Reconceptualizing language teaching: an in-service teacher education course in uzbekistan

Backwards Design. Goals are not the same as standards (as explained 
in 5.1). Often standards are not appropriate for learners and thus, become 
unrealistic and unachievable. To solve this problem, we may use another 
way of setting the goals for our learners – what we want to have at the end 
of a course. Then, go backwards from that point. This design, or template, is 
called Backwards Design. 
Backwards Design consists of three stages: 1) identifying desired results; 
2) determining acceptable evidence; and 3) planning learning experiences 
and instructions (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Following this procedure, we 
set achievable goals appropriate for our learners and then plan the lesson 
(or a course) accordingly, thinking what steps we need to take (objectives) 
to achieve our goals. 
TASK
Imagine you were invited to teach English to twenty teenagers at 
the Language Center who range from elementary to pre-intermediate 
level. They need English to apply to international universities. You have six 
months to prepare them. Write the goals and objectives for this course; 
or, write the goals and objectives for your class of students that you teach 
at the university using Backwards Design.
SUMMARY
Foreign/second language teaching must have clear goals and objec-
tives; otherwise, a teacher will not be able to lead the learners to a measur-
able result. A metaphor often associated with goals and objectives is a road 
map: a road map because it supports both students and teachers in the 
teaching and learning of languages.
HOMEWORK TASK SIXTEEN
Write clearly (and finalize) the cognitive, performance, and affective 
goals and the objectives for your lesson for Homework Task One. Make sure 
each goal is MEASURABLE – you can justify with data that learning has hap-
pened. 

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RECONCEPTUALIZING LANGUAGE TEACHING
RESOURCES
1. https://youtu.be/aOnN1iVGMO4
– SMART goals
2. https://youtu.be/nq0Ou1li_p0
– using Bloom’s Taxonomy to write 
objectives
3. https://youtu.be/g_Xm5IljYKQ
– goals, objectives and learning 
outcomes for designing a course
4. https://youtu.be/82Ph6r7Gobk
– writing effective learning out-
comes and objectives
5. https://youtu.be/_woMKwBxhwU
– creating learning objectives
6. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/understand-
ing-by-design/
– Backwards Design, by Grant Wiggins and Jay Mc-
Tighe
7. https://www.edglossary.org/backward-design/
– Backwards De-
sign, Glossary 
REFERENCES
1. Cook, V. (2013). What are the goals of language teaching? Iranian 
Journal of Language Teaching Research
, 1(1), 44-56.
2. Golombek, P. R., & Doran, M. (2014). Unifying cognition, emotion, 
and activity in language teacher professional development. Teach-
ing and Teacher Education
, 39, 102-111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
tate.2014.01.002.
3. Graves, K. (2000). Designing language courses: A guide for teachers. 
Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Johnson, K. E., & Golombek, P. R. (2016). 
Mindful L2 teacher education: A sociocultural perspective on cultivat-
ing teachers’ professional development
. New York: Routledge. 
4. Leung, C. & Scarino, A. (2016). Reconceptualizing the nature of 
goals and outcomes in language(s) education. The Modern Lan-
guage Journal
, 100, 81-95.
5. Richards, J. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. 
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
6. Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT 
Press. 
7. Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. ASCD: 
USA.

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CHAPTER FIVE: FROM SYLLABUS DESIGN TO LESSON PLANNING