Is this a good lesson goal?

A well defined, student centred lesson goal:

- provides a focal point for the lesson
- makes the lesson relevant, fun, interesting for students as they work with you through
various activities that build to helping them achieve the goal
- keeps the lesson pace brisk and maximises the productivity of the lesson
- helps customers see their own progress, motivating the customer
Use the following checklist of questions to think about the goals for your lessons:
1. What is the topic?
We know the lesson topic from our teaching materials, and can adapt this slightly to suit
the particular situations of our customers. Travel and Work are examples of topics. We
use the topic as a context for the new language and the activities we build into the lesson.
2. What is the real-life can-do statement?
The lesson goal should describe what the students will be able to do by the end of the
lesson, for example they will:
be able to describe their daily work routine or
be able to book a flight
A good lesson goal is not a statement of what will be covered in the lesson (e.g. get to the
end of the chapter), and nor is it a passive statement of what students will know
(understand the past perfect). It is a practical can-do statement describing what students
will be able to do in a real life situation.
3. Is the goal relevant & appropriate for students?
The goal must be relevant and appropriate for the students. If one student does not
currently work, then we need to adapt the first goal to suit them for example, that they
will be able to describe their daily routine or to describe the daily routine for their ideal
job.
4. Will we be able to see that the goal has been achieved? How?
When planning, we need to think about how we will identify that students have achieved
the goal. The definition of the goal should include action verbs, e.g. book a flight,
describe a routine, make a presentation, give opinions tactfully, etc. We also need
to have in mind the kind of fluency activity we are building up to, in order to demonstrate
students communicative ability.
Role-plays, tasks, summaries, discussions, meeting
simulations are all appropriate activities to show that a student can function in a particular
situation, and will naturally be followed by praise, corrections and feedback.
5. Is it appropriate and achievable within the time available?
The lesson goal or goals need to be appropriate for amount of time available. If a student
is learning in order to be able to make presentations, a 2-unit lesson might include the goal
to open and list the goals of a presentation or to handle difficult questions. If students
are attending a two-day workshop, the overall goal might be to present the company,
and there will be a series of smaller goals that build to this.
Working through the progress of the lesson with students, we will also be making decisions
regarding the conditions for the final activity, and expectations for students performance - for
example: whether helpful words or phrases will be left on the board as students work through
a role-play; what expressions or structures we expect students to be able to use within the
activity.

@Berlitz Module: Setting Learner Centred Goals Good Lesson Goal Checklist - 2014