Lesson Aims
The main intended learning outcomes of a lesson — what learners will be able to do, know, or demonstrate by the end of the lesson that they could not do at the start. The lesson aim is the single most important element of lesson planning because everything else (staging, materials, timing, interaction patterns) should serve it.
Definition
Scrivener (2011, p. 128) defines the lesson aim as "a description of what learners will be able to do at the end of the lesson (or at the end of a certain stage) that they couldn't do at the start." Harmer (2015) emphasises that aims should be stated in terms of learner outcomes, not teacher actions — "Students will be able to..." rather than "The teacher will present..."
The British Council/Cambridge TKT distinguishes between:
- Main aim: The primary learning outcome — the reason for the lesson
- Subsidiary Aims: Secondary outcomes that support the main aim
- Personal aims: The teacher's own development goals (e.g., "reduce TTT", "improve board work")
Writing Effective Aims
The SMART Principle
Good lesson aims are:
- Specific: Target a defined skill, function, or language point — not "improve speaking"
- Measurable: Observable in learner performance — can you tell if they achieved it?
- Achievable: Realistic for the level, class size, and time available
- Relevant: Connected to learner needs and the Scheme of Work
- Time-bound: Achievable within the lesson
Aim Types
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Language aim | By the end of the lesson, students will be able to use the present perfect to talk about life experiences |
| Skills aim | By the end of the lesson, students will be better able to read for specific information in job advertisements |
| Function aim | By the end of the lesson, students will be able to make and respond to suggestions using appropriate language |
| Pronunciation aim | By the end of the lesson, students will be able to produce weak forms of auxiliary verbs in connected speech |
Common Mistakes
- Too vague: "Students will learn about the past simple" — learn what about it?
- Teacher-focused: "I will teach the second conditional" — what will learners do?
- Too ambitious: Multiple unrelated aims crammed into 60 minutes
- Unmeasurable: "Students will understand culture" — how would you know?
- Activity-based: "Students will do a role-play" — that is a procedure, not an aim
Aims and Lesson Shape
The main aim determines the lesson's architecture:
- A language aim typically requires a PPP, Test-Teach-Test, or Guided Discovery framework
- A skills aim suggests a receptive or productive skills lesson structure
- A function aim may use a situational or task-based approach
Everything in the lesson should contribute to the main aim. If a stage does not serve it (directly or through a subsidiary aim), the stage should be questioned.
Aims in Formal Lesson Planning
In CELTA and DELTA lesson plans, aims are stated at the top and serve as the benchmark against which the lesson is evaluated:
- Did the learners achieve the main aim?
- Were the subsidiary aims addressed?
- Did the teacher meet their personal aims?
The Cambridge English Teaching Framework expects teachers at Developing stage and above to articulate clear aims and reflect on whether they were achieved.
Why It Matters for ELT
- Focus: Prevents lessons from drifting into unfocused activity sequences
- Coherence: Gives a lesson shape — every stage has a purpose relative to the aim
- Assessment: You can only evaluate a lesson's success if you know what it was trying to achieve
- Communication: Sharing aims with learners increases engagement and metacognitive awareness
- Professional development: Writing and evaluating aims is a core teacher competency at every career stage
Key References
- Scrivener, J. (2011). Learning Teaching (3rd ed.). Macmillan. Chapter 7.
- Harmer, J. (2015). The Practice of English Language Teaching (5th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 12.
- Spratt, M., Pulverness, A. & Williams, M. (2011). The TKT Course (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Woodward, T. (2001). Planning Lessons and Courses. Cambridge University Press.
- Bloom, B.S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Longman. (Foundation for measurable objectives)
See Also
- Subsidiary Aims — secondary aims that support the main aim
- Learning Outcomes — the broader curriculum concept
- Staging — how lesson stages serve the aims
- Backward Design — designing from outcomes backwards