Teaching Will and Be Going To
to ESL Learners

"Will" and "be going to" make up the Future Simple tenses. ESL and EFL students need to be taught both forms of the Future Simple tenses. More importantly, they need to be taught when to use "will" and when to use "be going to" to express the future.

Conjugating the Future Simple tense is easy. It's conjugated with this simple formula: subject + will + base verb. For example, "She will arrive at 9 p.m."

1. I'm going to Spain this summer.
2. You're going to cook dinner for friends tonight.
3. He/She/It is going to leave at 8 p.m.
4. They're going to play tennis.
5. We're going to make brownies.

So when do you use "be going to" and when do you use "will"? "Will" and "be going to" are both are used to talk about a future time, so knowing when to use one or the other can be a little confusing for English language learners.

Here are some general rules:

(1) Predictions: Both "will" and "be going to" can be used to make predictions about the future.

Weather predictions are the easiest examples for students to understand.

Examples:

Take your umbrella. It's going to rain.
The weather channel said it will rain tomorrow.

Be careful. That dog is going to bite you!
Don't cheat. You'll get caught.

(2) Prior Plans: "Be going to" is used to express plans previously made for the future. You cannot use "will" for this purpose.

Examples:

I'm going to meet my friends this weekend.
She's going to take a vacation this summer.
We're going to the library to study tonight.

(3) Willingness: "Will" is used to describe willingness to do something.

Examples:

A. Someone's at the door.
B. I'll get it.

A. I can't do this by myself.
B. I'll help you.

"Will" and "be going to" are both used to talk about the future. Students are usually able to learn the rules about using "will" for predictions and willingness and using "be going to" for plans. However, as with any new English grammar, it takes a while for students to get it right when speaking.

Drills asking students questions about the near and distant future in their lives will help to reinforce whether to use "will" or "be going to."

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