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Goodbye 2026, hello 2027: be going to vs will for plans, predictions and promises

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches be going to vs will through New Year's resolutions, for the last classes of 2026, as students plan, predict and promise for 2027.

Grammar
Be going to for a plan made before speaking (I'm going to run three times a week.), will for predictions, promises and quick decisions (I promise I won't laugh.).
Topic
4,000 years of New Year's resolutions, from the Babylonian festival Akitu to Janus, and what research says helps, with words such as give up, take up and realistic.
Activities
An article, a dialogue over sticky notes, self-checking drills, a chat about a friend's resolution and a wheel about 2026 and 2027.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: so, how was your year?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: new year, new meVocabularyTry it
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: 4,000 years of promises

    • Read the articleArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: five sticky notes

    • Listen to Emma and NoahListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: a plan or a prediction?

    • Study the scheme: be going to or will?Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct option: a plan, a prediction, a promise or a quick decision?Choose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use be going to or willFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: be going to and willFill in the tableUnlock
    • Sort the sentences into the correct columns: why be going to or will?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: be going to or will?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: your 2026 and your 2027

    • Choose the right replies: help Lucas with his resolutionChatTry it
    • Spin the wheel and answer: goodbye 2026, hello 2027!Spin the wheelUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Sort the resolutions into the correct columns: too big or small and clear?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Sofia and Leo's new yearChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: a plan, a prediction, a promise or a quick decision?Fill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a letter to my future selfChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Emma's post, three months laterDrag and dropUnlock

27 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

New Year vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • cut down on
  • promise
  • resolution
  • goal
  • habit
  • progress
  • realistic

Grammar: be going to vs will

Be going to and will both look ahead, and this lesson tells them apart with one question: did the speaker decide before speaking? On the last day of the year, learners use be going to for resolutions already planned and will for predictions, promises and decisions made on the spot, then drill four form slips.

be going to or will?

be going to: a plan you made before you spoke. will: a prediction, a promise, or a decision you make right now.

A plan made before speaking: be going to

If the decision came first, use be going to. Signals such as I've decided or I've bought show it: I've bought a guitar: I'm going to take up the guitar in January. Emma has signed up for a race: I'm going to run five kilometers in April.

Two ways to talk about the future

FormHow to make itUse it forSignals
be going toam / is / are + going to + base form: I'm going to run.a plan: you decided before you spokeI've decided · I've already paid · I've bought · I've signed up
willwill ('ll) / won't + base form: I'll run. I won't stop.a prediction or opinion · a promise · a decision you make right nowI think · probably · I'm sure · I promise · Wait, … · No problem, …

When did you decide?

Before you spoke → be going to

  • Emma has signed up for a race: I'm going to run five kilometers in April.
  • I've bought a guitar: I'm going to take up the guitar in January.
  • We've decided: we're going to cut down on screen time.

No plan before → will

  • A prediction: I think you'll give up by March.
  • A promise: I promise I won't laugh.
  • A decision right now: We have no tape? Wait, I'll get some!

No plan before: will for three uses

Will covers the future with no earlier decision: a prediction, a promise or a decision right now. I think January will be hard, but I'll make progress. I promise I won't laugh when you run in the snow. No problem, I'll get some tape!

  • I'm going to run three times a week. I've already signed up for a race.
  • I think January will be hard, but I'll make progress.
  • You'll probably know hundreds of words by summer.
  • I'll learn five new words every day. I promise.
  • I promise I won't laugh when you run in the snow.
  • No problem, I'll get some tape!

Will after I think, I'm sure and probably

Everyday English also predicts with be going to, but this lesson asks for will after I think and I'm sure: I think it'll be a great year. Probably follows will but comes before won't: You'll probably love it. It probably won't be easy.

Predictions in this lesson

You'll also hear be going to for predictions in everyday English. In this lesson, use will after I think, I'm sure and with probably: I think it'll be a great year. probably goes after will: You'll probably love it.

Every person, negatives and questions

Be going to changes with the person, will doesn't: I'm going to run, they'll run. Negatives: he isn't going to run, I won't run. Questions start with am, is, are or will: Are you going to make a resolution? Yes, I am. Will it be easy? No, it won't.

Every person

Personbe going tonot going towill ('ll)won't
II'm going to runI'm not going to runI'll runI won't run
youyou're going to runyou aren't going to runyou'll runyou won't run
hehe's going to runhe isn't going to runhe'll runhe won't run
sheshe's going to runshe isn't going to runshe'll runshe won't run
itit's going to workit isn't going to workit'll workit won't work
wewe're going to runwe aren't going to runwe'll runwe won't run
theythey're going to runthey aren't going to runthey'll runthey won't run

Questions

Are you going to make a resolution? Yes, I am. / No, I'm not. Is she going to run? Will it be easy? Yes, it will. / No, it won't. Not: Do you going to…?

