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ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR A2

Will vs Going To ESL Lesson Plan (A2, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute A2 lesson on Will vs Going To, built round the theme "At the Café and Looking at the Sky".

  • CEFR A2
  • 60 minutes
  • Teenagers and adults
  • Grammar
  • Future Forms
  • Will vs Going To

About this lesson

Who it is for. Elementary students who know going to for plans and have met will, but use them interchangeably, e.g. I will go to the cinema tonight, I bought tickets.

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

At a glance

Level
CEFR A2 (Elementary)
Learners
Teenagers and adults
Length
60 minutes. For 45 minutes, run only "Café role-play" of the two tasks in "Freer practice" and cut "Feedback and wrap-up" to board-based error correction.
Skills
Speaking and writing
Language focus
Grammar: Will vs Going To (Decisions, Offers and Predictions)
Framework
PPP (presentation, practice, production)
Materials
Handout 1 (three dialogues), Handout 2 (practice), Handout 3 (café menu and role cards), Handout 4 (picture situations described in words).
Preparation
About 10 minutes: print Handouts 1 to 4, one per learner, and read the language analysis. The answer key is for you, not the class.

Aims

Main aim. To clarify and practise will for instant decisions, offers and opinion-based predictions, and going to for plans and evidence-based predictions.

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can order and make offers with I'll ..., and make predictions using will (opinion) and going to (evidence).

  • Subsidiary aim. To develop fluency in a café role-play.
  • Subsidiary aim. To practise I'll and won't.

Language analysis

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

Form

  • will / won't + base verb: I'll help you. It won't rain. (Same form for all persons.)
  • be going to + base verb: I'm going to paint my room. It's going to rain.

Meaning and use

willgoing to
Instant decision (decided at the moment of speaking): The phone's ringing. I'll answer it.Plan (decided before speaking): I've bought paint. I'm going to paint my room.
Offer: That bag looks heavy. I'll carry it.Prediction with present evidence: Look at those clouds! It's going to rain.
Ordering: I'll have the rice, please.
Prediction based on opinion: I think Sri Lanka will win.
Promise: I won't tell anyone.

Meaning and use: notes

Useful with will: I think ..., I don't think ... will, probably, definitely, I'm sure ...

Pronunciation

  • I'll /aɪl/, you'll /juːl/, it'll /ˈɪtl/; won't /wəʊnt/ (different from want /wɒnt/).

Concept-checking questions

  • A: The phone's ringing. B: I'll answer it. Did B plan to answer the phone before? (No.) · When did B decide? (Now, at the moment of speaking.)
  • Look at those clouds! It's going to rain. Can we see something now? (Yes, clouds.) · Is it a guess based on evidence? (Yes.)

Anticipated problems and solutions

ProblemSolution
will for planned events.Ask: "Did you decide before?" Board the decision flowchart.
will + to (I will to help).Highlight base verb only.
won't pronounced like want.Minimal-pair drill: I won't go / I want to go.
Students only use will in the café role-play.Role cards include a plan question (What are you going to do after lunch?).

Board plan

Left: decision flowchartCentre: examplesRight: pronunciation
Did you decide BEFORE? → yes → going to · no, NOW → will · Prediction: evidence you can see → going to · opinion (I think) → will
I'll answer it! (decision now) · I'll carry it. (offer) · I'll have the curry. (order) · I'm going to paint my room. (plan) · It's going to rain. (evidence) · I think Sri Lanka will win. (opinion)
I'll /aɪl/ · won't /wəʊnt/ vs want /wɒnt/

CEFR A2 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults

Procedure: Will vs Going To, step by step

Warm-up5 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To create interest and introduce decisions and predictions.

Describe a scene in words or with a quick sketch: a man on a ladder leaning too far to one side. Ask: "What's going to happen?" Accept any answers.

Pretend to drop a pile of books. Ask: "Can anyone help me?" A student helps; elicit or say for them: "I'll help you!"

Ask two students: "What are you doing after class? Do you have plans?"

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class

Aim: To present will and going to in context and clarify the difference in meaning, form and pronunciation.

