What are content and language objectives?

Summary

The transcript explains the distinction between content and language objectives in education. Content objectives focus on what students should know and do, while language objectives define the language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) students will use. These objectives help English language learners communicate about academic content and engage in higher-order thinking. Examples from various subjects, such as math and science, highlight how language skills like listening and speaking enhance students' ability to understand and interact with content, making language objectives a key component in supporting students' academic success.

Takeaways

• 😀 Content objectives specify what students should know and be able to do.
• 😀 Content objectives are derived from the curriculum or unit plans.
• 😀 Language objectives focus on the language skills students will use, such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• 😀 Language objectives may target receptive language (listening and reading) or expressive language (speaking and writing).
• 😀 Language objectives help activate higher-order thinking and student interaction with content.
• 😀 In math, students may be expected to identify parallelograms, and the language objective may involve listening to descriptions and drawing them.
• 😀 In science, the content objective might involve designing an experiment, while the language objective focuses on students sharing their knowledge through speaking and listening.
• 😀 Language objectives are especially important for English Language Learners, helping them acquire the language skills needed to meet lesson goals.
• 😀 Language objectives are crucial for communicating academic content and ensuring students can interact with the material in a meaningful way.
• 😀 Both content and language objectives should be integrated to provide a comprehensive learning experience, especially for English language learners.

Q & A

What are content objectives in a lesson plan?

Content objectives specify what students should know and be able to do. These objectives are typically derived from the curriculum standards or unit plans.

What do language objectives focus on in a lesson?

Language objectives explain what language skills or processes students will use during the lesson, such as listening, speaking, reading, or writing.

How do language objectives relate to higher-order thinking?

Language objectives help facilitate higher-order thinking by encouraging students to interact with content through various language skills, enhancing their understanding and engagement.

What is an example of a content objective in a math lesson?

In a math lesson, a content objective could be for students to identify different types of parallelograms.

What could a language objective be in a math class when teaching parallelograms?

A language objective in this context could be for students to listen to teacher descriptions and then draw different types of parallelograms, activating their listening skills.

How do language objectives help English Language Learners (ELLs)?

Language objectives equip English Language Learners with the necessary language skills to achieve the goals of the lesson and communicate about content using academic language.

In a science lesson, what would a content objective involve?

A content objective in science could be for students to design and experiment to test the effect of force on an object.

What might a language objective be for students in a science lesson?

In science, a language objective could involve students working in cooperative groups to share what they know about designing experiments, which activates both speaking and listening skills.

What types of language skills are activated by language objectives?

Language objectives activate either expressive language skills, such as speaking and writing, or receptive language skills, such as listening and reading.

Why are language objectives important in content lessons?

Language objectives are important because they help students engage with the content in meaningful ways by using language skills, thus deepening their understanding of the subject matter.