Plans for the Future

Juni 07, 2021

UNIT 12

Hi, Nadine. What is your planning in the future?

This unit presents strategies to have small talks by using English. It consists of
greetings, pre-closings, and closings in small talks. Besides, it also provides how to
greet someone in written form. It explains formal and less formal expressions, and
examples of dialogues. Furthermore, to develop your English skill, there are some
practices provided. 

After finishing this unit, you will be able to:

1. Have small talks in order to plans for the future someone and close the conversation
2. Make written plans for the future

By: Mawar Emilia Suhendar

     Nurmalasari
     Putri Aliya Rahma
     Sulistyawati

A. Plans for the Future

B. Introduction, definition/ function
We fill our lives with plans for our future selves. People have always done this.
Someone who lives only in the moment is not quite human. During the past few
hundred years, however, future thinking has expanded hugely in scope and substance.

Throughout most of history, we viewed the future as a simple extension of the past.
There would be good and bad years, but life, on the whole, would carry on as before.
Then the Industrial Revolution meant some in the west saw real changes in a lifetime.
They seized hold of a new idea: progress. The future would be different. And it would
be better.
Those politicians are still obliged to promise a better future. We are often skeptical,
and our skepticism takes several forms. One draws on studies of current trends that
project a variety of disasters. Another looks back at past predictions of future wonders
and recalls that, on the whole, things didn't turn out as the visionaries foresaw. The
jetpacks, undersea cities and flying cars that excited people in the 1950s never
materialized. And perhaps there is even a kind of dark enthusiasm for the end times,
or at least for Hollywood-style apocalypse, a wishful thinking where the main wish is
for the end of all things.

This skepticism is also fueled by the fact that thinking about the future is hard. All we
have to go on is the past, imperfectly understood and remembered. And from this
unstable mix, we try and brew up a vision of a personal future too.

There is comfort to be had, however, from what we know about futures that have
already crystallized or dissolved. The future that comes to fruition does not just
happen; it is made by us, as history.

Living in the present now means living with a future-consciousness richer and more
informed than humans have ever been able to benefit from in the past. We have a
battery of new ways of monitoring our planet, even as we are changing it, and far
better information about the lives of everyone living here. Combine that with more
refined methods for delineating plausible events, and we can sketch not the future, but
a range of possibilities, more or less desirable.

Then we need to believe that the daily, personal decisions we make are linked, in a
million small ways, to those larger prospects – for they surely are. Global futures are
built from personal choices in the present – yours and mine.

Expressions: Plans for the future

When it isn't definite
We use the present continuous tense to talk about things that we are  presently
considering.
"I'm thinking of going to ..."
"We're planning to go to ..."
"He's hoping to go to ..."
"I'm toying with / playing with the idea of ..."

When your plans are all arranged

You can use the present perfect tense to announce your plans:
"We've decided to go to Greece."
"We've settled on Spain, after all."
"They've opted for a camping holiday in France."
"We've booked a weekend in a boutique hotel in Paris."

You can also use the going to future to talk about your intentions:
"We're going to (go to) the Algarve for two weeks in July."
"She's going to stay in a B&B in the Lakes with some work mates."

Note: if "going to" is followed by the verb "go to", you can omit "go to".
We're going to go to Paris = "We're going to go to Paris."

You can also use will to talk about definite plans that will happen in the future.
"Next year we will stay at home rather than go on holiday."
"We'll spend three weeks traveling around Asia, then come back at the end of
September."
Other useful phrases to talk about your future plans
Here are some alternative expressions you can use in English to talk about your plans.
"I've got my heart set on ... (a cruise next year / a trip to the Caribbean, etc.)"
"I've been dying to go to… (ever since I heard about it from my neighbor.)"
"I'd love to go to Australia, but it's too far away / too expensive."
I can't choose between Morocco or Tunisia.
"I'm torn between Italy and France."

When your plans aren't yet certain

"It looks like ... (we're going to Cyprus / we're staying at home, etc.)."
"As long as we can get our visa in time, we'll be going to the USA."
"We're not 100% sure, but we might be going to Egypt."
"It's a toss-up between Greece and Spain." (toss a coin = to flip a coin to decide one
choice or another)
"We're on the waiting list for a villa in Tuscany."

Asking other people about their plans

"What are your plans for… (summer / Easter, etc.)?"
"Have you decided ... (where you're going on holiday)?"
"What are you up to ... (in summer / next weekend, etc.)?"
Are you going to… (Majorca again for summer)?”

