You've Got a Message! 2.0 | Past Continuous

You've Got a Message 2.0 is a set of 15 slides featuring friendly messages from people asking why you didn’t come to a specific event. Students respond to each message using the past continuous tense, practising how to describe what they were doing at a particular moment in the past. This activity helps learners strengthen their control of past continuous and contrast it with past simple in a natural, communicative context.

How to Use

1. Project or share the slides with your students.
2. Read each message from a friend asking why the student didn’t come to an event.
3. Ask students to reply using the past continuous tense, explaining what they were doing at that time.
4. Encourage learners to:
   • Include relevant details (e.g., I was helping my sister, I was studying for an exam).
   • Contrast past continuous with past simple when needed (e.g., I was cooking when I saw your message).
5. Use the activity as:
   • A speaking task (pair or group)
   • A writing task (individual responses)
   • A warm-up or end-of-lesson revision activity

Let students personalise their answers to make the practice more engaging and meaningful.