How to set effective language learning goals
Lesson plan overview
This free ESL worksheet is perfect to be used as the first lesson of a language course as it will help your students set their goals and create a curriculum according to their needs. Students learn how to set effective language learning goals, collocations and vocabulary with the word “goal” and set their own English learning goals. Other related lesson are “The secrets to effective learning“, “End of the year reflection“, “Idioms: New Year“, where the topic of New Year’s resolutions is discussed and “Idioms: goals”.
The lesson begins with an initial discussion on language ability and ways to learn a language. Students discuss the questions given.
After that, students write their language learning goals.
Collocations: Students learn verb+noun collocations with the word goal by choosing the incorrect alternative in each sentence. To practise, they complete a few sentences with their personal opinion and experiences.
Listening: Students watch a video “How to set SMART language learning goals” and complete 2 note-taking activities.
With their newly-acquired knowledge about goal-setting, students look at a few examples of poor language learning goals and discuss what is wrong about each one and how to improve it.
In the last activity, students write and edit the goals they have mentioned earlier, this time using the SMART goal-setting framework.
The lesson concludes with time for reflection on the new vocabulary and error correction.
Homework: 3 research topics are given to help reinforce the target vocabulary from this lesson.
Students can also practise with the additional articles and videos provided on www.theenglishflows.com
Pre-class activities
All video-based ESL lesson plans include online pre-class activities, which are FREE and can be completed without registration. Perfect for teachers who wish to embrace the blended learning approach. By providing students with resources and engagement opportunities before the actual class session, educators can foster active participation, enhance comprehension, and optimise in-class discussions.
The pre-class activities are optional: if you choose not to assign them, or your students don’t complete them, it will not disturb the flow of the class. You can find and review the pre-class activities for this lesson plan here:
To send the pre-class activities to your students, copy the link below.
In-class activities
Conversation cards PDF
Additional resources
Each video-based lesson plan includes links to additional resources (videos and articles), which are FREE can be found online (in the pre-class activities page. These links aim to extend the learning experience, enabling students to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications.
Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
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