Lesson 11

Making Plans

Suggesting, agreeing, and negotiating plans with someone else

Adult Speaking English · Arc 4: Beyond the Basics

By the end of this lesson

Today's Goals

You will be able to:

The student can ask if someone is free and suggest an activity naturally.
The student can respond to a suggestion by agreeing, disagreeing, or proposing an alternative.
The student can negotiate a time and place to meet.
The student can handle a change of plan (someone cancels, schedule conflicts) and adjust smoothly.
The student can carry out a full planning conversation — from first suggestion to final agreement — without reading from notes.

Lesson flow — 45 min

Warm-up5 min

Input8 min

Controlled Practice8 min

Listening7 min

Role-play10 min

Free Speaking5 min

Review/Homework2 min

Lesson 11 — Making Plans3

Stage 1

Warm-up

55 min

Goal

Talk about the student's usual weekend/free time habits to activate the topic

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High-frequency words

Key Vocabulary

Press C to show or hide the Chinese.

free / available

有空的

Are you free this Saturday?

busy

忙的

I'm busy on Friday evening.

plan (n./v.)

计划

Let's plan something for the weekend.

suggestion

建议

Do you have any suggestions?

to reschedule

重新安排时间

Can we reschedule for next week?

to cancel

取消

I'm sorry, I need to cancel our plan.

to confirm

确认

Let's confirm the time tomorrow.

meet up

见面

Let's meet up around noon.

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High-frequency words

Key Vocabulary (cont.)

Press C to show or hide the Chinese.

change of plan

计划变动

There's been a change of plan.

in advance

提前

Can you tell me in advance if you're busy?

flexible

灵活的，可调整的

I'm flexible — any time works for me.

show up

出现，到场

Don't worry, I'll show up on time.

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2 of 7 patterns

Core Expressions 1–2

Are you free...?

你...有空吗？

Are you free this Saturday afternoon?

Are you free next week, maybe on Wednesday?

Your turn: Ask your teacher if they're free on a real day this week — see how they respond.

Would you like to...?

你想要...吗？（礼貌邀请）

Would you like to grab coffee this weekend?

Would you like to go hiking with me next month?

Your turn: Invite your teacher to do a real activity you'd actually enjoy doing.

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4 of 7 patterns

Core Expressions 3–4

How about...?

...怎么样？（提议）

How about we meet at the mall instead?

How about Sunday morning instead of Saturday?

Your turn: Suggest an alternative to something your teacher just proposed.

What time should we meet?

我们应该几点见面？

What time should we meet on Saturday?

What time should we meet, and where?

Your turn: Ask this as if you're finalizing a real plan with a friend from [City].

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6 of 7 patterns

Core Expressions 5–6

That sounds good.

听起来不错。（表示同意）

That sounds good, let's do that.

That sounds good to me — I'll see you then.

Your turn: Respond to your teacher's next suggestion using this exact phrase, only if you genuinely agree.

I'm afraid I'm busy.

恐怕我很忙。（礼貌拒绝）

I'm afraid I'm busy that day — can we do it another time?

I'm afraid I'm busy this weekend, but I'm free next week.

Your turn: Practice politely turning down a real invitation, then suggest an alternative time.

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7 of 7 patterns

Core Expression 7

Let's... / Why don't we...?

我们...吧 / 我们何不...？

Let's meet at the train station at ten.

Why don't we try that new restaurant near [City] center?

Your turn: Propose a concrete plan (place + time) using one of these patterns.

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Stage 4

Listening

77 min

Two friends, Mia and Jun, are texting/talking about weekend plans.

Mia

Hey, are you free this Saturday?

Jun

I think so — what did you have in mind?

Mia

Would you like to go to the new art exhibition downtown? I heard it's really good.

Jun

That sounds interesting. What time were you thinking?

Mia

How about eleven in the morning? We could grab lunch after.

Jun

Actually, I'm afraid I'm busy until one. I have a dentist appointment.

Mia

Oh, no problem. How about we meet at one thirty instead?

Jun

That works better for me. Where should we meet?

Mia

Let's meet at the entrance of the exhibition. Do you know where it is?

Jun

Yeah, near the old library, right?

Mia

Exactly. So, one thirty at the entrance?

Jun

Perfect, that sounds good. Oh wait — actually, can we make it two? My appointment might run a bit late.

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Stage 4

Listening (cont.)

