Goals and Objectives in language teaching

Goals & Objective

A guide to differenciate these two concepts.

Objectives

Goals

Goals are the general statements for the purpose of a programme..

Objetices are specific statements for particular purposes

Specific

General

Differences

Include three characteristics:

• Perfomance
• Conditions
• Criterion.

These can be based on functional situational and structural issues.

Process from Goals to Objectives

State clear and unambigous objectives

Establish general goals

Consider potencial objetives

Need Analysis

Objectives become Instructional Objectives when they contain:

Goals can be stated in Cognitive or Affective domains.

Break the goals into the smallsts unit of study.

• subject
• performance
• conditions
• measure
• criterion

Cognitive are based on the knowledge or skills to develop.

Affective is related to emotions, feelings and values.

Arguments

Objectives

• are related to behaviourism
• there are unquantified things
• trivialization of teaching
• limit teachers' freedom
• lang. learning implies more than objetives

• from behaviour to instructional
• the more specific the more useful
• should be observable not trivial
• can be design by teachers
• can be linked to many language issues

Adaptada por Ricardo Arreola Fernández