A. Vocabulary 
Ketrampilan : skills
Cocok : suitable
Menabung (uang) : to save money
Mendapat : to get, obtain
Menjadi : to become
Rajin : diligent
Kesempatan : opportunity
Tamat : to graduate
Supaya : so that
Mungkin : maybe
Berkuliah : to study at university
Mancanegara : foreign countries
Sukarelawan : volunteer
Bermaksud : to intend
Kuliah : lecture
Pendapatan : income
Gaji : wages, salary
Bepergian ke luar negeri : to travel overseas
Pekerjaan : job
Pramugari : flight attendant, stewardess
Angka : score (numbers, rate)
Paruh waktu : part time
Mata kuliah : university subject
Berusaha sebisa-bisanya : try as hard as one can
Bahasa asing : foreign language
Meninggalkan : to leave something behind
Idaman : ideals; perfect 
Menikah : to marry

Example Dialog 
When we talk and ask about plans or future plans in English, we can use the future
tenses "will" and "be going to". Not only that, we can also use the present continuous
tense. To see examples, here are some sample conversations about asking for plans:

Conversation 1

Nina : What are you going to do this Saturday? (What are you going to do this
Saturday?)

Susan : I'm going to go to the amusement park with my boyfriend. What about you?
(I'm going to an amusement park with my boyfriend. How about you?)

Nina : This Saturday I'm going to go to my grandmother's house with my sister. (This
Saturday I'm going to grandma's house with my sister)

Conversation 2

Karen : Do you have any plan for tomorrow? (Do you have any plans for tomorrow?)

Greg : I'm swimming with my son tomorrow. How about you? Do you have any plan?
(I'm going to go swimming with my son tomorrow. How about you? You have a
plan?)

Karen : That sounds fun. I am going to the cinema with John and Amy. (Sounds fun.
I'm going to the movies with John and Amy)
Greg : That sounds fun too. Please give them my regards. (That also sounds fun.
Please pass my greetings to them)

Karen : I will. (I will convey it)

Example Writing about Future Tense 

Every human being in his life must have hopes that always try to make it real.
Expectations or ideals are always directly related to appropriate actions (or actions).
For example, if you want to become a doctor then you should study supporting
subjects in the medical department. If you want to become a reliable soccer player,
then you should be diligent in practicing kicking the ball, dribbling and doing tricks in
ball games.

Parents also share in our hopes, so from now on try to make a plan that you want to do
or achieve in the future. The ideals must be as high as the sky but adjust to our
abilities but keep trying because nothing is impossible in this world.
Coming back to the problem of planning in the future, of course you have thought that
far because don't arrive at the time when you are still confused about what you want
to be. Let us discuss future plans in the future (talking about future plans in the future)
we will also discuss in English lessons, how to ask or how to respond to these
questions, pay attention to the following table of expressions:
The table asking and response talking about the future plan:
The goal in Asking for future plans in the future is to provide a reminder to the person
we ask about what he will do in the future, this is useful so that he will struggle more
in preparing and achieving what is his plan.

The following is an example of a dialogue relating to Asking for future plans in the
future.
Fairuz: Do you think that the time in this school is shorter?
Nadina: Yes, I think, but why you ask me?
Fairuz: Next month we will face the final examination of Senior High  School. 
I have not had a plan at all.
Nadina: I have prepared it; I want to register in my favorite university. 
I want to choose an English department. So what will you do after graduating from
Senior High School?
Fairuz: Great… My father and mom advised me to get job after this.
Nadina: Why don't you try to enter the university; you are good at mathematic.
Fairuz: After entering and choosing you favorite major, what will you do?
Nadina: I want to be an English teacher or a tour guide, I want to talk about foreign
tourists.
Fairuz: What should I do? I am confused. My family does not have enough money for
my plan.
Nadina: Don't worry, you can recommend a scholarship.
Fairuz: Really? I am happy to hear that.
Fairuz: Do you feel that the time at school is getting shorter?
Nadina: Yes, but why do you ask like that?
Fairuz: Next month we will face the high school national exam. I don't have a plan at
all.
Nadina: I've prepared it. I'm going to enroll in my favorite university and I'm going to
major in English. Then what will you do after graduating from high school?
Fairuz: Amazing… My father and mother advised me to work after this.
Nadina: Why don't you try to get into University, you are good at Math.
Fairuz: After entering and choosing your favorite major, what will you do?
Nadina: I want to become an English teacher or tour guide. I want to chat with foreign
tourists.
Fairuz: What should I do? I am dizzy. My family has no money for my plan.
Nadina: Don't worry, you can apply for a scholarship.
Fairuz: Really? I'm happy to hear that. 

How to Apply it in Social Media Posts 

To get your message across to your audience and achieve your goals, you first need a
social media plan

With social media becoming more important every day, there's a case for every
business to exploit this platform for marketing.
When you consider that 73% of marketers have found social media effective for their
business, you’ll see that this is an ideal platform for boosting your revenue.
  

But to get your message across to your audience and achieve your goals, you first
need a social media plan.
Now, the big question is: what do you need to know to develop an effective social
media plan? 
1. Set social media goal
The foundation of your plan is to specify what you’re trying to achieve through your
social media campaigns. Without goals set in place, you won’t know what types of
updates to post on your channels.

