"My goal is to learn English."  Sound familiar?  We all have this response on the back of many of our student registration forms. So where do we go from here?   We must help our students break down this very general goal of learning English into small, realistic steps.  So, be sure to visit and review the web links in the Recommended Resources column; they give  concrete ideas on how to go about this and, if we apply these ideas, our retention rates should improve and student goals can be consistently articulated and realized.

Here is an activity from Zero Prep, followed by some ideas from our teachers about getting students to articulate their goals. You will notice that many of us find informal or in-class conversations as the best way to ascertain our students’ ambitions.

I'm in charge of my own learning (From Zero Prep)

This activity is for high beginner to advanced learners.  The objective is to increase student self-direction.

 1.  Each student turns a piece of  8.5 x 11 paper sideways i.e. landscape view and draws lines to make four columns.

 2.  Students write one of the following headings at the top of each column:

What I want to do in English

Why I need to do this

What I do now to improve my skill

Other things I could do

 3.  In pairs, students have a conversation about all four columns, filling in their own charts as they go along.

 4.  Pairs take pairs.  Match pairs of students to exchange the information on their papers and tell them to "borrow" language to write in their own charts as they speak to other students.

 Extensions:

1.  Students can write about their progress weekly in a journal or their notebook.

2.  Students can be paired up weekly to discuss their progress and challenges.

 

Chris Bourret, Cranston sites

 “About goals...We get them from a combination of things. With the intermediate and advanced learners we also get a lot from conversations with the tutors during class. The first lesson of each term usually involves some time on goal setting. With the beginners, when it is time to start a new theme, I give them 3-4 choices (ex: home, family, food, at the store) and the group has to try to pick one or two for the next themes in the group. This can work well. For example when they picked "the library" in January, it was very helpful because I was able to find out that they wanted to speak to Karen and the librarians more.”

Larry Britt, Providence sites             

“At Knight Memorial branch, I conducted a class rules and student goal session during the second class meeting.  The students told me their objectives and we prioritized them.  Since then, as new students appear, I determine their needs based on an initial conversation and their ability to complete the registration form. Also, with all of my groups, I regularly check in with the students by asking them if lessons and activities are too hard or too easy. I also create appropriate lesson plans when I notice that students are not proficient in a given topic or grammar item.”

Margaret Stevens, Rochambeau

“What  I know about my students’ goals is primarily ascertained thru informal conversation before or after class. Their registration forms are helpful as well, but only minimally.  My goals?  I would like to provide a very structured format for them to learn the rules of English grammar and literacy.  At the same time, however, I would like to leave space for spontaneous creativity on their parts and also incorporate important themes and activities that enable them to apply this knowledge in practice. “

Sherry Fiaux, Providence sites

“I have tried many different types of needs assessments over the past 10 years: written surveys and questionnaires, free writing on the question "Why do you need to learn English?", and informal conversations.  Although they are all helpful to some extent, I probably get the most out of informal conversations and constant eliciting of feedback from the students.  What I find difficult is grappling with students' goals that cannot be achieved during a 9 month period in my class.  The only solution for this is helping students break down their long-term goals into small, doable steps.  The websites referenced in the “Recommended Resources” column of this issue will help me organize this process.”

From Jennifer Young, Providence & Cranston sites

“Most  of the time, I find that the students want to tell me what their goals are. When we are talking either before or during the lesson, something comes up that gets them excited and they usually want to share it with you. Not very scientific I know, but I'm still figuring it all out!”

From Edward McFadden, Providence sites

“I think it is extremely important that when teachers and students collaborate to create goals that they make them "smart".

 S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Attainable

R = Realistic

T = Time-bound 

Examples of goals that would not be considered "smart" would be "to learn English," (simply too broad) or "to improve my pronunciation" (lacks focus, needs criteria and context.)

An example of a "smart" goal would be: "I need to improve my reading proficiency to an eighth grade level by September in order to read cookbooks, because I want to take a chef's training course." (This goal would most likely be attainable if the student was reading at a fifth grade level now, but not if they were reading at a first grade level.) 

To help students set goals we probably need to supply templates, e.g. I need to improve (identified skill) so that I can (do something) by (approximate date) so that I can (reason for the need for improvement).

If all of us start thinking about goals in this way it should be much easier to help our students get to where they want to be. “