DELTA MODULE TWO PTA 1 PART ONE

SYSTEMS: TEACHING GOING TO AND INFINITIVE TO EXPRESS INTENTIONS

KHARA BURGESS

CANDIDATE NO: LORD BYRON COLLEGE CENTRE NO: IT295

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KHARA BURGESS

DELTA MODULE TWO PTA 1 PART ONE SYSTEMS: TEACHING GOING TO WITH INFINTIVE TO EXPRESS INTENTIONS

CONTENTS
In !"#$% &"n

TEACHING GOING TO WITH INFINITIVE TO EXPRESS INTENTIONS

In !"#$% &"n

Amongst grammarians of the English language there are disputes over whether there is a future tense, since there are no clearly marked change of verb forms as seen in the past tenses. On the one hand, grammarians like Comrie (1 !"# 1 assert that because $will% can make factual statements about the future, as in Italy will play France in the finals tomorrow, it is arguably a $future tense%. On the other hand, &almer (1 !!# suggests that this use is unusual, and if anything, $going to ' infinitive% has more ground for being considered a tense, since it does not re(uire a modal au)iliary verb.* +hether one can refer to them as tenses or not, there are undoubtedly ways to allude to the future, through the use of words that indicate future action or through an au)iliary and main verb construction. ,he most fre(uently used au)iliary verb to e)press futurity is $will%. -esides this $going to% is also used, as well as the present tenses (simple and continuous#.
I have found that my students tend to overuse will when they talk about the future, based on its neutrality and closeness to their mother tongue. To investigate the subtle nuances in ex ressing the future, going to and the resent continuous are articularly interesting because there is often difficulty understanding their fundamental difference. To clarify this grey area, this essay aims to contrast these two structures, with a articular focus on the use of going to for the ex ression of intentions. overuse of will for future and It is also often confused with the future sim le. !both structures often taught together to hel student understand the differences" #any students refer the will future because it is closer to their mother tongue and use this at all times, often ina ro riately. What are you going to do this summer? I will
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ANALYSIS AND ISSUES T'( F"!) "* +G"&n, " - &n*&n& &.(/ *oing to + infinitive is formed by combining to be + going to + infinitive verb, as follows' Positive I am/ Im going to eat. You are/re going to eat. He/She/It Is he/she/it going to sleep? is/s going to eat. We are/re going to eat. You are/re going to eat. They are/re going to eat. Are we going to eat? Are you going to eat? Are they going to eat? Interrogative Am I going to eat? Are you going to eat? Negative I am/ Im not going to eat. You are not/arent/re not going to eat. He/She/It Is not/isnt/s not going to eat. We are not/arent/re not going to eat. You are not/arent/re not going to eat. They are not/arent/re not going to eat.

Short Answers: These are the same as present simple question forms with the ver !to e" with #ontra#te$ forms in the negative. Question Are you going to eat? Is he eating? Are they eating? Positive Yes" I am. Yes" he is. Yes" they are. Negative %o" I am/m not. %o" he is not/isnt. %o" they are not/ arent.

Question Tags: These are forme$ with the au&iliary ver !to e'
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I am going to eat" arent you? You are going to eat" arent you? Hes not going to eat" is he? 1. In everyday .nglish, when the main verb is to go it tends to be abbreviated to avoid re etition, for exam le, I am going to go to Spain becomes I am going to Spain. The same often a lies to other verbs of motion, such as come, so the sentence She is going to come for dinner is shortened to She is coming for dinner. The form of going to is always followed by a main verb, but when this is a verb of motion !like go or come", it can be omitted to form a contracted structure that becomes the resent continuous !sub/ect + verb + ing". The ex ression, hes going to study cannot become Hes studying, as going to is not followed by a verb of motion. 0aturally, this can cause confusion amongst students, who use the two structures interchangeably regardless of the main verb. 1tudents need to be made aware that the unabbreviated form of going to is also correct, but the inclusion of a verb of motion is usually done for em hasis, e.g. I am going to drive to Milan Ive told you I cant stand flying! 2. There are two contracted forms for the negative in s oken s eech, exce t in the first erson singular, for exam le "oure not and you arent, which are ractically identical. These forms can cause confusion, articularly at elementary level, if one has been taught and the teacher unintentionally uses the other.# ). The ast form of this verb structure is was$were going to % infinitive and this is used to ex ress a future in the ast which had not yet ha ened, e.g. &he last time I saw you you were going to start a new 'ob.( -. In collo2uial s eech, the form I amnt does not exist, and the negative 2uestion tag ) arent I is used e.g. I am going to get the loan arent I? In formal s eech, this 2uestion tag becomes am I not e.g. I am going to defend him in court am I not? 3ue to its irregularity lower level students may roduce deviant forms for 2uestion tags, such as I amnt, I arent*

