Play for 5 minutes before bedtime. Try to get 10 correct answers in a row.

Voice Recording -- "I Like Playing..."

After completing a vocabulary lesson, the app asks your child to record a sentence:

• "I like playing football."
• "I go swimming on Saturdays."
• "My favourite sport is basketball."

This builds the speaking confidence needed for Movers Speaking Part 4.

Name That Sport -- Audio Recognition

The app plays a short sound (a ball bouncing, a splash, bicycle wheels) and asks your child to name the sport. This trains the listening skills needed for Movers Listening Part 3.

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Home Games and Activities

Sports Mime Game

One family member mimes a sport (swimming, cycling, playing tennis). Others shout the sport name in English. For extra practice, the person who guesses correctly must say a full sentence: "You are swimming!" or "She is playing tennis!"

This is a fun way to practise the present continuous tense.

Sports Bingo

Make a 3x3 bingo card with 9 sport words. The parent calls out definitions ("This is a sport you do in a pool") and the child crosses out the matching word. First to cross out a row wins.

You can make the game harder by asking the child to use the word in a sentence before crossing it off.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are mistakes that children often make in the Movers exam. Study them carefully.

Mistake 1: Wrong verb form

• Wrong: "She go swimming every day."
• Correct: "She goes swimming every day." (he/she/it needs -s or -es)

Mistake 2: Mixing up tenses

• Wrong: "I am play football now."
• Correct: "I am playing football now." (present continuous needs verb + ing)

Mistake 3: Using "play" with the wrong sport

• Wrong: "He plays gymnastics."
• Correct: "He does gymnastics." (use "do" for gymnastics, karate, etc.)

Mistake 4: Forgetting the article

• Wrong: "She is at hospital."
• Correct: "She is at the hospital." (use "the" for specific places)

Mistake 5: Confusing "ill" and "sick"

Both words are accepted in Movers, but remember:

• "He is ill." = British English (common in Cambridge tests)
• "He is sick." = also accepted

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Quick Reference Checklist

Before the exam, make sure your child can:

• Name at least 10 sports and use the correct verb (play/go/do)
• Say 5 leisure activities with a full sentence
• Name 6 health words and use them in context
• Use the present continuous correctly for actions happening now
• Use the simple present correctly for habits and routines
• Describe a sports picture using at least 3 sentences
• Spot and describe differences between two sports pictures
• Give a reason for "Odd One Out" using "because"

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Summary

Sports, leisure and health vocabulary is one of the most rewarding topics to study for Cambridge Movers. It comes up in almost every section of the exam. With the vocabulary tables, grammar notes, and exercises in this guide, your child has everything they need to master this topic.

Practice a little every day -- even 10 minutes of sports vocabulary games makes a big difference over weeks and months. Good luck with the Cambridge Movers exam!