Set Goals to

Succeed
Upper-
the ARTICLE (for teachers) Intermediate

Set Goals to Succeed

Did you know that writing can increase productivity, help manage stress, and even reduce
depression? It also orders thoughts and emotions, and allows people to locate and solve
problems and negative feelings. What's more, writing allows the mind to brainstorm
solutions too, especially when goals are pursued. And yet, despite how powerful writing
can be, very few people undertake this practice. For example, it's estimated that less than
two percent of people write down goals.

A study recently conducted on university students shows the benefits of writing. The
positive results were clear for students who tend to be academically at risk for failure. Such
students often drop out because they may be underprepared for university or lack role
models, just to name two possible reasons. The university decided to intervene from the
start, and so new students reflected on important events from their past, identified key
personal motivators, and created plans for the future. Goals were specific, and strategies to
overcome possible problems were included too. The university then tracked these students
throughout their university experience.

As a result of the writing exercises, the dropout rate decreased and academic
achievement increased. In addition, two years after the exercise, any ethnic- and gender-
group differences in performance disappeared.

The study demonstrates that writing combined with setting goals can limit any damaging
beliefs students might have about their own academic performance. This is true even if the
belief comes from negative stereotypes which the students might personally presume.

The act of writing truly is more powerful than people think.

Teacher's Notes:

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 Set Goals to
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Upper-
Intermediate
* Underlined words in red typeface are the recommended vocabulary for this lesson.

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 Set Goals to
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Upper-
WARM-UPS Intermediate
Select one or all of the following warm-up activities.

1: Define: What does "academic" mean? Can you use it in a sentence? Can you give
examples?

2: Brainstorm: Brainstorm with a partner(s) words and ideas associated with "academic"
for 2 minutes. Spend another 5 minutes or less discussing the words and ideas together.

3: Title: Speculate and/or discuss the contents of today's article from its title: "Set Goals to
Succeed."

4: Speculate: Write in the missing word for today's article title: "Set ( ) to
Succeed." Why did you choose this word for the blank?

5: Do you agree or disagree? Why?

a. I am a person who has a lot of goals.
b. I almost always achieve the goals that I set
for myself. c. Writing down my problems
helps me succeed.
d. Writing down my negative emotions helps me feel better.
e. University isn't (or wasn't) a challenging environment for me.

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 Set Goals to
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Upper-
VOCABULARY Intermediate
Select one of the following vocabulary acquisition activities.

1: Vocabulary match: Individually or in pairs/groups, match the words in column A (from

the article) with the best choice in column B.
a. reduce q.
defeat b. locate r.
attempt c. undertake
s. show
d. lack t. be
involved e. intervene u.
follow
f. overcome v. lower
g. track w.
believe h. achievement
x. need
i. demonstrate y. success
j. presume z. find

2: Fill in the Blanks: Fill in the blank with the correct word.
lack tracked intervene achievement
locate demonstrates undertake presume reduce
overcome a. Writing can increase productivity, help manage stress, and even (
) depression. b. It also allows people to ( ) and solve problems and
negative feelings.
c. Despite how powerful writing can be, very few people ( ) this practice.
d. Students drop out because they may be underprepared for university or (
) role models e. The university decided to ( ) from the start.
f. Goals were specific, and strategies to ( ) possible problems
were included too. g. The university then ( ) these students
throughout their university experience.
h. The dropout rate decreased and academic ( ) increased.
i. The study ( ) that writing combined with setting goals can limit any
damaging beliefs.
This is true even if the belief comes from negative stereotypes which the
students might
j. ( ).

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 Set Goals to
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Upper-
3: Define: Define each word, correctly pronounce it, explain the meaning and/or usage,
Intermediate
and offer an example sentence to the class.
a. reduce c. undertake e. intervene g. track i.
demonstrate
b. locate d. lack f. overcome h. achievement j.
presume

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 Set Goals to
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Upper-
WORD RECOGNITION Intermediate
1: Word Search: Find the target words (in bold). Time yourself, and see how many words
you can find in three minutes, five minutes, or ten minutes.
lack tracked intervene achievement
locate demonstrates undertake presume reduce
overcome

S C A K U B T E E S Q I K J T
Q E J C P Z M K P E N L O N R
E H T M H O N R X T R I O G A
Y C C A C E E N E A K N T A C
J H U R R S I R Q R C F R E K
C W E D U T V V A T A T E I E
U V U M E E S N E S L P D N D
O L E M N R T N L M J J N T F
C O M E O V E R O O E R U E E
Y S A C H I E V E M E N T R O
E K A T R E D N U E E I T V E
M J U J L D A N U D Y D D E N
E T A C O L X Q L W H H A A O
C N U F M N Q M O S W R O N L
Z Q X A P X A A P D C U P E Q

