Getting There

Setting Goals is Crucial for Adult English Language Learners

by Clarena Larrotta

Instructors need to plan and create strategies to help adult English language learners determine what they need and want to learn. Helping them to clarify and commit to realizable learning goals increases learner motivation and retention (Bello, 2000; Moss & Ross-Feldman, 2003). For the instructor, identifying the students’ learning needs is useful in developing curricula, assessment, and teaching approaches (Weddel & VanDuzer, 1997). It assures the implementation of a flexible curriculum that addresses students’ needs rather than a fixed curriculum determined ahead of time by programs and instructors. Instructors can identify students’ learning goals through surveys, interviews, class discussions, and journals. Regardless of the method, it is important to help learners establish in writing their learning goals and to monitor that they are being proactive in accomplishing them.

Working as an English instructor at an adult literacy center in central Texas, I realized that even though all instructors asked students to identify their learning goals, there was not a follow up plan that monitored whether goals were being met. Each month students filled out a form provided by the center entitled “student monthly goals.” One of my students, Alfonso, shared: “I thought you were going to be just another teacher asking…what do you want to learn? Teachers forgot about what we said but not you...Every time in class, you ask us to check our personal learning goals and reflect on them.” Another student, Fabio, said: “I want to learn to write longer sentences and pronunciation.” However, some students were unaware of their learning needs. Pedro said: “I’m not sure. I want learn English.” Yet another student, Felicia, said: “In level 2 with other teacher…I wrote I don’t know write English. I want to be in level one…it didn’t happen.” These comments illustrate what some students in the program had experienced setting their monthly learning goals.

In our class we proposed learning goals and worked on achieving them. The first day of class, the students made a list and came up with goals such as “I want to talk to anybody freely. I need to learn grammar, vocabulary and practice. I want to read and write better to get a good job. Come to class on Monday and Wednesday. Learn more verbs. Construct longer sentences.” I collected their goals, made a handout, and asked them to identify with a check mark the ones that applied to them individually. Knowing about their classmates’ goals helped the class to collectively achieve them and realize that their learning goals were similar. It was also helpful when trying to guide the students who did not have clear goals or did not know how to articulate them in words. I asked students to keep track of the list and to determine ways to accomplish their goals.

At the beginning of every class we came back to this list and made individual contracts so that every student was in charge of monitoring the accomplishment of their personal learning goals throughout the semester. Monitoring the students’ goals helped to verify that their learning needs had remained the same or had changed and to make the necessary adjustments in order to meet them. The last day of class the students examined their learning experiences up to that point and established new goals in order to continue with their learning. I wanted them to realize that being promoted to a new English course and having a new teacher and classmates were not impediments to continue working toward accomplishing their personal learning goals. As a result they made a new list of learning goals to be accomplished during the following term.

As the class instructor, I was able to identify the students’ individual learning needs and realized that these learners come to the literacy program for many reasons (e.g., to start their own business, become their own boss, help their children with school, obtain a degree or better employment). I also learned that the students’ learning goals changed with the new events and challenges they faced at their workplaces and their individual lives outside the classroom. Establishing learning goals is a continual process that takes place through the duration of the course. Learners’ needs and goals should be discussed on an ongoing basis (Weddel & VanDuzer, 1997) because they are connected to the dynamic lives of the adult students. Curriculum content and learning experiences should be negotiated between learners and instructor at the beginning and during the course (Larrotta, 2006). When adult learners realize that their English class is designed to cater to their learning needs, they feel more motivated to attend these classes and make the effort to keep enrolled and attending.

References

Bello, T. (2000). The importance of helping adult ESL students set goals. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED445562).

Larrotta, C. (2006). Negotiating the ESL Curriculum in an Adult Literacy Program: A Teacher Researcher’s Perspective. In D. Schwarzer, M. Bloom & S. Shono (Eds.) Research as a tool for empowerment: Theory informing practice. Research in Second Language Learning Volume IV.

Moss, D., & Ross-Feldman, L. (2003). Second language acquisition in adults: From research to practice. Center for Applied Linguistics. Washington, DC.

Weddel, K. S., & VanDuzer, C. (1997). Needs assessment for ESL learners. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED407882).

About the Author

Clarena Larrotta is assistant professor at Texas State University-San Marcos in Adult, Professional, and Community Education.