AIMS AND GOALS

Before setting up the curricular objectives an analysis of the students’ needs should be undertaken to avoid a serious mismatch between the English class and the students’ expectations.

·         The participants: age, command of the language, etc.

·         Purpose domain: what the FL is needed for.

·         Setting, where the activity will be carried out.

·         Interaction: potential participants in the interactive process.

·         Instrumentally: skills needed.

·         Communicative events: prediction of communicative situations.

·         Communicative situations and tasks that the students wish to learn English for.

·         Learning activities preferred by students (grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, textbook, tasks,…?)

·         Most important skills for students (speaking, listening, writing, reading?)

·         The kind of group work preferred (small groups, working in pairs, individual work, etc.?)

Aims and objectives for primary education:

Once teachers have obtained information about their students’ possible needs they can establish the goals to be achieved. Planning:

·         Appreciating the communicative value of the foreign language.

·         Understanding oral texts related to familiar situations.

·         Relating the spelling, pronunciation and meaning of words.

·         Using the foreign language for communication with the teacher and the other students.

·         Using non-verbal communication (paralanguage): gestures, body language.

·         Understanding and using the basic communicative functions.

·         Learning authentic and prefabricated/block language through rhymes, songs, jokes.

·         Comprehensive reading texts (adapted to the student’s profiency level)

·         Writing texts (e.g. written messages, postcards, letters, etc.)

·         Using the student’s cognitive development, knowledge and previous experiences with the L1.

·    Improving the students’ general and basic education by introducing cross-curricular contents and activities through the FL syllabus.