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,osemary aitken 4( micheal swan, ractical .nglish usage, 1(4

1. 6y stressing the auxiliary to be in this verb structure, an em hatic form !to indicate insistence or contradiction" can also be created, e.g. &hey are going to leave even though we insisted they stay. 2. In s oken .nglish the contractions of the ast and resent of going to take the same, e.g. "oure going to swim could mean you are$were going to slim. This may be misinter reted by students with little contextual clues for the statement. % ). The final 7g7 of going to tends to be dro ed, exce t to give em hasis. The to is generally unstressed, which roduces 7t(7 or 7t7 in 6ritish .nglish. In collo2uial 8merican .nglish, the omission of the to and the final 7g7 is so distinct that the structure is shortened to gonna, e.g. Hes gonna ma+e lunch for us. 9hen listening to native s eakers, lower level students may misinter ret this contracted form of going to as gun a7 gone a7 gonna. 8dditionally they may also hear the contracted forms of youre as your, etc. This may cause difficulties in com rehension and in written form, with ex ressions such as :our gun a fish or );is gone a eat. , His going a fish and hes gone eat., 1tudents whose <1 is an 8sian language, tend to dro the final syllables of words since their language are is mono=syllabic. This could lead to the omission of the final +ing in going, and difficulties in both rece tive and roductive areas. M(0n&n, 0n# U1( *oing to + infinitive is used' a" " &n#&%0 ( 0 ,(n(!02 320n "! &n (n &"n *"! '( *$ $!( ' )(n &"n $1$0224 n" &)( )0!5(! 67'&%' 1'"7 0!!0n,()(n 1 '0.( 8((n )0#( 02!(0#49 )(n &"n +7&22/ &1 &n& &02 #(%&1&"n: 7'(n !(3"! (# & 8(%")(1 +,"&n, "/ it is used to re ort an intention or lan which has already been decided before the time of s eaking, e.g Im going to get a new car. The s eaker has clearly thought about this beforehand and whether this lan has been arranged yet is irrelevant. The general tendency is to use this form when the focus is on the intention, e.g. -re you going to buy that car tomorrow? focuses on whether or not the listener has decided to buy the car. 9hereas, if the resent continuous if used as in, -re you buying that car tomorrow? the focus is on whether the urchase has been arranged yet.(
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$rescri tively, there are subtle differences between going to and the resent continuous, with the former referred for intentions or decisions, and the latter referred for fixed arrangements.1? In the statement Im seeing .hil tonight the structure is used so as to focus on the arrangement, whereas, Im really going to tell him what I thin+ of him em hasises the intention. The main difficulty !for teachers and students" between the resent continuous and going to is that descri tively they can both be used to ex ress fixed future lans. @or exam le, &hey are going to get married in /une$ &hey are marrying in /une can be used interchangeably. Ane could say the small difference between the two is that the former em hasis the action of the marriage, whereas the latter stresses the date. Bnlike 1 anish, there is no direct translation to ex ress intentions in Italian. The ex ression Im going to study ne0t year in Italian would be $rossimo anno Io vado a studiare, meaning )0ext year I go study which is often the form used by lower to mid levels. This is a similar error made by &hinese and Cietnamese students. 1ince they use time ex ressions, or as ect to ex ress a tense, they find auxiliary verbs in .nglish tenses articularly difficult. 8s Italians, they often ex ress the going to structure like a resent sim le tense, Tomorrow I go to school. 1imilarly, 8rabic s eakers and some Indian languages, whose mother tongue marks future time only with markers11 may erceive the going to structure as a resent action, unless there is a time marker. The sentence I am going to read it tomorrow would be inter reted as a future event, but I am going to read it would very likely be understood as an imminent activity e.g. I am on my way to read it, much like the resent use of the resent continuous, or an action in rogress now.12

b" " (;3!(11 3(!)0n(n 1 0 (1' as seen above, the resent continuous and going to can both ex ress actions and events, but only going to is used to ex ress ermanent. @or exam le, &heir house is going to loo+ over the river is ossible, whereas their house is looking over the river, is

,osemary aitken %? ractical .nglish usage, #ichael swan, 1(? ,osemary aitken %2 ,osemary aitken %2 %

