Writing Objectives

The objectives we ask teachers to write in the CoBaLTT program are very specific and detailed. It has been our experience as teacher educators that the more specific teachers can be about the objectives they have for a lesson, the better able they are to integrate language and content instruction in the lesson in meaningful ways.

Categories of Objectives for CBI:

In content-based instruction, objectives should be divided into a number of categories.  At least two categories—content and language—are necessary, but others can also be added; for example, "Learning Strategy/Skills Development" objectives may include mention of specific learning strategies or technology skills or social skills that students are expected to utilize in the lesson.  "Cultural objectives" may also be included.

Content Objectives

Like content goals, content objectives refer to concepts related to the academic content of the lesson or the topic of the lesson. 

Students will:

•  display an understanding of the cinematic elements that define film genres.
•  demonstrate an understanding of some of the reasons why some indigenous peoples flee Central America and seek refuge in the United States.
•  identify the primary geographic regions of Spain.

Culture Objectives

Culture objectives identify learning about a particular culture or may involve cross-cultural comparisons.

Students will:

• display an understanding of the unique genres of Japanese film.
• demonstrate an understanding of Spain’s geographic features by comparing them to familiar geographic features in the U.S.

Learning Strategy or Skills Development Objectives

These objectives identify specific strategies or skills (Chamot et al., 1999; O’Malley & Chamot, 1990), e.g., reading strategies such as using context clues, or development of technology skills. Social objectives involve student learning behaviors or small group cooperation.

Students will:

• identify cognates and use context clues to find the meaning of unknown words.
• show the ability to work independently
• work cooperatively in pairs to complete assigned tasks.

Language Objectives

Language objectives refer to linguistic concepts, including vocabulary, communicative functions, and grammatical structures. In CBI, language objectives should be divided into two categories—content-obligatory language objectives and content-compatible language objectives. According to Snow, Met and Genesee (1989), content-obligatory language objectives reflect language that is essential for understanding and talking about the content. Content-compatible language objectives emerge directly from the foreign language curriculum. “Content-compatible language objectives can be taught within the context of a given content but are not required for successful content mastery” (Snow et al., 1989, p. 206, authors’ emphasis). These objectives answer the question: What additional language (vocabulary, structures, etc.) can be taught within the context of this unit that don’t emerge directly from the content? To further understand the distinction between these two types of language objectives, see the features of content-obligatory and content-compatible language objectives (PDF).

Most language objectives are best written with a “formula” in mind to link the grammatical structures that are necessary for carrying out a specific communicative or academic function along with the words or phrases necessary for doing so. The following formula was developed by Tara Fortune to help immersion teachers write more specific language objectives. Later, you will have an opportunity to check how well you understand the formula (see Formula for Writing) and to practice using the formula to write objectives (see Write Objectives).

The "formula" for Language Objectives:

Students will use X (grammatical structure) to Y (communicative function) with Z (words/word groups).

For example,

Students will use prepositional phrases to identify the relative location of places with phrases such as to the south of, to the west of, to the north of, beside, between, etc.

Or:

To identify the relative location of places, students will use prepositional phrases such as to the south of, to the west of, to the north of, beside, between, etc.

Or:

Students will use prepositional phrases such as to the south of, to the west of, to the north of, beside, between, etc. to identify the relative location of places.

Examples of content-obligatory language objectives

Students will:

• use the present tense (3rd person sing/plural) to identify the location of geographical regions with the verb estar and directions, al norte (north), al sur (south), al este (east), al oeste (west) and vocabulary such as el océano atlántico, el mar mediterráneo, el mar cantábrico, Portugal, España, Francia, país (Francia está al norte; Portugal está al oeste de España etc.)
• use hay (there is/are) to identify geographical features with terms like las montañas, el río, el desierto, el bosque, la costa
• use prepositions with estar in the present tense to identify locations with phrases like La Sierra Nevada está en el sur del país.
• demonstrate understanding of what/where questions, such as ¿Dónde están los pirineos?
  

Examples of content-compatible language objectives

Students will:

• use the present tense to make comparisons between Spain and the U.S. with the verb ser (3rd person sing/plural) and como, e.g., El oeste de España (Extremadura) es como el estado de Nuevo México.
• use the present tense to express like/dislikes related to geographic preferences with prefiero, me gusta/n and no me gusta/n. E.g., No me gustan las montañas; prefiero la costa.
  

Sources:

Chamot, A. U., Barnhardt, S., El-Dinary, P. B., & Robbins, J. (1999). The learning strategies handbook. White Plains, NY: Addison-Wesley Longman.

O’Malley, J. M., & Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning strategies in second language acquisition. NY: Cambridge University Press.

National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project. (1999). Standards for foreign language learning in the 21st century. Yonkers, NY: National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project.

Snow, M. A., Met, M., & Genesee, F. (1989). A conceptual framework for the integration of language and content instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 23, 201-217.