When I'm 75

The forms themselves are used in a highly controlled way, making it suitable for a class who have just been introduced to them.

• The open questions that follow some of the gap-fill sentences provide freer practice and can generate a great deal of discussion both in a class where people know each other well and in one where nobody knows anybody!
• The content is a mixture of concrete items (… will have raised many children. How many?) and more abstract (… will have learnt many lessons. Which?) which may require sensitive handling.

Preparation

Before the class, prepare enough photocopies of the worksheet for each learner to have a copy. You can download the worksheet below.

Procedure

• Ask the class to imagine they are 75. Ask them to imagine what they look like. If you have a flashcard of someone old, show them and tell them this is you at 75.
• On the board, write two sentences, using the two forms, about you. For example, When I'm 75, I'll be living in the south of France on a farm and When I'm 75, I'll have lived and worked in ten different countries. Use exaggerated ideas if necessary, e.g. I'll have had 20 children!
• Get your learners' opinions.
• Ask learners to complete the worksheet, working in pairs. If you are working with a new class, make sure they know each other's names.
• When learners have finished completing the sentences, ask them to get up and walk around to check their ideas with the people they have named.
• Give them time and encourage discussion, but monitor closely, both for the target language and potential areas of sensitivity.
• Elicit any interesting answers in open class to finish the exercise.

An extension of this could be to ask learners to write their own sentences rather than completing yours, providing freer practice of the forms.