Be Going To & Present Continuous ESL Activities, Games & Worksheets

ESL Be Going To and Present Continuous Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions, Communicative Practice This 'be going to' and present continuous speaking activity helps students practice forming, asking, and answering yes/no questions about future plans and definite arrangements. To begin, students review the yes/no questions they need to ask in the activity, e.g. 'Are you watching TV tonight?' or 'Are you going to cook dinner tonight?' Students then go around the class, asking their classmates yes/no questions about future plans and arrangements. When a student finds someone who answers 'Yes, I am' to a question, they write down the person's name and ask a follow-up question to gain more information, noting down the answer in the last column. If a classmate replies 'No, I'm not', the student repeats the question with another person or asks a different question. This process continues until the students have completed each item on the worksheet with a different name and answer, one classmate per item. When everyone has finished, students give feedback to the class on what they found out by making sentences with 'be going to' and the present continuous. show less

ESL Present Continuous Activity - Speaking: Information Gap, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work In this free 'be going to' and present continuous activity, students practice asking and answering questions about future plans and intentions. Tell the students that it's the start of the summer holidays and that you need some people to help you prepare for next Sunday evening's summer school fair. To decide who will help you, students play a game where they must find all four of their partner's free periods in a diary of their plans for next week. In pairs, students then take turns asking their partner about their plans for next week using 'be going to' or the present continuous, e.g. 'What are you doing on Wednesday afternoon?' or 'What are you going to do on Wednesday afternoon?' Their partner looks at their diary for that day and time, and replies by making a 'be going to' sentence for personal intentions or a present continuous sentence for fixed plans (work, classes, appointments), e.g. 'I'm working at the cafe.' The student then writes their partner's response in the blank diary. The first student to find all their partner's free periods wins. The loser has to spend their free time with the other students helping the teacher prepare for the school fair! show less

ESL Be Going To and Present Continuous Worksheet - Grammar Exercises: Gap-fill, Categorizing, Underlining, Matching, Writing Sentences In this comprehensive 'be going to' and present continuous worksheet, students practice using the present continuous for fixed future plans and 'be going to' for intended future plans. Students begin by reading a conversation about future plans and completing gaps with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Next, students put the future plans from the conversation in the correct category, fixed future plans or intended future plans. Students then complete grammar rules for using 'be going to' and the present continuous. Students then move on to use verbs from a box to complete be going to sentences and match situations to them. After that, students use prompts to create fixed future plans in the present continuous tense. Finally, students write about a fixed and an intended future plan of their own. show less

ESL Present Continuous Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Table Completion, Freer Practice In this useful ‘be going to’ and present continuous activity, students plan a schedule for next week with leisure activities and then make and confirm arrangements with classmates using 'be going to' for plans and the present continuous for fixed times. First, students think of eight leisure activities they are going to do next week and write them anywhere on their schedules, leaving the lines marked 'with' and 'at' blank. Next, students go around the class and find someone who is free to do each activity with them. When two students agree to do an activity together, they write each other's names next to 'with', the time they have arranged to meet next to 'at' in their schedules, and say the arrangement using the present continuous. Students continue until they have a partner for each activity and have completed their schedules. Finally, students tell the class about their week using both forms, e.g. 'On Monday afternoon, I'm going to study English. On Saturday evening, I'm meeting Marco at 7:30 p.m.' show less

ESL Be Going To and Present Continuous Game - Grammar: Writing Sentences, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice In this entertaining 'be going to' and present continuous game has students write true sentences about their future plans and definite arrangements, then mingle to identify who wrote each sentence by asking yes/no questions with the target forms and time expressions. First, students complete sentences on cards with true information about their future plans or definite arrangements, fold up their sentences, and put them in a box. Next, all the students stand up and take one card each from the box. Students then find out who wrote each sentence by asking their classmates yes/no questions with 'be going to' or the present continuous. When a classmate answers 'Yes, I am', the student writes their name on the card, keeps it and takes another one from the box. If a classmate replies 'No, I'm not' or they didn't write the sentence, the student moves on to ask someone else. The student with the most sentences at the end is the winner. show less