I will to learn, I'm going start and other slips

After will and won't, no to: I will learn Spanish, not I will to learn. Be going to needs all three parts, so not I'm going start or I going to run. And am never goes before will: I think I'll pass, not I think I'm will pass.

Watch the form

After will and won't, use the base form with no to: I'll learn (not: I will to learn). be going to needs all three parts: am / is / are + going + to: I'm going to start (not: I going to start, not: I'm going start).

Common mistakes

  • I will to learn Spanish.

    I will learn Spanish.

    will + base form, no “to”

  • I'm going start on Monday.

    I'm going to start on Monday.

    going + to + base form

  • I going to run in April.

    I'm going to run in April.

    don't forget am / is / are

  • I think I'm will pass.

    I think I'll pass.

    no “am” before will

More lessons on this grammar: Future tenses lessons and exercises

Try the be going to vs will exercises

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What's in the lesson

  • 16 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 1 audio clip
  • 1 picture
  • 1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • talk about a plan made before speaking with be going to: I'm going to run three times a week. I've already signed up for a race.
  • predict and give opinions with will: I think January will be hard. You'll probably know hundreds of words by summer.
  • promise and decide on the spot with will and won't: I promise I won't laugh. No problem, I'll get some tape!
  • avoid the form slips: I'll learn, not I will to learn; I'm going to start, not I'm going start or I going to start
  • turn a vague resolution into a small, clear one: I'm going to read ten pages every night, not I'm going to read more

Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 is the New Year's Eve lesson of English B1 · Hot Topics, five lessons that work on their own, and fits Thursday, December 31, 2026. Is spring going to come early?, lesson 30 of English A2.2 · Curious Minds, pairs well with it, before or after, and adds going to for predictions you can see coming. Resolutions are plans made in advance, and friends answer them with predictions and promises.

Students spin a wheel about New Year's Eve, habits and promises, then learn ten words from cards with audio and short definitions, from achieve and give up to realistic, and match them in a memory game. They read an article dated December 28, 2026, on 4,000 years of resolutions, then hear Emma and Noah, both AI-voiced, write theirs on sticky notes on December 31. The grammar chapter adds five self-checking drills to the scheme, among them a sort into plans, predictions, promises and quick decisions. In the speaking chapter, students help Lucas with his resolution in a chat, then spin a wheel about their 2026 and 2027 with a partner or the teacher.

All nine homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram and a gap-fill with the new words, a sort of vague and clear resolutions, a choice of forms for Sofia and Leo, gaps labeled by use, word order, a letter to a future self with forms to choose, and Emma's post three months later with words to drag in.

Grammar:
be going to · will · be going to vs will · plans and predictions · future forms
Topic:
New Year · New Year's resolutions · goals · habits · plans · 2027

Teaching tips

  • Hand out sticky notes before the dialogue: each student writes one resolution for 2027. After listening, partners decide whether it's small and clear like Emma's or too big like Noah's first five.
  • Ask for the signal in each example of the scheme: I've already signed up points to be going to, while I think, probably, I promise and No problem point to will.
  • Have students guess the tradition's age before the article, then read to check: about 4,000 years, back to Akitu, the Babylonians' New Year festival in spring.
  • Turn vague goals into clear ones after the chat: one student says I'm going to read more, a partner makes it measurable (ten pages every night) and adds a prediction: I think you'll…

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The whole course: English B1 · Hot Topics

Five stand-alone lessons for teens and adults at B1, in American English, each tied to an event of late 2026: GTA VI's release on November 19, Black Friday, two blockbusters on December 18, Christmas around the world and New Year. Teach each one in the week of its event, for example between units of English B1.1 or B1.2. Every lesson has its own grammar point, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 November: a launch and a sale

    GTA VI's release after two delays and Black Friday deals, with the present perfect with already, yet, for and since, and the first conditional

    1. Lesson 1GTA 6: worth the wait?The present perfect with already, yet and just vs the past simple
    2. Lesson 2Black Friday: deal or trap?The first conditional: if + present simple, will / won't

  2. Unit 2 December: holidays and big screens

    Christmas in four countries, two blockbusters on one Friday and New Year's resolutions, with the present simple passive, -ed and -ing adjectives, and be going to vs will

