The Coursebook Rule That Overgeneralises
Rania teaches a B1+ evening group of 18 adults at a private language school in Leeds. The coursebook unit on future forms states: ‘will = decisions made at the moment of speaking; going to = plans made before.’ Her 90-minute lesson has 25 minutes left for the language focus. In the diagnostic matching task, 13 of 18 learners chose correctly. In the freer ‘phone calls’ role-play, however, four learners said ‘I’m going to call you back’ while deciding on the spot, and two said ‘I’ll visit my sister on Saturday’ for a pre-arranged plan. One C1 learner then asked why ‘shall’ was not in the book. Rania has a stack of photocopies drilling will/going to, an observation next week, and a scheme of work that requires coverage of the unit by Friday. She must decide whether to re-present the rule, replace it, or work from the learners’ output.
1. What is the central problem with the coursebook rule, and what evidence in the setup shows it is a problem for this class?
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Diagnosis. The rule is a pedagogical shortcut, not a description of how the forms are actually chosen. The learners’ output shows the binary failing in both directions. ‘I’m going to call you back’ can be used for a decision made at the moment of speaking when the speaker is announcing an intention they have just formed; ‘I’ll visit my sister on Saturday’ can occur when a plan is being announced formally or when the speaker is volunteering information rather than reporting a fixed arrangement.
What the evidence does and does not show. The 13/18 matching score shows receptive recognition of the textbook examples; it does not show productive control. The C1 learner’s question about ‘shall’ exposes the rule’s artificial completeness. If Rania simply re-presents the same rule, the learners who already match it will be bored, and the learners who overgeneralise will get no new information.
Implication. The evidence points to a meaning-based description: what evidence does the speaker have? Is the decision presented as already formed or as being formed now? Is the utterance a promise, offer, announcement or arrangement? Those questions are teachable and account for the data. Replacing the rule does not mean teaching the whole future system; it means giving the class a more honest decision procedure for the examples in front of them.
2. Design the 25-minute language focus. Justify your choices against the learners’ output and the observation context.
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Plan. 0–3: board the six learner sentences without names. 3–8: pairs sort them into ‘already decided’, ‘decided now’ and ‘not sure’; elicit disagreement rather than a correct answer. 8–14: reformulate with a cline and three questions - evidence, time, function. Point out that ‘going to’ often signals a decision the speaker has already made or is presenting as settled, while ‘will’ is common in offers, promises and formal announcements. 14–20: pair role-play with three cards (a phone call, a travel plan, a work announcement); learners choose a form and then justify it. 20–25: feedback on two or three utterances, including one ‘shall’ example in a question form, but do not open a full modal lesson.
Justification. The plan fits 25 minutes, uses the learners’ own language and avoids re-teaching a false rule. It gives the observer evidence of language analysis and responsive teaching. The photocopies can be used later as a five-minute self-check, not as the main stage. The C1 learner is respected without letting the lesson become a lecture on ‘shall’.
3. What would you do about the photocopies and the scheme of work?
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Decision. The drill sheets are not the priority. I would keep two items as a quick check at the end or as homework and note the deviation on the scheme of work with a one-line rationale: ‘replaced drill with guided discovery based on learners’ output’. I would tell the DoS before the observation, not after, so the observer knows what to look for.
Follow-up. In the next lesson I would use a short retrieval task: three context sentences, with learners explaining the choice in pairs. I would not try to teach the whole future system. The scheme requires coverage by Friday, so I would cover the unit’s examples but supplement rather than replace them.
Reasoning. The observation context matters: the teacher needs to show principled adaptation, not just coverage. Documenting the change protects the teacher and gives the DoS evidence of professional judgement. Keeping the photocopies available also avoids waste and gives the class a familiar consolidation option if the discovery stage reveals a genuine gap in recognition.