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not.1) c" to ex ress insistence on a lan, des ite disa roval, e.g. I am going to wear that hat. 9hereas I will wear that hat ex resses an instant decision and has a neutral tone.

d" " 3!(#&% *$ $!( (.(n 1 801(# "n %$!!(n %"n%!( ( (.&#(n%(' these events are often about to or have started to ha en. @or exam le, the ex ression Its going to rain would be a ro riate if there are black clouds in the sky. An the contrary, Itll rain im lies that this rediction is based on revious knowledge or belief, and has no resent evidence. In the ex ression, 1oo+ 2 that +ids going to fall off his bi+e, the action is already in the rocess of ha ening and therefore clearly evident and therefore one would not say, 1oo+! &hat +idll fall off his bi+e. 1ince the resent continuous can be used to used to ex ress arranged events, it is not generally not used to ex ression redictions about events outside of eo les control, e.g. Its going to snow before long could not be ex ressed in any other future form.1-

e" C"))0n#1 0n# !(*$1021' can be used to insist that eo le do things or not do things, e.g. "oure going to finish that soup if you sit there all afternoon! It is also used in em hatic refusals e.g. Im not going to sit up all night listening to your problems!3(

f" The sentence what am I going to do? is often an ex ression of des air, and re2uest for advice. ;ence the answer is not for exam le, youre going to be late but why dont you ta+e a ta0i or Ill give you a lift.3*

SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING

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1. It seems that older students should be introduced to the contracted forms used with verbs of motion and going to so that at higher levels they will be able to com rehend the differences found in authentic .nglish. The rules could be introduced in a straightforward way, or through a more inductive way. This can be racticed through grou or air work such as the organisation of a arty for teenage students, where grou s have to lan the most interesting arty for a grou of celebrities of their choice. They brainstorm who they will invite, where it will be held and what entertainment will be at the arty. The other grou s then ask them about this using the going to form, e.g. Who are you going to invite? What are you going to do? 9ith adult grou s, they could be tour directors and lan a tour of their hometown over a two=day duration, this could be a historic or entertainment tour. The other grou s then robe them about the itinerary e.g. What are you going to do on the first day? 1tudents need to take notes of the res onses made by artici ants and then re ort back what they have said. This will check com rehension and the use of correct !future" tenses. This activity aims to ractice constructing verbs of motion in tenses in a more intuitive way, and feedback can be used to bring students attention to any errors made.

2. elementary students could become familiarised with the two different contracted forms for the negative i.e. "oure not and you arent, through the use of cut=u sentences, or &uisenaire rods which can be very effective for kinaesthetic and s atial learners. 8 similar tool can be used to ractice the correct use of 2uestion tags for going to. Alder students could work with a artner, writing down short=term and long=term lans they think !or know" their artner has made for themselves. This could be hel ed through boarded rom ts like food, travel, study or work. These can be confirmed with the artner using the correct tag, e.g "ou are going to do your homewor+ this wee+ arent you? "ou are going to finish this course in /une arent you? The artner then has to confirm or deny these 2uestions. ). 1tudents can initially be assively ex osed to the ast form of going to through reading assages which include both the resent and ast form. This could be extended through reading activities which re2uire students to indicate the going to structure. They then need to identify whether these refer to a ast or resent tense, de ending on context. This can be modified for younger learners who could do a running dictation and then identify the different structures. P!"n"$n%&0 &"n 1. To be made aware of the ways one could stress different (

words in a sentence, including the verb to be, students could listen to audio extracts with an audio scri t and underline those words which are being stressed. They then discuss the varying meanings of ex ressions de ending on which words are em hasised. 2. In order to ractice and hear the ronunciation of the resent and ast forms of going to, students can be given mime cards which indicate different actions they are about to do, and the grou needs to guess what that is once mimed, e.g I am going to dive. These miming cards can also be done in airs e.g. "ou are 4both5 washing a car. To elicit and ractice the ast forms, o osing grou s need to re ort what the other were doing, e.g. She was going to dive or &hey were going to swim, and the contracted forms should be encouraged in res onses. ). Amission of the final 7g7 can be racticed through drilling and oral ractice of the 7t(7 or 7t7 sounds, which could be aided through extensive listening to native s eakers using the structure in various contexts. 8wareness of the contracted gonna can be raised by listening to 8merican .nglish dialogues. To aid this and a eal to musical learners, a song which contains the going to structure could be layed which students listen to and then com lete a cloDe ga of the lyrics. The ga ed words should contain all roblematic forms' the verb to be, gonna or going to and hes7its, etc. !see a endix for song lyrics"

