Goal Setting
WHAT: Goal setting is used as a summary of information about a learner's future goals that is placed in the "About Me" section of the Language Companion Portfolio. Each student must have an example of their English language goals in their portfolio.
WHY: Goal setting provides a way for teachers to get to know their students, including their real-world needs, and is used to inform planning and teaching throughout the course.
HOW: Start with introducing basic vocabulary and concepts of goals, and build up. It's very difficult for newcomers to pinpoint exactly what their goals are, but over time they may become more familiar with it. Goal setting is very closely related to needs assessment.
Goal Setting Warm-Ups, Activities and Strategies:
WHY: Goal setting provides a way for teachers to get to know their students, including their real-world needs, and is used to inform planning and teaching throughout the course.
HOW: Start with introducing basic vocabulary and concepts of goals, and build up. It's very difficult for newcomers to pinpoint exactly what their goals are, but over time they may become more familiar with it. Goal setting is very closely related to needs assessment.
Goal Setting Warm-Ups, Activities and Strategies:
- Brainstorm goals they have already achieved in the past (moving to Canada, starting English class, having a family, buying a house, learning to drive, etc.)
- Pick from a list of common goals (English and/or life goals)
- Answer the statement “I don’t know how to…”, or “I wish I knew how to…”
- Think about hopes and dreams for the future (personal/professional etc.) and pick out what English is needed for those things
- Set small, achievable group goals for the whole class (e.g., by the end of this week, we will all know everyone’s name in the class; by the end of this topic, you will know how to ask someone for help, etc.)
- Discuss “SMART” goals and do an activity to show examples
- Have students try to help a friend, relative, or classmate come up with some goals/advice to help them improve
- Review goals periodically to see what progress is being made
- Set long-term and short-term goals
- Come up with an action plan of how to achieve goals
- Set goals for specific topics or skills
- Use the CLB Can-Do checklists to choose CLB-specific language goals
- Do “taboo” goal setting where students aren’t allowed to use certain words (e.g, improve, all, everyone, everywhere, everything, perfect, etc.)
Samples
Samples are provided in Word format as they should be adapted and modified for your own students and level.
To download the documents below, you can either click on the button under each image (downloads to your computer directly) or download from Scribd by clicking on the download arrow icon (requires a login/password - free).
To download the documents below, you can either click on the button under each image (downloads to your computer directly) or download from Scribd by clicking on the download arrow icon (requires a login/password - free).
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Blank board game templates are great way to help students visualize an action plan and how much progress they make toward their goal.
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