Speaking Pairwork 4: 5 Survey Questions Using ‘Going To’ and Time-Phrases

Click here for ‘The Basic Method for Speaking Pairwork’

The questions this time all use ‘going to’ and basic time-phrases.  This is a very structured exercise suitable for real beginners.

Write on the board:

tomorrow
at the weekend
next month
next year
when you’re__________

Each student/pair writes 5 survey questions using these phrases and ‘going to’ e.g.

What is your father going to do tomorrow?
Are you going to watch a movie at the weekend?
Are you going to buy anything expensive next month?
What are you going to study next year?
Do you think you’re going to have children when you’re 40?

Note that you could also do - on a separate occasion - a similar but not identical lesson using the ‘present continuous as future’ but the questions then would be a bit different e.g.

Are you meeting anyone tonight?
Are you planning anything this weekend?

Since it’s only for imminent plans you wouldn’t use ‘when you’re__________’ and there are certain phrases that don’t work. ‘What is your father doing tomorrow?’ is OK but ‘Are you buying anything expensive next month?’ doesn’t sound natural.