M(0n&n, 0n# $1( It is best to introduce students to going to for intention after they have learnt how to use will for an instant decision. The distinction between the two should be made at intermediate level, because by u er intermediate level, students should be familiar with the nuances between the uses of will and going to.1% a" this structure should be taught, com ared and contrasted with the resent continuous. To make students aware of their similarities, the resent continuous should use go as the main verb e.g. &hey are going to the par+ this afternoon which can be contrasted with &hey are going to play football there. It should be ointed out the lack of a time marker in the latter sentence shows that no firm lans or arrangements have been made to lay football, as it is still an intention.

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To show that the going to structure is used to re ort a decision conceived earlier, that is now a current intention, a timeline should be boarded as follows' ! ast" I decided to do it ======!now" Im going to do it =======!future" when I do it This structure can be introduced to elementary students by giving various commands to different students, then sto ing them /ust before they do the activity so as to elicit what they are going to do. @or exam le, e.g. Eopen the window please Mario6. Fust before he reaches the window, interru t and say stop then ask the other students what hes going to do so as to elicit the answer EHes going to open the door63,. 8 similar ty e of activity would involve interru ting a film at various oints in order to have the students guess the next action, robing with the 2uestion Ewhat are they going to do ne0t?7 and checking the answers against the film.1(

There is a useful task in .ssential *rammar by ,aymond #ur hy, which includes images of eo le doing things with ad/oining thought bubbles which refer to what they are intending on doing next. The students then need to com lete the information based on the clues in the ictures.2? To a eal to visual learners, images of eo le with various e2ui ment or dressed in articular ways can be used to answer the 2uestion Ewhat is she going to do?6 and elicit answers such as Ehes going to s+ydive6.83 8s many younger and older students en/oy miming games, es ecially kinesthetic learners, they could e2ually benefit from laying charades containing cue cards with rom ts for various future actions or intentions e.g. E"ou are going to play tennis6, which then need to be guessed by the others. 8s there is a fine line between general lans and intentions, so getting various levels of students to write down three sentences about what they are going to do today or tomorrow would be useful to cover both these uses simultaneously. 8lso, a 2uestionnaire for air work can be re ared which contain the going to structure with both action and non=action verbs e.g. EWhat are you going to do in the summer?6. 3uring feedback, it should be noted whether the student can use the resent continuous, or in other words, whether arrangements have already been made, or if it is only an
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intention.22 8s will is used for an instant decision and going to as a re orted decision, this could be racticed through the organisation of an event. @or younger learners, students can lan the erfect arty for a friend, with to ics such as location, guests, activities and resents. The lanning stage could involve the use of will e.g. Ewe wont have a sur rise artyG to ex ress s ontaneous decisions. 8fter students have organiDed what they will do, they resent it back to the class using going to e.g. E9e are going to have a fancy dress artyG. They could also lay ictionary with different to ics, such as a dream holiday or erfect day. In grou s, they then need to draw rom ts as to what they are going to do, a erfect day. @or a class activity, older students can be given a destination, a guide book, a ma and a budget and then they decide how to s end their money and time. This exercise can revise the making of suggestions and ractice the going to tense with ex ressions such as Ewere going to see the 9erlin Wall6. 3uring feedback, students need to be encouraged and raised if they correctly contract the going to structure. To contrast this tense with the resent continuous, the same task can be given to smaller grou s with a different destination and a theme to the tri , such as cultural or s orty. The students then re ort their intentions for the various tri s in a discussion. Then they are given a calendar and have to lan a detailed itinerary of when they will do each activity, so as to contrast going to with the resent continuous e.g. Ewere going to the 6erlin 9all on TuesdayG. 8t higher levels, is im ortant for students to understand the subtle difference between the rescri tive and descri tive use of going to and the resent continuous, which can be done through a listening exercise using authentic recordings of native s eakers, talking about future lans and intentions.

C"n%2$1&"n @rom this research, it seems to me that as a future structure, going to not only has far more uses the resent continuous, it could actually re lace it. 8lthough the two tenses together offer subtle nuances in the .nglish language which enable us to stress different oints of our s eech, whether it be the future action we would like to highlight or the arrangement of this action or event. This is necessary for clearer communication.