Knowing what you want to achieve will tell you what to focus on in order to achieve
those results. Some common social media goals are all about boosting:
a. Brand awareness
b. Engagement eads 
c. Lead acquisition
d. Sales
e. Custom acquisition
f. Traffic

While creating your goal, it’s important to remember the SMART acronym. That is,
your goals must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
After creating your goals, you have a set of metrics to judge the success (or failure) of
your campaigns.

2. Evaluate your social media budget

Whether through the time spent or ad spend, you’re spending an amount on social
media so that you can gain more for your business.
But do you have a record of how much you have to spend?
Your social media budget will determine some of the activities you can perform.
For instance, your budget will affect the number of organic and paid campaigns you
can run at a time. It will also affect the number of employees that work on social
media marketing.
Furthermore, your budget will determine the number of social media tools you can
use to make your tasks more productive.
Having said that, it’s no crime to have a low budget. But it’s beneficial to be aware so
that you can structure your campaigns according to your means.

 3. Create a buyer persona

Even the best marketer ever will get a poor result if they’re marketing to the wrong
audience. That’s why it’s vital to understand your ideal buyer. When you have their
details, you can personalize your messages to their needs.
Your buyer persona is a document that you need for your overall marketing plan,
exceeding social media alone. For your buyer persona, you should have details such
as:
a. Name
b. Age
c. Income
d. Location
e.Pain points your products can eliminate
f. Ambition
g. Favourite social media channels

You should have as many details about your ideal buyer as possible. You can form
your buyer persona based on your current customers or who you want your customers
to be. Below is an example of a buyer persona template from the Content Marketing
Institute (CMI):

4.Select social media networks to focus on

As much as you might want to maintain a presence on all available social media
platforms, you should avoid stretching yourself too thin.

If you don’t have a big enough budget to have a presence on multiple social networks,
it’s best to focus on the few social media networks your ideal buyers visit regularly.
Consequently, you’ll invest your time and efforts on platforms that are likely to
produce results.

But which social media networks should you focus on? That will depend on the
product or service you sell.

For instance, if you sell food or fashion items, then networks like Instagram, Pinterest,
and Facebook are effective for reaching your ideal audience. However, LinkedIn and
Facebook will be more suitable if you’re marketing a B2B product.
Ensure you check your buyer persona and conduct research to find the right social
networks. More so, engage with your followers to build trust.

5. Creat a content calendar

To get the best possible results from social media marketing, you need to be
consistent. And in order to be consistent in social media, you need to have a social
media calendar set in place.

With a content calendar, you can plan your social media updates weeks ahead. This
increases productivity and ensures you can provide the pieces of content your
audience expects.
Some details you can have on your content calendar are:
a. Types of content to post on social media
b. Publication dates
c. Employee to share updates
See an example of a social media content calendar template from Hub Spot:

 6. Make a plan to use visuals

Visuals have become popular on social media. Because they're an easier way for your
audience to receive your messages. Added to that, visuals have proven to attract
higher engagement than text.
For example, a BuzzSumo study found that videos have higher engagements than
other types of content on Facebook. In another study, tweets with images received
150% more retweets.

Even if you’re posting a text update, you should use a supporting visual to attract your
audience.
A tool like Canva allows you to create images suited to different social media
platforms, at scale, even if you don’t have a lot of experience with design:

You can use their ready-made templates and built-in stock photo directory to easily
create social media visuals; plus, you can quickly resize your images for different
social networks, in seconds.

Visuals may take a bit more time to create, but they will also certainly give your
social media activities a boost.

7. Use the right tools for social media activities

Social media marketing requires certain tools – there is no way around it. Without the
right tools, you will struggle to manage all of your accounts, to engage regularly, to
measure your results, to monitor important keywords – and so much more.

That’s why when you build your social media plan, you also need to consider what
tools you’re going to get.
What are some aspects of social media that need tools?
a. Social media management
b. Content creation
c. Content curation
d. Social monitoring
e. Analytics/ROI measurement
One of the most important tools you need to get is a full-suite social media
management tool, as that will help you manage all of your social accounts from one
place; one great solution is Social Pilot.
You can use it to manage all of your social media accounts from one single place, as
well as schedule your updates in advance, using a social media calendar:

Plus, you’ll be able to collaborate with your team members, respond to comments and
mentions and engage with your followers, monitor your brand name and check your
social media analytics.

