A selection of English ESL future printables with discussion starters, speaking cards, speaking practice

A set of speaking cards to practice/revise the different future forms (will, to be going to, Present Continuous). Students work in groups/pairs, pick the card on top and answer the questions. Follow-up questions can be added for more advanced level students or by the teacher during the feedback.Works best (I think) with secondary school kids. Have fun:)

Talking about the future (Speaking cards)

It is a kind of game that encourages ss to speak in given time. The teacher is supposed to explain the names of cards ( spades- hearts- clubs-diamonds) first, give the question as hand out to the ss and bring a deck of cards to the class, make students  choose one card per student one by one. The student is expected to find the question of her/his card and  tells 5-7 sentences at least about the topic.Enjoy it!

Speaking game about future goals and plans

These cards are useful to get children speaking about their ideas of the future. They may make sentences using: I hope/I think.. or I don't think ... that (I) will...

What do you think the future will be like?

This is a simple worksheet to practise WILL for predictions. First ask students to describe how they see the future answering the questions provided. Then ask them to write 3 additional questions for their partner or any other person in the class they might feel like asking these questions. Though the activity is quite simple it is usually a success, because students love to share their views on the future of the humanity.

Future Simple for predictions

Students work in pairs, take turns and debate on the given statements. They must contradict each other, one of them agrees the other disagrees. They express their opinions by giving arguments for or against the statement.

Debate time - FUTURE

Containing questions both on and beyond the chosen YouTube video, the following LC Task aims at training pupils' receptive skills at level B2 on the topic "The Future".  

The Future - Listening Comprehension + Speaking (B2)

1. First, students have to answer the questions individually.

2. After answering the questions individually within the alloted time, students have to interview their classmates. One question, one classmate.

3. Students have to write their classmates' answers on the space provided.



Future Tense Interview Activity

VIDEO ACTIVITIES / FUTURE

Business English conversation using terms from accounting. The main purpose is to have the students interact and practice speaking. Teachers, however, can use it as a follow-up or initial task leading to more complex tasks. It is basic, but the terms can be taken for additional practice. The students are expected to develop their creativity while performing on stage by using appropriate body language, pronunciation, intonation and showing confidence. 

Commercial English dialogue

These cards are just a bit of fun to get them talking. You can use any number of cards or student group sizes that you like. Below is merely an example to get you going, but use your imagination and you may find many other fun ways to get the best out of them.

Put the students into pairs/small groups and give out one cut up set of cards per pair/group. Students shuffle the deck and each choose 6 cards.

At this point, depending on the English (and imagination) level of your class, you may wish to give them some time to work on their own to plan what they want to say. For a stronger class, they could just go in blind.

Each student will read the future/present/past (depending on how you want to use the card) for their partner/group using any language that you wish them to practice.

This is also a QR code activity, so you could save yourself the time and paper and have them do it on their smartphones. The smartphone version will ask them to click a button to see their cards, at which point they will be dealt 6 from the deck at random. Visit english-able.com for the free digital version.


Silly Tarot Cards for Future

Students talk about their experiences while growing up. Have them sit in small groups to exchange their ideas or use some of the cards as discussion topics. You could also include some of them as writing prompts for any kind of essay. 

Let's talk about growing up

This worksheet is designed for B1 level learners and introduces the idea of a hybrid future where schools and workplaces operate partly in virtual reality and partly in real life. The text presents a thought-provoking scenario where students and workers spend several days a week in VR using headsets and the rest in physical spaces. The reading is written in accessible language that engages learners while encouraging them to imagine what life could be like in 2035. It highlights the potential advantages such as saving travel time, reducing pollution, and providing exciting new ways of learning, while also raising important questions about health, social interaction, and the future of cities. After reading, students are guided through a structured set of discussion questions that move from first impressions to deeper moral, social, and environmental issues. The activity encourages critical thinking, opinion sharing, and debate, making it ideal for conversation classes. Students are invited to explore both the positive and negative sides of this imagined future, consider different perspectives, and finally make their own decision on whether such a system should be accepted or rejected. The worksheet combines reading comprehension with speaking practice in a way that sparks curiosity and meaningful discussion.

The Future of School and Work

Discussion starters, speaking cards

Future

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

12 Future, Discussion starters, speaking cards, Speaking Practice English ESL worksheets pdf & doc