In this class we take a look at the process of designing goals and objectives for language courses. We also explore some of the alternatives to objectives such as competencies and standards

1. Language Course Design:
Goals and Objectives

2. Getting started
• Are you familiar with the goals and objectives of
the program you are currently teaching?
• How about the textbook you are using? Does it
state explicitly the goals and objectives?
• When planning a lesson, do you usually refer to
the list of goals and objectives of the program?

3. In this class
• Definition of goals.
• Definition of instructional objectives.
• Differences between goals and objectives.
• Components of objectives.
• Deriving goals and objectives from needs.
• Criticism to objectives.
• Advantages of objectives.
• Alternatives to goals and objectives.
• Some exercises

4. Goals and Objectives:
Definition

5. Goals
…general statements concerning desirable and
attainable program purposes and aims based on
perceived language and situation needs.
Brown, 1995, p.71

6. Goals
…broad statements that provide general
signposts for course development.
Nunan & Lamb, 2001, p.39

7. Goals purpose and characteristics
Goals…
• are general statements of the program’s
purposes.
• focus on what the program hopes to accomplish
in the future […] what they students should be
able to do when they leave the program.
• serve as one basis for developing more precise
and observable objectives.
• should never be viewed as permanent.
Brown, 1995, pp.71-72

8. Instructional objectives
specific statements that describe the particular
knowledge, behaviors, and/or skills that the
learner will be expected to know or perform at
the end of a course or program.
Brown, 1995, p.73

9. Instructional objectives
Specifications of “what learners should be able
to do as a result of instruction.”
Nunan & Lamb, 2001, p.41

10. Difference between Goals and
Objectives
More general
More specific
Goals Objectives

11. Instructional objectives:
Components
• Performance
• Condition
• Criterion

12. Instructional objectives: Example
Working in pairs, learners will provide enough
information for their partner to draw a three
generation family tree.
Taken from Nunan & Lamb, 2001, p. 41

13. Instructional objectives: Example
Working in pairs,
learners will provide enough information
for their partner to draw a three generation family tree.

14. Brown’s elements for sound
objectives
• Subject (who?)
• Performance (what?)
• Condition (where? How much time? What resources?)
• Measure (How?)
• Criterion (How well?)

15. Keypoints in objectives writing
• Variability in specificity
• Flexibility (they are not permanent)
• Consensus-based in nature
• Program specificity
• Teacher-friendliness

16. Sources of ideas
• Other language programs
• The literature
• Taxonomies

17. From Needs to Goals and
Objectives

18. Developing goals and
objectives from needs
Narrow the scope of the goal statements
Obj. 1,1
Goal 1
Obj. 1,2
Obj. 1,3
Needs Obj. 2,1
Goal 2
analysis Obj. 2,2
Obj. 2,3
Goal 3 Obj. 3,1
Obj. 3,2
Obj. 3,3
Identify what
learners need State the needs of the students in
English for. terms of realizable goals for the State context-suitable
program. and precise objectives

19. Objectives:
Criticism and Advantages

20. Criticism
• Association with behavioral psychology
• Issues with quantifyability
• Trivialization of instruction
• Limitations in teachers’ freedom
• inadequacy for expression of language learning
Brown, 1995

21. Advantages
Objectives help teachers to…
• convert the perceived needs into teaching points.
• clarify and organize those teaching points.
• think through skills and sub-skills underlying
instructional points.
• decide what they want students to be able to do.
• decide the level of specificity for teaching activities.
Brown, 1995

22. Advantages
Objectives help teachers to…
• construct valid and reliable assessment tools.
• adopt, adapt and develop teaching materials.
• develop professionally
• evaluate students’ progress and program
effectiveness.
• be part of the collective process of curriculum
development.
Brown, 1995

23. Alternatives to objectives

24. Competencies
a performance outline of language tasks that
lead to a demonstrated mastery of language
associated with specific skills that are necessary
for individuals to function proficiently in the
society in which they live
Grognet & Candall, 1982, p. 3

25. Competencies
Competencies refer to observable bahaviors (just
like objectives), but differ in
• a focus on successful functioning in society
• a focus on life skills
• task or performance centered orientations
• modularization of instruction (behaviors are
broken down into sub-behaviors to be mastered).
Auerback, 1986, p. 411

26. Competencies
…written descriptions of what a student is able
to do with the language, usually in terms of
target language performance.
Richards & Schmidt, 2002, p. 94

27. Standards
…comprehensive description of what language
learners know in the target language at various
levels of proficiency, at various grade levels, or
both.
…a clear definition of what is to be taught and
what kind of performance is to be expected
across the school curriculum.
Richards & Schmidt, 2002, p. 511

28. Standards
Descriptions (rather than prescriptions) of what
people can actually do with the target language
at different levels (stages) of competence which
provide a framework to measure outcomes and
set expectations in progress.
Paraphrased from Omaggio, 1986

29. Standards
Descriptions (rather than prescriptions) of what
people can actually do with the target language
at different levels (stages) of competence which
provide a framework to measure outcomes and
set expectations in progress.
Paraphrased from Omaggio, 1986

30. Standards: An example
Council of Europe, 2002.

31. Standards: Elements
Nunan, 2001.

32. Practice

33. Practice
You will read different statements of purpose from different
language programs.
• Determine if the statement refers to a goal or an objective.
• If the statement is an objective, identify the main elements
or components as described by Brown
(subject, performance, condition, measure, criterion).
• Is the statement conceived as a performance objective, a
competency or a standard descriptor.

34. Practice
The language program is designed to help students
achieve the following learning objectives :
1. engage in interactions with speakers of the target
language for a variety of purposes and in a variety of
contexts, using socially and culturally appropriate
forms for participating in conversations, establishing
relationships with others, providing and obtaining
information, expressing feelings and emotions, and
expressing opinions.
From the University of Pittsburg website

35. Practice
At the end of the program, students should be
able to:
1. Describe, narrate, and ask/answer questions
in the foreign language in the present time
about a variety of topics related to
family, daily activities, eating, and traveling.
From http://www.frenchanditalian.pitt.edu/undergrad/about/course-objective-prereqs.php

36. Practice
From http://www.frenchanditalian.pitt.edu/undergrad/about/course-objective-prereqs.php

37. Practice
From http://spanlang.stanford.edu/second_year/interpretive12.html

38. Practice
• …every IUS student will be able to fully cope
with the faculty programs. Students not only
attain a high level of English Language
proficiency at ELS, but also gain various study
skills essential for successful participation in
the academic activities of their faculties.
From http://www.ius.edu.ba/Default.aspx?PageContentID=24&tabid=70

39. References
• Auerback, E.R. (1986). Competency-based ESL: One step
forward or two steps back? TESOL Quarterly, 20,3: 411-429
• Brown, J.D. (1995). The elements of Language Curriculum: A
Systematic Approach to Program Development. Heinle &
Heinle Publishers.
• Grognet, A. G. y Crandall, J. (1982). Competency-based
curricula in adult ESL. ERIC/CLL News Bulletin, 6, 3-4.
• Nunan, D. (2001). Syllabus design. En M. Celce-Murcia
(Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (3º
ed., pp. 55-65). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

40. References
• Nunan, D & Lamb, C. (2001). Managing the learning process. In
Hall, D. & Hewings, A. (Eds.) Innovation in English Language
Teaching. A Reader (pp. 25-45) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
London: Routledge.
• Omaggio, A.C. (1986). Teaching language in context. Proficiency
oriented instyruction. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers, Inc.
• Richards, J.C. & Schmidt, R. (2002). Longman Dictionary of
language teaching and applied linguistics. Pearson Education
Limited.