Let’s spend a few minutes reflecting on
what appropriate learning objectives are. All
teachers should write down exactly what they
want students to learn throughout a lesson.
The learning objectives are concrete sentences
explaining what we want our students to
know or be able to do after the lesson. To
create a basic learning objective, you can fill
in the blank: “After this lesson, my students
should be able to (active verb) _________.”
Some active verbs you can use include list,
describe, organize, and recognize. These learn
-
ing objectives should directly relate to the
functions of English in your country. Take a
moment to think about which of the follow
-
ing learning objectives would be appropriate
for a teacher in an ABC high school:
1. After the lesson, my students will be able
to recognize symbolism in a short story.
2. After the lesson, my students will be able
to start a conversation with foreigners.
3. After the lesson, my students will be
able to summarize their classmates’
opinions about foreign music.
4. After the lesson, my students will be
able to develop a draft of their personal
narrative essays.
5. After the lesson, my students will be
able to create and write a new amend
-
ment to the U.S. Constitution.
The first learning objective is problem
-
atic because in the general public high school
course, there is little need for literature in Eng
-
lish. The second learning objective, though, is
excellent; the high school students will encoun
-
ter this function of English and may have
personal experience using English this way. The
third learning objective is reasonable because
students probably listen to songs in English,
both by ABC artists and by foreign artists. The
fourth learning objective is also appropriate
because the teacher is guiding students to use
English to describe and analyze their own expe
-
riences. However, the fifth learning objective is
inappropriate for English use in ABC because
English does not play a regulative function in
ABC, and students in high school and univer
-
sity do not need to use English in this way.
Let me explain further why the first and
fifth objectives are unnecessary in the ABC
high school English class. Though English
does fulfill an imaginative/innovative func
-
tion in ABC, that function is fulfilled in song
lyrics, newspaper articles, and advertisements,
not in fictional literature. If literature is taught
in the high school English classroom, the
class should be specialized English, such as an
English literature course, specifically for those
high school students who will go to college
and perhaps major in English studies. Few
high schools in ABC would have such spe
-
cialized classes. Additionally, the fifth objec
-
tive is inappropriate since English does not
fulfill a regulative function in ABC. The only
ABC students for whom this learning objec
-
tive would be appropriate are those students
in a university who would like to continue
their studies in the United States, particularly
students who hope to become lawyers, since
this learning objective is designed to teach
students about specific U.S. laws. Actually, the
two inappropriate learning objectives listed
above could be appropriate for specific audi
-
ences, but those audiences don’t include a
whole class in an ABC high school.
In conclusion, teaching the NSs how to
create learning objectives that are in line with
your country’s culture of English—in other
words, that follow the functions of English in
your country—is important for the appropriate
use of English by the students. (Please note that
when speaking about the culture of English in a
country, I have not mentioned standards set by
ministries of education: curriculum standards,
teaching standards, or learner standards. If your
country has developed standards that all teach
-
ers follow, please introduce these to the NSs
with examples of how teachers adhere to them.
If the curriculum, teachers, and students do
not follow the standards, you might not need
to mention them.)