Part A: Reading (6 minutes)

Give out Handout 1. Say: "Read the three dialogues. For each underlined sentence, write P (plan), D (decision now), O (offer) or PR (prediction). Four minutes."

ICQs: "How many dialogues?" (Three.) "What do you write?" (P, D, O or PR.)

Pairs compare. Check as a class.

Part B: Clarification (14 minutes)

Decisions and plans. Board The phone's ringing. I'll answer it. and I've bought paint. I'm going to paint my room. Ask the CCQs. Build the decision flowchart on the left of the board: "Did you decide before? → going to. Now? → will."

Offers and orders. Board I'll carry them. I'll have the rice, please. Elicit: will for offers and ordering.

Predictions. Contrast Look at those clouds! It's going to rain (evidence) with I think it'll look great (opinion). Ask: "Which one has evidence you can see?"

Form. Elicit will / won't + base verb (same for all persons) and be going to + base verb.

Pronunciation. Drill I'll get it! I'll have the rice. It won't hurt. Minimal pair: I won't go / I want to go.

Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class

Aim: To practise choosing the correct form.

Give out Handout 2. Say: "Exercise A: choose will or going to. Exercise B: complete the sentences. Six minutes."

Pairs compare and justify using the flowchart.

Check as a class.

Freer practice18 minutes · Pairs, then groups

Aim: To use will and going to fluently in a role-play and in making predictions.

Café role-play (9 minutes). Give out Handout 3. Student A is a waiter; Student B is a customer. Customers must order a drink, food and a dessert; waiters must make two offers; both must ask about each other's plans for the afternoon. Model one exchange. Swap roles after four minutes.

ICQs: "How many offers does the waiter make?" (Two.) "What do you ask about at the end?" (Plans.)

Predictions (6 minutes). Give out Handout 4. Groups decide what is going to happen in each situation (evidence), then make three opinion predictions about their classmates' futures: I think Ravi will become a famous chef!

Groups share their funniest prediction (3 minutes).

Monitor and note errors.

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To give feedback and consolidate.

Board four sentences heard in Stage 4 (two with errors). Students correct them.

Ask: "How do you decide between will and going to?" Elicit the flowchart.

Set the homework.

Homework Write a short dialogue (8–10 lines) in which one person offers help, one person orders something and both talk about their plans.

PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.

Differentiation

Support
Give weaker students a phrase card: I'll have ..., I'll get you ..., Shall I ...?, I'm going to ... Let them play the customer (the simpler role) first.
Stretch
Stronger students add probably / definitely in the correct position (I'll probably ..., I probably won't ...). They use Shall I ...? for offers.

Adapting the lesson

ForWhat to change
A large class (40 or more)Keep the pairwork in "Freer practice" in fixed pairs rather than a mingle, and take feedback from four or five pairs instead of the whole room. Run "Café role-play" once, with two pairs reporting, rather than hearing every pair. Monitor one half of the room during "Controlled practice" and the other half during "Freer practice".
A class with no photocopierPut the exercises from Handout 2: Practice on the board for learners to copy into their notebooks, and read any text aloud twice instead of printing it. Handout 3: Café Menu and Role Cards works read out from the front: learners note what they need rather than holding a card. The board plan above is this lesson's minimum - with that on the board, it runs on no paper at all.
An online classSend Handouts 1 to 4 in the chat before the lesson and put the board plan on a shared slide. Use breakout rooms for "Café role-play" and visit each room once. Have learners type the controlled answers in the chat, so you see every answer at once instead of nominating.
A different age groupWith young learners, cut the writing at the end and give that time to the speaking task; keep the drilling short, and let them draw or mime where the plan allows it. With adults, keep the writing and ask for a short spoken summary in place of anything drawn or mimed.

Checking learning

In the role-play, students use I'll for ordering and offers and going to for plans. 10 out of 13 or better on Handout 2. Students distinguish evidence and opinion predictions in the group task.

Teacher's reflection

Did students use the decision test (before / now) on their own? Was the café role-play realistic and useful?

Handout 1: Three Dialogues

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Read the dialogues. Is each underlined sentence a plan (P), a decision now (D), an offer (O) or a prediction (PR)?

