Will vs Going To

Is there a difference between will and going to? is one of the grammar questions learners type into Google most often, and the textbook answer (will for predictions, going to for predictions with evidence) leaves most of them guessing. This worksheet gives students two questions to ask instead. Did you decide before you started speaking? Can you see it coming? The guide starts with a short play set on a Saturday morning. Max sees black clouds (It's going to rain), Mum has already bought the paint (I'm going to paint the bathroom), the doorbell rings (I'll get it!) and Grandpa arrives with a puppy and a promise he can't keep. Students decide whether five statements about the characters are true, then follow the decision chart. A table of the four jobs of will (a decision, an offer, a promise, an opinion) and a short section on real speech (gonna, I'll, I don't think it will) complete the guide. In the exercises, students tick planned or decided now, reply to problems with offers, read Jamie's diary, fill gaps in a voicemail and rewrite text messages full of gonna in proper written English. It all works as self-study, and the teacher copy adds the answers and the questions students usually ask, with short replies.