Aims and concepts

Aims and concepts
For our task we are assuming that the students have recently been introduced to the structure and use of the present
perfect.
It’s important to have clear and realistic aims for your lessons. One way to check this is actually to write out what your
objectives are. Here’s an example for our lesson:
Aim To present and provide practice of the use of ‘for’ and ‘since’ with the present perfect.
This is a clear but basic statement of aims. The language point is shown but without any natural context. It is helpful also to
define the overall concept or meaning of the target language when it is used naturally. For our teaching point we need to
consider when native speakers use ‘for’ and ‘since’ with the present perfect. We can now adjust our aim accordingly.
Aim To present and provide practice of the use of ‘for’ and ‘since’ with the present perfect when talking about the
duration of a continuing state or action.
It is important to identify the concept of your target language. Many language items are used in different ways, with
different concepts. For example, the present continuous aspect. The present continuous can be used to describe an action
that is in progress at the moment of speaking, for example, ‘I’m working on my computer at the moment.’ However, it can
also be used to refer to a future planned arrangement, such as, ‘I’m seeing my mother next weekend.’
Although the language point is the same, the concepts are different. It can be confusing for students if different concepts
are not clearly identified or are mixed up during a presentation. By expressing the concept in the aims, it provides a focus
for the planning and that can help to prevent possible confusion. Every planned activity and every marker sentence can be
referred back to the aim, to check that it does actually fit the concept you are trying to teach. It is essential to make sure
that the exercises and activities you decide to do actually fit your aims.