ESL Present Continuous Game - Grammar and Speaking: Forming Sentences, Impromptu Speech, Communicative Practice - Group Work In this inventive 'be going to' and present continuous game, students practice talking about intentions, plans, and fixed future arrangements for different topics using 'be going to' and the present continuous. In groups, the first student picks up a card from the pile and lays it face up on the table, e.g. organise a party. The student then flips a coin. If the coin shows heads, the student talks about future arrangements using the present continuous. If it's tails, they talk about plans or intentions using 'be going to'. Next, the student talks for 30 seconds using the target form. The first sentence must use the verb shown on the card. Each sentence after that should use a different main verb and stay on topic. Students score one point for each correct sentence in the required form within the 30-second time frame. The next student then picks up a card, and so on. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Going To and Present Continuous Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Giving Reasons, Communicative Practice - Group Work This productive 'be going to' and present continuous activity helps students practice the difference between 'be going to' for future plans or intentions and the present continuous for definite future arrangements. First, in groups, students complete their diaries with ten activities for next week. Five should be personal definite arrangements with fixed times. The other five should be general plans without specific times. Five spaces in the diary should be left empty. Next, students try to find one person to do each activity with and make other arrangements to fill up their diary. They do this by asking other group members if they are free at certain times. If a group member replies 'yes', the student invites them to do one of the general plan activities from their diary. If their partner agrees, the student writes their partner's name next to the activity, and both students write the activity in their diaries. If they agree on a specific time, they note that this is now a definite arrangement. If a group member replies 'No', the student gives a reason using the present continuous with their definite arrangement if there is a fixed time. Finally, groups give feedback to the class on their plans for next week. show less

ESL Going To vs. Present Continuous Board Game - Grammar: Forming Sentences from Prompts - Group Work In this free 'be going to' and present continuous board game, students talk about future plans and definite arrangements, explaining reasons with 'because' and results with 'so'. In groups, students take turns rolling the dice and moving their counters along the board. When a student lands on a square with a prompt, they complete it with either 'be going to' for general future plans or the present continuous for definite arrangements with fixed times. If the prompt is already a complete sentence, students add a reason with 'because' or a result with 'so'. For prompts ending with 'because', students explain the reason for their plan or arrangement. For prompts ending with 'so', students explain the consequence or result of the situation. For time-related prompts like 'Next weekend...', students create a complete sentence about their plans or arrangements for that time. The other students in the group judge the student's explanation and use of future forms. If the response is appropriate, the student stays on the square. If a student makes a mistake or cannot think of an explanation, they go back two squares. The first student to reach the finish square wins the game. show less

ESL Future Arrangements Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Communicative Practice In this communicative 'be going to' and present continuous activity, students plan a long weekend by stating intentions and turning them into confirmed arrangements, while inviting classmates and accepting or declining invitations. First, students think of seven activities they would like to do over an upcoming long weekend and write them in the calendar as plans using 'be going to', e.g. 'I'm going to hike in the park.' Students then go around the class asking a different classmate to join them in each activity. When two students agree to do an activity together, both students write the activity in their calendars as a confirmed arrangement in the present continuous, e.g. 'I'm meeting Sam to hike in the park at 3 p.m.' The students who manage to fill up their entire calendar are the winners. Afterwards, students use the present continuous to give feedback to the class about their arrangements over the long weekend. show less

ESL Be Going To and Present Continuous Board Game - Grammar and Speaking: Impromptu Speech, Communicative Practice - Group Work In this fun 'be going to' and present continuous board game, students talk about different future plans or arrangements for 30 seconds. Players take turns rolling the dice and moving their counters along the board. When a player lands on a square, they talk about the future plan or arrangement on the square for 30 seconds using either the present continuous or 'be going to' as appropriate. The other group members listen and judge the player's response. If the player manages to talk about the topic for 30 seconds using the present continuous or 'be going to' correctly, they stay on the square. If the player stops talking before the time is up or makes a grammar mistake, they go back two squares. The first player to reach the finish wins the game. show less