2: Target Word Pool: Find the target words (in bold) with their exact match. Time
yourself, and see how many words you can find in three minutes, five minutes, or ten
minutes.
lack tracked intervene achievement
locate demonstrates undertake presume reduce
overcome
overcoming
undertak achieveme undertak unachievable
nt demonstrat en
er es
traction
unreduc lackin
ed demonstrati reducin overcome
g trackin g
ve g
presum interventi presumption
ed on take
unlocated r
locatio
n
t i rve g emo atin
n e nin d nstr g

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lack
Set Goals to
under lackey
trac over
reduction Succeed
takin
ks c g Upper-
o Intermediate
interve
m ne
e
s
p
r
e
s
u
m
e
reduce lacklust
overcam underta d er demonstration
achieveme
e ke nts

achiev tracke tracke

locatin d reduce
e r locate
g d

interven demonstrat
ed presumpti overconfident
lacke interven
es ve
d presumes ed
locate unachieved

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 Set Goals to
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Upper-
pre- or post-COMPREHENSION Intermediate
1: Word Association: Brainstorm words associated with today's topic for two minutes.
Present to the class.

2: Brainstorm Questions: Brainstorm questions that you would like to ask about
today's topic. Answer the questions without looking at the article.

3: True or False?: Guess (before the article) or answer (after the article) whether the
sentence is true or false. If false, correct the sentence.
a. According to the article, more and more people use writing to reach their goals.
T / F b. Students haven't prepared to write, and so they drop out of university.
T / F c. Students wrote about past experiences and set future goals.
T / F d. Gender and ethnic groups had poorer academic performance after the writing
exercises. T/F
e. Writing helped students overcome negative stereotypes. T
/F

4: Questions: Answer the questions to check comprehension.

a. The article first provides some benefits of writing. What are these benefits?
b. According to the article, what are two reasons that students drop out of university?
c. What did students write about upon entering the university?
d. What did the article say about ethnic- and gender-group differences?
e. According to the article, how does writing and goal setting help students?

5: Vocabulary: In pairs/groups, remember how the words were used in today's article.
a. reduce c. undertake e. intervene g. tracked i.
demonstrates
b. locate d. lack f. overcome h. achievement j.
presume

6: Fragments: Remember how the fragments were used, and complete the sentence from
today's article.
a. Did you know that writing can...
b. For example, it's estimated that less than two percent...
c. Goals were specific, and strategies...
d. As a result of the writing exercises, the dropout rate...
e. The act of writing truly is more...

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 Set Goals to
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post-COMPREHENSION Intermediate
1: Vocabulary: Circle any additional unknown words/phrases in the article. In
pairs/groups, use your dictionaries to understand the meanings. Present to the
class.

2: Class Questions: Read through the article once more, and write down any questions
that you would like to discuss in pairs/groups or as a class. Discuss.

3: Summarize: Work with a partner to summarize the article in your own words.

4: Discuss: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your
answers!
a. Did you like this article?
b. What was your general impression after reading this article?
c. Do you think setting goals prove beneficial? Why/not?
d. How often do you set goals for yourself? Do you regularly reach your
goals? Please explain. e. Do you think writing exercises prove beneficial?
Why/not?
f. How can someone increase productivity?
Please explain. g. How do you reduce stress?
Please explain.
h. After reading the article, would you apply any of the ideas to your studies and/or life?
Why/not?
i. What are some reasons that students fail in their studies? Why do you think so?
j. What advice would you give students entering university? Please explain.

5: Discuss: What activities help students succeed? First, brainstorm ideas with a partner
and provide reasons. Next, rank the ideas in order of helpfulness. Lastly, share your ideas
with your classmates.

Idea #1:

Idea #2:

Idea #3:

Idea #4:

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 Set Goals to
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Idea #5:
Upper-
Intermediate
6: Google Search: Type "setting goals" into Google news and read additional articles on
this topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings.

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 Set Goals to
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Upper-
STUDENT HANDOUT (the article) Intermediate

Set Goals to Succeed

Did you know that writing can increase productivity, help manage stress, and even reduce
depression? It also orders thoughts and emotions, and allows people to locate and solve
problems and negative feelings. What's more, writing allows the mind to brainstorm
solutions too, especially when goals are pursued. And yet, despite how powerful writing
can be, very few people undertake this practice. For example, it's estimated that less than
two percent of people write down goals.

A study recently conducted on university students shows the benefits of writing. The
positive results were clear for students who tend to be academically at risk for failure. Such
students often drop out because they may be underprepared for university or lack role
models, just to name two possible reasons. The university decided to intervene from the
start, and so new students reflected on important events from their past, identified key
personal motivators, and created plans for the future. Goals were specific, and strategies
to overcome possible problems were included too. The university then tracked these
students throughout their university experience.

