Subsidiary Aims
Secondary learning outcomes that support the main lesson aim, typically involving enabling language, sub-skills, or complementary skills that learners need in order to achieve the primary outcome. A lesson with a main skills aim will usually have subsidiary language aims, and vice versa.
Definition
Spratt, Pulverness, and Williams (2011) define subsidiary aims as "the secondary focuses of a lesson" — aims that are less prominent than the main aim but still contribute to the overall learning. They are not afterthoughts; they are planned outcomes that the teacher deliberately builds into the lesson.
Scrivener (2011) uses the term "subsidiary aims" to describe what happens in stages that are not the lesson's centrepiece but still produce learning — for example, a pre-reading vocabulary stage in a reading skills lesson has a subsidiary vocabulary aim.
How Subsidiary Aims Relate to Main Aims
| Main Aim | Subsidiary Aim(s) |
|---|---|
| Skills aim: Reading for gist | Vocabulary: key topic-related lexis encountered in the text |
| Language aim: Present perfect for experience | Speaking: fluency practice using the target structure in a personalised activity |
| Skills aim: Listening for specific information | Grammar: recognising past simple vs present perfect in spoken input |
| Function aim: Making complaints | Pronunciation: appropriate intonation for polite vs aggressive complaints |
The relationship is always supportive: subsidiary aims create the conditions for the main aim to be achieved, or they capture learning that naturally occurs as a by-product of working toward the main aim.
Key Distinctions
Subsidiary Aims vs Stage Aims
- Subsidiary aims are stated for the lesson as a whole — they describe what learners will gain alongside the main aim
- Stage aims describe what a specific stage of the lesson is trying to achieve (e.g., "to pre-teach blocking vocabulary")
A stage aim contributes to either the main aim or a subsidiary aim. In formal lesson planning (CELTA, DELTA), both are typically stated.
Subsidiary Aims vs Personal Aims
- Subsidiary aims = what learners will achieve
- Personal aims = what the teacher wants to improve about their own practice (e.g., "give clearer instructions", "increase student talking time")
Enabling vs Complementary Subsidiary Aims
- Enabling: Skills or language learners need before they can tackle the main aim (e.g., pre-teaching vocabulary before a reading task)
- Complementary: Skills practised alongside the main aim as natural by-products (e.g., speaking fluency developed during a post-reading discussion)
Why It Matters for ELT
- Realistic planning: A single lesson always achieves more than one thing — subsidiary aims make this explicit
- Integrated Skills: Acknowledging subsidiary skill work is how teachers plan for natural skill integration
- Lesson coherence: Every stage should serve either the main aim or a subsidiary aim — if it serves neither, it does not belong in the lesson
- Professional planning: CELTA and DELTA require explicit subsidiary aims; the Cambridge Teaching Framework expects this at Developing stage and above
- Assessment awareness: Knowing all the aims (main + subsidiary) helps the teacher monitor multiple learning outcomes during the lesson
Common Mistakes
- No subsidiary aims stated: The teacher focuses only on the main aim and misses the learning embedded in supporting stages
- Too many subsidiary aims: More than 2–3 subsidiary aims suggests the lesson is unfocused or trying to do too much
- Subsidiary aim competes with main aim: If the subsidiary aim requires as much time and attention as the main aim, it should probably be the main aim of a different lesson
- Confusing procedures with aims: "Students will do a gap-fill" is a procedure; "Students will practise using collocations with make and do" is a subsidiary aim
Key References
- Scrivener, J. (2011). Learning Teaching (3rd ed.). Macmillan. Chapter 7.
- Spratt, M., Pulverness, A. & Williams, M. (2011). The TKT Course (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. Module 2.
- Harmer, J. (2015). The Practice of English Language Teaching (5th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 12.
- Woodward, T. (2001). Planning Lessons and Courses. Cambridge University Press.
See Also
- Lesson Aims — the main intended learning outcome
- Staging — how stages serve the lesson's aims
- Integrated Skills — subsidiary aims often capture skill integration
- Learning Outcomes — the broader curriculum-level concept