 8. Conduct competitive analysis

While you’re just creating a social media plan, some of your competitors are already
executing their plans and getting results. What are your competitors doing well? What
are their shortcomings?
There’s a lot you can learn from your excellent competitors. Some parts of their social
media strategy to analyze are:
a.Major social media networks
b.Publication frequency on different social networks
c.Types of content they publish
d.How they engage with followers
When you analyze your competitors, you can find strategies to apply to your own
social media plan. Furthermore, it’s an opportunity to see your competitors’
shortcomings and improve upon them with your plan.
9. Have a system for tracking results
There’s no social media task that will guarantee results. Hence, you must have a
system to track your social media results. With this, you can access the effectiveness
of your plan in achieving your goals.
To make this process effective, specify the metrics that represent your goal. For
instance, you might look at retweets, likes, and clicks if your goal is brand awareness.
You can get some of these metrics from your social media management tool. Or use a
dedicated tool like Talk walker that can give you a detailed analysis of your social
media results like monitoring, sentiments, etc.

Conclusion
Developing a social media plan is essential to getting results from social media. As a
matter of fact, every social media update should move your audience, whether directly
or indirectly, towards making a purchase – or towards any other objectives you have.

Culture
The cultural planning process assesses the current community culture and creates an
implementation plan to achieve a community’s vision. Cultural plans act as mirrors
for a community—they are, ideally, a reflection of the community’s culture that they
serve.
Many communities are engaged in cultural planning to help address the needs and
opportunities of the community members by assessing and utilizing the cultural
resources available. Some cultural planning may be narrowly focused on the needs of
artists, arts organizations, and audiences; however, cultural planners are increasingly
considering the role of culture in resolving broader community issues.
The most successful cultural plans address the needs and desires of the community
throughout the planning process, from the initial stages to the implementation of
cultural programming and development.
Before you start a cultural planning process, you should take time to:
a.Re about cultural planning.
b. Ask questions and listen to others in your community. Are they ready for planning?
c.Bui your partnerships and alliances.
d.Learn about the decision-makers in your community.
e.Resear funding possibilities.

How long will the planning process take?

a.Preparati (2-3 months)
b.Information Gathering and Research (4-6 months)
c.Assessment and Analysis (2-3 months)
d.Organization and Consultation (ongoing)
e.Writing the Plan (1-2 months)
f. Public Consultation (2-3 months)
g.Finalizing and Adoption (1-2 months)
h.Implementati, Monitoring and Review (Ongoing)

Verbal and Non Verbal 

Sentence verbal is a sentence that has a finite verb as the predicate. Finite verb, also
known as main verb or verb, is the main verb that must match the subject and tense.
Some examples of the finite verb that is read, sleep, watch, study, run, work, and so
on.
Here are some examples of verbal sentences. The underlined word is a finite verb:
She runs. 
I watched Spider-Man yesterday. 
Johnny and Barbara live in London. 

A nonverbal sentence is a sentence whose predicate is not a finite verb. The predicate
of a nonverbal sentence can be adjective, noun, adverb, or any other type of word.
Because in English a sentence must have a subject and a verb, we must use an
auxiliary verb. Auxiliary verbs include are, am, and is. The use of the auxiliary verb
must also be in accordance with the subject and tenses.
Here are some examples of nonverbal sentences. The underlined word is the auxiliary
verb:
He is rich. (He is rich) -> rich is an adjective

We are student. (We are students) -> students are a noun

I am here. (I'm here) -> here is the adverb of the place

Example of verbal and non-verbal sentences simple future tense. Simple Future Tense
is a time statement in English that describes events or events that will occur or will be
carried out in the future.  This verb is usually used when you want to say a wish, make
a prediction, or when you want to say a conditional sentence.
Simple future verbal sentence patterns:
Subject + will + verb

Example: 
We will study hard. (Kami akan belajar dengan giat)

I will come. (Aku akan datang)

Simple future nonverbal sentence patterns:

Subject + will be + adjective / noun / adverb
Example: 

He will be late. (Dia akan terlambat)

You will be prettier. (Kamu akan lebih cantik)

Practice 
Complete the following sentence with the word will or will be.
1. I am sure we … pass the exam.
2. I don’t think the test … very difficult.
3.She … angry if I am late.
4.They … come here soon.
5  I wonder where we … 30 years from now. 

Arrange the words below into an appropriate sentence.

1.to – go – are – We – to – year – Surabaya – going – next 
2.isn’t – She – presenter – gonna – the – be
3.soon – be – I – back – will
4.finish – We – before – will – project – the – lunch
5. I – to – her – going – tomorrow – am – phone – evening 

Decide whether you should use will, be going to, or the present continuous tense for
the verb in the brackets. In some situations, more than one verb form is possible. In
this case, you should make sure you know the meaning. 

1. He (not, go) … to the movie tonight. He (do) his homework with some of his
classmates. 
2. I have a headache. I (see) the doctor this evening.
3. Oh my God! Look! The plane (crash). One of its wings is broken.
4. Ricky (write) … us a letter as soon as he arrives in Sidney. 
5. A: Where is Junaidi? 
   B: He has gone fishing. He (come) back before 2 PM.