As a result of the writing exercises, the dropout rate decreased and academic
achievement increased. In addition, two years after the exercise, any ethnic- and gender-
group differences in performance disappeared.

The study demonstrates that writing combined with setting goals can limit any damaging
beliefs students might have about their own academic performance. This is true even if the
belief comes from negative stereotypes which the students might personally presume.

The act of writing truly is more powerful than people think.

Notes:

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 Set Goals to
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STUDENT HANDOUT (fill in the blank) Intermediate
Fill in the blank with the correct word.
achievement presume powerful undertake
overcome estimated reduce intervene brainstorm
disappeared lack tracked stereotypes
demonstrates locate
Set Goals to Succeed
Did you know that writing can increase productivity, help manage stress, and even
(a. ) depression? It also orders thoughts and emotions, and allows people
to
(b. ) and solve problems and negative feelings. What's more, writing
allows the mind to (c. ) solutions too, especially when goals are
pursued. And yet, despite how powerful writing can be, very few people (d.
) this practice. For example, it's
(e. ) that less than two percent of people write down goals.

A study recently conducted on university students shows the benefits of writing. The
positive results were clear for students who tend to be academically at risk for failure.
Such students often drop out because they may be underprepared for university or (f.
) role models, just to name two possible
reasons. The university decided to (g. ) from the start, and so new students
reflected on important events from their past, identified key personal motivators, and
created plans for the future. Goals were specific, and strategies to (h. )
possible problems were included too. The university then (i. ) these
students throughout their university experience.

As a result of the writing exercises, the dropout rate decreased and academic (j.
) increased. In addition, two years after the exercise, any ethnic- and gender-
group differences in performance (k. ).

The study (l. ) that writing combined with setting goals can limit any
damaging beliefs students might have about their own academic performance. This
is true even if the belief comes from negative (m. ) which the students
might personally (n. ).

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 Set Goals to
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The act of writing truly is more (o. ) than people think.Upper-
Intermediate

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 Set Goals to
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Upper-
STUDENT HANDOUT (extended listening)
Intermediate
Listen and fill in the missing sentences. Compare your answers with a
partner, and then listen once more.

Set Goals to Succeed

Did you know that writing can increase productivity, help manage stress, and even reduce
depression? It also orders thoughts and emotions, and allows people to locate and solve
problems and negative feelings. What's
more, , especially when
a)

goals are pursued. And yet, despite how powerful writing can be, very few people
undertake this practice. For example, it's estimated that less than two percent of people
write down goals.

b) . The positive results

were
clear for students who tend to be academically at risk for failure. Such students often drop
out because they may be underprepared for university or lack role models, just to name two
possible reasons. The university decided to intervene from the start, and so new students
reflected on important events from their past, identified key personal motivators, and
created plans for the future. Goals were specific, and strategies to overcome possible
problems were included too. c)
.

As a result of the writing exercises, the dropout rate decreased and academic
achievement increased. In addition, two years after the exercise, d)
.

The study demonstrates that writing combined with setting goals can limit any damaging
beliefs students might have about their own academic performance. e)
.

The act of writing truly is more powerful than people think.

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 Set Goals to
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Upper-
STUDENT HANDOUT (notes) Intermediate

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ANSWER KEY Intermediate

Vocabulary
1. Vocabulary Match: 2. Fill in the Blanks:
a. v f. q a. reduce f.
b. z g. u overcome b. locate
c. r h. y g. tracked
d. x i. s c. undertake h.
e. t j. w achievement d. lack i.
demonstrates
e. intervene j. presume

pre- or post-Comprehension
1. True or False: 2. Fragments:
a. F a. increase productivity, help manage stress, and even reduce
b. F depression?

c. T b. of people write down

goals.
d. F
c. to overcome possible problems were
e. T
included too. d. decreased and academic
achievement increased. e. powerful than
people think.

Student Handout
1. Fill in the Blanks
a. reduce i. tracked
b. locate j.
achievement c. brainstorm
k. disappeared
d. undertake l.
demonstrates e. estimated
m. stereotypes
f. lack n.
presume g. intervene
o. powerful
h. overcome

2. Extended Listening
a. writing allows the mind to brainstorm solutions too
b. A study recently conducted on university students shows the benefits of writing
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 Set Goals to
c. The university then tracked these students throughout their Succeed
university experience d. any ethnic- and gender-group differences in Upper-
performance disappeared Intermediate
e. This is true even if the belief comes from negative stereotypes which the students might personally
presume

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