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.