1. misuse of resent continuous !think of exam le to rove

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oint" eg. 9hat are you going to do when you get homeH Im calling my sister !eg I is this a lanH 0o I then need going to"J.or to ex ress statesJeg. #oving to another city is going to be good for you vs. it is being good for youJ. rediction or Im going to be famous one dayJ

g I will/ going to work harder this year, not . am working harder this year / the latter only e)presses a present situation not a future intention0you can only intend to work harder, you cant make a plan or arrangement to do it

APPENDIX S"n, 24!&%1 6<0)&( C$22$)9 *"! %2"=( ,03 0% &.& 4

"Next Year Baby" Next Year, Things are gonna change,

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Gonna drink less beer And start all over again Gonna pull up my socks Gonna clean my shower Not gonna live by the clock But get up at a decent hour Gonna read more books Gonna keep up with the news Gonna learn how to cook And spend less money on shoes Pay my bills on time ile my mail away, everyday !nly drink the "inest wine And call my Gran every #unday $esolutions %ell Baby they come and go %ill & do any o" these things' The answers probably no But i" there(s one thing, & must do, )espite my greatest "ears &(m gonna say to you *ow &(ve "elt all o" these years Next Year, Next Year, Next Year & gonna tell you, how & "eel %ell, resolutions Baby they come and go %ill & do any o" these things' The answers probably no But i" there(s one thing, & must do, )espite my greatest "ears &(m gonna say to you *ow &(ve "elt all o" these years Next Year, Next Year, Next Year

1. http+,,www-usingenglish-com,"orum,ask.teacher,/0123.

present.continuous.vs.going."uture-html 4/68*i, 5an anybody help to clari"y the di""erence between the two' according to $aymond 7urphy+ (( %e use & am doing9present continuous: when we say what we have arranged to do. "or example, arranged to meet

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somebody, arranged to go somewhere+ i am meeting Ann this evening; & am leaving tomorrow- &(ve got my plane ticket02- we use & am going to do something 9to be going to: when we say what we have decided to do9but perhaps Not arranged to do it: + & am going to clean my shoes9i(ve decided to clean them but i have not arranged to clean them:; & am going to look "or somewhere else to stay9& have not arranged it:-(( <3- Now,once this is clari"ied, later in his units & think there is something contradicting- have a look+ 1=- (( Paul+ >i?, i need somebody to take me to the airport tomorrow morning11- >i?+ That(s no problem- & will take you- what time is your "light' 14- Paul+ 1=-8= 1/- >i?+ !k, we will leave at about 3 o(clock16- >ater that day, @oe o""ers to take Paul to the airport18- @oe+ Paul, do you want me to take you to the airport' 10- Paul+ No, thanks,@oe- >i? is going to take me- (( 121<- &(ve got a "eeling, that "rom the above, 7urphy contradicts the de"initions given at the begining- As we can see "rom the conversation it is clear that Paul and li? made an arrangement- Now, why To be going to i" we have arrangements here' does not he say that we use present continuous "or arrangements and to be going to "or our decisions but perhaps not "or arrangements' & am Auite unclear about this particular detail132?. 5an anybody comment on this'Last edited by davidsordia; 26Feb-2007 at 17:30.

21. 24=@eb=2??%, 1%')5 K2 Harry Smith Key Member 1ember .nfo 22. 2oin 3ateAug *445&osts*,!54,eacher R(: P!(1(n C"n &n$"$1 .1

T" B( G"&n, T" 6F$ $!(9&(d advise you to buy

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7ichael #wan(s BPractical Cnglish DsageB- or Your Auestion open it at pages 1<0 .138-&t(ll be a great help to you2). 2%=@eb=2??%, ?4'1( K) Tdol Editor, UsingEnglish.com
1ember .nfo 2-. 2oin 3ate6ov *44*&osts78,"4*,eacher R(: P!(1(n C"n &n$"$1

.1 T" B( G"&n, T" 6F$ $!(9There(s a bit o" a grey

area where we could use either- The present progressive puts more emphasis on the appointment, the arrangement, etc- &n the example, you could easily say (is taking( as you have made the arrangements- These distinctions are no so much "ixed categories as on a sliding scale, merging rather than changing clearly according to whether an arrangement has been made or not- They can be a""ected by the speaker(s atitude, the importance o" the arrangement, etc- The same is true o" will,going to. there are many cases where either "orm could be used, somteimes interchangeably and sometimes expressing a slight di""erence in meaning48&n this case, "lights have tickets and things, while li"ts are arranged by a phonecall- Not all arrangements are eAual-

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