Talk about your plans for next year

When you want to talk about next year, you need a small set of ready-made phrases. These phrases help you ask about plans, tell about your own plans, and react to what other people say. You will use them again and again in real conversations.

In English, we often use going to + verb to talk about plans. For example: I'm going to study. This is different from will, which we use for sudden decisions or promises. For plans, going to is the natural choice.

Here are the key phrases for this lesson. Read them, then practise them in the exercises below.

How to react: English speakers often react before they answer. Saying Really? or That sounds great! shows you are listening. It is good manners in English, and it keeps the conversation going.

Tip: Short reactions are very common in spoken English. Do not be afraid to use Really? and Wow! — they make you sound natural.

Two friends meet at a café and talk about next year. Listen for the key phrases.

Read the question aloud. It is the most useful question in this lesson.

Read your answer aloud. Focus on going to and link the words together.

In this listening, you will hear two friends, Emma and Tom, talking about their plans for next year. They are sitting in a café on Saturday morning. They are old friends, and they have not seen each other for a long time, so they are happy to talk and share their news.

Before you listen, predict: do you think both of them have big plans for next year, or only one of them? Which kind of plans do you expect — work, study, or travel? Think for a moment, then listen to the dialogue.

Listen twice. The first time, just relax and follow the conversation. Do not worry about every word. The second time, listen for the specific information: where one person is going, what the other person is going to study, and how they feel about their plans.

Two friends, Emma and Tom, meet in a café and talk about their plans for next year.

What is the conversation mainly about?

Where is Emma going to travel?

The most important word in this lesson is plan. It starts with a consonant cluster: two sounds together, /p/ + /l/, written as /pl/. Many Arabic speakers say only the /p/ and forget the /l/, so plan sounds like pan. This lesson will help you fix that.

To make /pl/, start with your lips. First, press your lips firmly together for the /p/ sound. /p/ is unvoiced — do not let your voice box vibrate. Hold the air inside your mouth for one short second, then release it.

As soon as you release the /p/, your tongue must move quickly. Lift the tip of your tongue and touch the top of your mouth, just behind your top teeth. This is the /l/ position. /l/ is voiced, so you should feel a small buzz in your throat when your tongue touches.

The two movements must happen close together. Do not add a small vowel between them. English speakers say /plæn/, never /pəlæn/.

Common /pl/ words to practise

Tip: Put your hand on your throat. You should feel no vibration for /p/, then a small buzz for /l/. This shows you are saying the cluster correctly.

How to make /pl/: Press your lips together for /p/ (no voice), then quickly lift your tongue tip to touch behind your top teeth for /l/ (with voice). The two sounds must be together, with no vowel between them. Try: plan, place, play, please, plane.

Say the word clearly. Press your lips, then lift your tongue for the /l/.

Read the full sentence aloud. Listen for the /pl/ in plan and the /pl/ in place.

Now try place. Remember: lips first, tongue tip second.

In this section, you will read a short blog post from a woman called Sara. She is writing about her plans for next year. It is the same kind of post you might write for an English class — or for a real blog or social media page.

Strategy box — Reading for specific information

When you read for specific information, do not read every word. First, look at the questions. Find the key words in each question (for example: January, Canada, English). Then scan the text quickly and look only for those key words. The answer is usually near the key word.

Pre-taught key words

Now read the blog post. After the text, you will answer one question about the main idea and two questions about specific information.

My plans for next year

Hi! My name is Sara. Next year is going to be very busy for me.

In January, I am going to start a new job in a small shop in my town. I want to learn new things and meet new people.

In the summer, my family and I are going to visit my grandparents in Canada. I am really excited because I love planes and I want to see the mountains.

After that, I am going to study English online because I want to speak better. I also want to read more books in English.

I have a lot of plans, but I think next year is going to be great!

What is this blog post mainly about?

Why is Sara going to study English online?

In this section, you will learn how to have a real conversation about your plans. A good conversation is not just one long answer. It has three parts: ask, answer, and react. Let's look at each part.

1. Ask — Start with a question. What are your plans for next year? This is friendly and shows you are interested.

2. Answer — Use going to + verb to tell your plan. I'm going to study at university. Try to give one or two details. I'm going to study engineering.

3. React — Say something short and friendly. That sounds great! or Really? Then ask back: What about you?

Here are the key phrases for your speaking task.

Tip: When you speak, link your words. Say I'm-going-to together, not I'm ... going ... to. Linking makes your English sound much more natural.

Listen to the model conversation. Notice how Sara asks, answers, and reacts.

Read the sentence aloud. Link the words: I'm-going-to-study-at-university.

Now read the question aloud. Smile — it sounds friendly!

In this section, you will write a short email to a friend about your plans for next year. An email like this is between 40 and 60 words. It has three small parts: a greeting, your plans, and a question back to the friend.

Model email

Subject: My plans for next year

Hi Maria,

How are you? I want to tell you about my plans for next year. I'm going to start a new job in March. I'm going to work in a café near my home. In the summer, I'm going to visit my brother in London. I'm also going to study English online at the weekend.

What about you? Do you have any plans?

Write soon!

Layla

Using going to for plans

Look at the model. Notice how Layla uses am/is/are + going to + verb to talk about the future. This is the most common way to write about plans in English. I'm going to start a new job. / I'm going to visit my brother.

Tip: When you write about plans, put your ideas in time order — first March, then summer, then at the weekend. Time order makes your email easy to read.

Strategy: Using going to for plans.

Use the structure am/is/are + going to + verb to talk about plans. The form of be must match the subject: I'm, He's, She's, We're, They're.

• I + am going to study. ✔
• She + is going to travel. ✔
• They + are going to move. ✔
• I + is going to study. ✘

Which sentence is correct?

Now write your own short email (40–60 words) to a friend about your plans. Include 2–3 things you are going to do next year and ask your friend about their plans. When you finish, read your email aloud.