Mia

Sure, two works fine. See you Saturday at two, then!

Jun

Great, see you then. Thanks for organizing this.

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Comprehension & discussion

Listening Check

Before listening

Do you think these two friends will agree on a plan easily, or will there be a problem?
What kind of activity do you think they might plan?

While listening

Listen and check: what activity does Mia suggest?
Listen for the first time they suggest meeting, and the final, confirmed time.
Why does Jun say he's busy in the morning?
Where do they agree to meet?

After listening

In your own words, what was the final plan (day, time, place, activity)?
Why did the time change during the conversation?
Do you think Mia and Jun communicate well together? Why?
Have you ever had to change a plan like this with a friend? What happened?

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Stage 5

Controlled Practice

88 min

Model

Teacher demonstrates the target exchange clearly.

Repeat

Student repeats both sides of the exchange 2–3 times for rhythm and natural intonation.

Substitute

Teacher swaps activities, days, and times; student substitutes into the pattern.

"Would you like to go to the movies / go hiking / try a new restaurant?"
"How about Saturday / Sunday / next Friday?"
"What time should we meet — ten, two, or six?"

Personalize

Student uses real days, places, and activities from their own life.

"Are you free this [real day]? Would you like to [real activity] at [real place]?"

Remove prompts

Teacher gives only a short cue in Chinese or a gesture (e.g. "邀请朋友周末爬山，对方一开始拒绝，后面改时间"); student must build the full negotiation dialogue unprompted, playing both roles or responding live to the teacher.

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Stage 6

Role-play

1010 min

Situation

The student wants to make plans with a friend (the teacher) for an activity — but the conversation doesn't go perfectly smoothly. Times or availability need to be negotiated.

Teacher

Play the friend. Start open to suggestions, but introduce a scheduling conflict, a change of mind, or a last-minute complication partway through — force the student to adapt rather than just confirm a first suggestion.

Student

Suggest an activity, propose a time and place, respond to the friend's conflicts or counter-suggestions, and reach a final, clear agreement by the end.

Useful language

Are you free...? / Would you like to...?

How about...? / Let's... / Why don't we...?

What time should we meet?

That sounds good.

I'm afraid I'm busy.

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Make it unpredictable

Challenge Cards

Drop one of these in mid-role-play.

Last-minute cancellation

After you've agreed on a plan, your friend suddenly says they can't make it anymore and asks to reschedule. Respond and propose a new plan.

Double-booked

Your friend suggests a time that conflicts with something else you have. Politely explain and negotiate a different time.

Surprise follow-up

After agreeing on the activity, your friend asks, "Actually, should we invite [someone else] too?" — react naturally and decide together.

Location mix-up

You both think you agreed on a different meeting place. Sort out the confusion and confirm a final location.

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Stage 7

Free Speaking

55 min

Without looking at your notes, plan a full day trip with a friend — imagine both sides of a real negotiation and narrate or roleplay it out loud for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Cover: 1. What you suggest doing and where. 2. At least one adjustment (time, place, or activity changes because of a conflict). 3. The final, agreed plan. Example starting point: "Imagine I'm planning a day trip with a friend to [Destination]. First, I ask if they're free..."

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Error correction

Review & Common Mistakes

Correct immediately

Errors that make the plan unclear or confusing (wrong tense making it unclear if something is a suggestion, a fact, or already decided).
Misuse of this lesson's core expressions (e.g. "I'm afraid I busy" missing "am", "how about we meets").
Answers that don't actually respond to what was asked (agreeing when meaning to disagree, or vice versa) — this is a real communication breakdown.

Note & correct later

Minor preposition errors ("free in Saturday" instead of "free on Saturday") — note and review at the end.
Slightly unnatural word order in longer suggestions — log and revisit later.
Small pronunciation issues on non-key words that don't block understanding.

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Before next lesson

Homework

22 min

Speaking

Record yourself (voice memo, 1 minute) planning a weekend activity with an imaginary friend — include at least one change of plan and a final agreement.

Review

Review all 7 core expressions from Section 4. Write one new original sentence for each, using different activities/times than in class.

Real life

This week, try to actually make a plan with someone (in English if possible, even just a text message) using at least two expressions from this lesson. Notice how real negotiations often need adjusting — bring one example to the next lesson.

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Lesson 11 complete

Nice work.

Next up: Lesson 12

Adult Speaking English