    1. Lesson 3Christmas around the worldThe present simple passive for customs
    2. Lesson 4Two blockbusters, one Friday-ed and -ing adjectives: bored or boring?
    3. Lesson 5 · you're hereGoodbye 2026, hello 2027Be going to vs will

Questions about this lesson

What's the difference between be going to and will?
Be going to is for a plan you made before you started speaking: I'm going to run three times a week. I've already signed up for a race. Will is for the future with no plan behind it: a prediction (I think January will be hard.), a promise (I promise I won't laugh.) or a decision made right now (No problem, I'll get some tape!). The B1 lesson Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 on edio.ai drills this test.
How do you form be going to and will?
Be going to needs am, is or are, then going to and the base form: I'm going to start, she isn't going to run, Are you going to make a resolution? Yes, I am. Will stays the same for every person and takes the base form with no to: I'll learn, we won't stop, Will it be easy? No, it won't. The scheme in Goodbye 2026, hello 2027, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, shows both for every person.
What are some examples of be going to vs will for New Year?
Here are four from Goodbye 2026, hello 2027, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, one for each use. A plan: I'm going to run three times a week. A prediction: You'll probably know hundreds of words by summer. A promise: I promise I won't laugh when you run in the snow. A decision on the spot: No problem, I'll get some tape! Only the plan was decided before speaking: Emma has already signed up for a race in April.
Is it "I'm going to" or "I will" for a New Year's resolution?
It depends on when you decided. A resolution settled earlier is a plan, so it takes be going to: I'm going to run three times a week. A promise made right now takes will, as when Noah cuts his list in Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 on edio.ai: I'll learn five new words every day. I promise. Watch the form either way: I will learn, never I will to learn; I'm going to start, never I'm going start.
What are New Year's resolutions?
New Year's resolutions are promises to change something as a new year starts, such as taking up a sport, learning a language or cutting down on screen time. In the United States, about a quarter of adults made them at the end of the 1930s, and about 40 percent by the start of the 21st century. In Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 on edio.ai, students talk about their own with be going to: I'm going to take up painting in January.
Where do New Year's resolutions come from?
The tradition is about 4,000 years old. The Babylonians made promises at Akitu, a twelve-day New Year festival held in spring, not January: they promised to pay their debts and to return farm tools they had borrowed. In 46 BC, the Julian calendar made January 1 the first day of the year, and Romans made promises to Janus, the god January is named after. The article in Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 on edio.ai tells this history.
Why do New Year's resolutions fail?
Research shows how often they fail and what works better. In 2007, Richard Wiseman of the University of Bristol followed 3,000 people with resolutions: 52 percent were sure they would succeed, yet a year later 88 percent had failed. People did better with small goals they could measure. A 2020 study in the journal PLOS ONE found that goals about starting something work better than goals about stopping something. Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 on edio.ai covers both studies.
How do I teach be going to vs will in the week of New Year?
Start from the students' own resolutions, then ask one question about each: was it decided before, or just now? Plans take be going to, and classmates' reactions take will: I think you'll…, I promise I won't… Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 on edio.ai moves from a warm-up wheel and an article on 4,000 years of resolutions to Emma and Noah's sticky notes, then the scheme and five drills. It suits the last class of December or the first of January.
What's a good game for practicing be going to and will?
Spin a wheel of questions about the year, where each slice asks for one use: What's one thing you're going to do in 2027? or Make a promise to a classmate for next year. Students answer a partner or the teacher, and the class names the use behind each answer: a plan, a prediction or a promise. The speaking chapter of Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 on edio.ai ends with a wheel about 2026 and 2027.
What's good homework for be going to vs will?
Good homework makes students name the reason for each form: gaps labeled as a plan, a prediction, a promise or a quick decision, and a letter to a future self with forms to choose: I've already signed up for a class, so every Saturday I'm going to cook with a real chef. All nine homework tasks in Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 on edio.ai check themselves, ending with Emma's post three months after New Year.
How do you practice be going to and will one-to-one?
Trade resolutions across the table: the student tells a plan for 2027 with be going to and what they've already done for it, and the teacher reacts with a prediction or a promise with will; then swap roles. The chat in Goodbye 2026, hello 2027 on edio.ai needs no partner: the student helps Lucas turn I'm going to be a better person into a small, clear goal.
Are there interactive exercises for be going to vs will?
Yes. This page plays three parts of Goodbye 2026, hello 2027, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: Emma and Noah's dialogue over their sticky notes, a gap-fill where each sentence names its use, and the chat with Lucas about his resolution. Everything else in the lesson needs an account.
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