Defining objectives

Objectives guide teachers and help learners understand where the course is going. A course would therefore be aimless without them. Some teachers as well as learners might struggle not being given clear objectives. It is certainly possible to use teaching materials while not having a clear goal in mind. Nevertheless, having objectives provides both teachers and learners with specific outcomes of a course and therefore enable teacher to assess learning (McNeil, 8). In other words, objectives make it possible to evaluate progress. Part of assessment’s success therefore depends on clearly stated objectives. 

In order to facilitate stating course objectives and selecting content, information gathering must take place. Thanks to what is referred to as fact-finding stage, one can design a course that suits the needs of the learners as well as the environment as such. According to Dubin and Olhstain it is the answers to the questions below that become the basis for formulating objectives (1990, 6).

1. Who are the learners?

2. Who are the teachers?

3. Why is the program necessary?

4. Where will the program be implemented?

5. How will the program be implemented?

McNeil, John D. Curriculum: A Comprehensive Introduction. Boston: Little, Brown, 1977. Print.

Dubin, Fraida, and Elite Olshtain. Course Design: Developing Programs and Materials for Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990. Print.

7 steps of course design

First steps in course design may vary. While some begin by having fixed content, others start with given learning outcomes, although, ideally, the course design process should not take off until the needs of the participants are diagnosed.

In her book on curriculum development, Taba lists 7 steps for course designers to follow. Not only are the steps exhaustive and encompassing enough to be used by the majority of course designers, but they also come in recommended order for designers to follow.

Steps for course designers to follow by Hilda Taba

1. Diagnosis of needs

2. Formulation of objectives

3. Selection of content

4. Organization of content

5. Selection of learning experiences

6. Organization of learning experiences

7. Determination of what to evaluate, and the means to evaluate

By looking at Taba’s seven steps, it is obvious that getting to know the needs of the target learners is the starting point. Based on that, objectives can be formulated. Once the objectives are stated, one can select and organize the content. In my opinion, steps three through seven may turn out as a cyclical process as selection of learning experiences may come before selecting content and vice versa. Likewise, what to evaluate might be defined prior to selection of content and learning experience.

Taba, Hilda. Curriculum Development ; Theory and Practice. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962. Print.

Planning requires training

Language teachers are trained for classroom practice. However, their ability to plan courses and write teaching materials might be overlooked during their training. It is often what teacher as well as learners do in class that is of primary concern of training courses. Since courses are planned and materials written by course designers working for established publishing houses, teacher are supposed to focus their attention on lesson planning and execution of their lesson plans.

Nevertheless, at some points of their careers, language teachers might be faced with an opportunity to plan a brand new course and / or write appropriate materials. Doing so, however, requires specific skills as writing teaching materials differs from using teaching materials in practice. In order to plan a course and write materials one must become familiar with available tools and procedures that will facilitate the process of course creation (Dubin and Olshtain, 1990, p. 1).

There is a difference between planning one’s own teaching and planning a course that will be used by others. Let us have a look at an analogous example illustrating the difference between planning a lesson for oneself and doing the same for someone else. No one will deny that when planning a lesson the majority of information stays in the mind of the planner since it is pointless putting it down on paper. In other words the majority of teaching takes place thanks to the skill of a teacher and the plan simply supports the teaching and often merely serves to jog the teacher’s memory. It is a totally different ballgame when one is supposed to plan for another teacher, let alone an unknown audience of teachers. The point is that there are a number of factors to take into consideration when planning a course and writing materials for other teachers to use. Dubin and Olshtain suggest that one needs to use “a different frame of reference, to acquire new perspectives.”   

Dubin, Fraida, and Elite Olshtain. Course Design: Developing Programs and Materials for Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986. Print.