Dialogue 1: At home Mum: The phone's ringing! Nimal: I'll answer it. (1) Mum: Thanks. And can you help me with the shopping bags? Nimal: Sure, I'll carry them. (2)

Dialogue 2: At school Sara: Why have you got paint and brushes? Kumar: I'm going to paint my bedroom this weekend. (3) I bought the paint yesterday. Sara: Nice! What colour? Kumar: Blue. I think it'll look great. (4)

Dialogue 3: At the park Ruwan: Look at those black clouds! Dilini: Oh no, it's going to rain. (5) Let's go home. Ruwan: Wait, I'll call my brother. (6) He has a car.

SentenceP / D / O / PR
1
2
3
4
5
6

Handout 2: Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Choose will or going to.

B. Complete with will ('ll), won't or the correct form of going to.

  • The phone's ringing. I (will / am going to) answer it.
  • I've bought paint. I (will / am going to) paint my room.
  • Watch out! You (will / are going to) fall!
  • I think Sri Lanka (will / is going to) win the match.
  • This bag is heavy. I (will / am going to) carry it for you.
  • We've booked a hotel. We (will / are going to) stay in Ella for three days.
  • I'm thirsty. I think I (will / am going to) have a lime juice.
  • Don't worry, I (won't / am not going to) tell anyone. I promise.
  • A: I don't have any money. B: Don't worry, I ______________ lend you some.
  • Look at that boy on the wall! He ______________ fall!
  • We ______________ visit Kandy next month. We booked the train last week.
  • I'm sure you ______________ pass the exam. You studied hard.
  • A: Would you like tea or coffee? B: I ______________ have coffee, please.

Handout 3: Café Menu and Role Cards

Waiter: Welcome customers. Take the order. Make two offers (I'll bring you some water. I'll get you a menu.). Ask about their plans after lunch.

Customer: Order a drink, food and a dessert. Ask for something extra. Talk about your plans for the rest of the day.

Useful language: I'll have ..., please. · Can I have ...? · I'll bring you ... · Shall I ...? · What are you going to do after lunch? · I'm going to ...

DrinksFoodDesserts
Tea (Rs. 150)Rice and curry (Rs. 600)Watalappan (Rs. 300)
Coffee (Rs. 250)Kottu (Rs. 750)Ice cream (Rs. 250)
Lime juice (Rs. 200)Hoppers (Rs. 400)Fruit salad (Rs. 350)
Milkshake (Rs. 350)Vegetable rotti (Rs. 300)

Handout 4: What's Going to Happen?

Read the situations. What's going to happen? Use going to.

Now make three opinion predictions about people in your class. Use I think ... will ...

  • A man is running for the bus. The bus doors are closing.
  • A little girl is holding a big ice cream. It's very hot and the ice cream is melting.
  • The sky is dark and there is thunder.
  • A boy is standing on a chair to reach a high shelf. The chair is moving.
  • A woman is putting on her running shoes and stretching.
  • The football is flying towards the goal and the goalkeeper is on the ground.

Answer Key

Handout 1

Handout 2, Exercise A

Handout 2, Exercise B

Handout 4 (examples)

Common errors to watch for

  • D · 2. O · 3. P · 4. PR (opinion: will) · 5. PR (evidence: going to) · 6. D
  • will · 2. am going to · 3. are going to · 4. will · 5. will · 6. are going to · 7. will · 8. won't
  • 'll · 2. 's going to · 3. 're going to · 4. 'll · 5. 'll
  • He's going to miss the bus. · 2. The ice cream is going to fall / melt. · 3. It's going to rain. · 4. He's going to fall. · 5. She's going to go running. · 6. It's going to be a goal.
ErrorCorrection
I will to help you.I will help you.
I will go to the cinema tonight. I bought the tickets last week.I'm going to go to the cinema tonight. I bought the tickets last week.
It will rain. Look at the clouds!It's going to rain. Look at the clouds!
I want help you. (meaning I'll)I'll help you.

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About this lesson plan

Written by RCF English to the RCF English international standard: levelled by the CEFR, original throughout, and suitable for classrooms in any country. Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

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