1. Goals and strategies for learning English

2. Listening – I want to be able to…
listen to the news.
understand my doctor.
understand phone messages.
understand automated phone messages.
watch movies in English.
watch TV programs in English.

3. Listening – I want to be able to…
understand advertisements.
understand announcements.
understand instructions.
understand directions.
understand Canadian speakers.
understand small talk conversations.

4. Speaking – I want to be able to…
talk to my doctor.
talk to my child’s teacher.
talk to my landlord.
talk about my work experience.
speak in meetings.
make small talk with neighbours and colleagues.

5. Speaking – I want to be able to…
have discussions.
have conversations about the news.
give instructions.
make presentations.
give my opinions clearly.
make polite requests.
make telephone calls and leave messages.

6. Speaking – I want to be able to…
speak faster / more fluently.
speak more clearly.
pronounce the sound …… correctly.

7. Reading – I want to be able to read…
simple books / stories.
brochures / pamphlets.
the newspaper.
bills and bank statements.
timetables and schedules.
websites to find information (about health, education, jobs, financial services etc.).
letters from the government. s.
articles.

8. Writing – I want to be able to…
fill out forms.
write clear sentences with a subject, verb and object.
write short paragraphs.
write short stories about my life.
write short s to friends.
write notes / s to my child’s teacher.
reduce the number of spelling mistakes in my writing
write with the correct punctuation.

9. Grammar – I want to be able to…
use the present perfect and past simple tenses correctly.
use the present simple and present continuous tenses correctly.
talk about future plans.
use like to and would like to correctly.
use correct sentence structure and word order.
use prepositions correctly.
find and stop making my most frequent grammar mistakes.

10. Vocabulary – I want to be able to…
learn ….new words every week / by the end of the course.
learn some ways to learn and remember vocabulary.
learn vocabulary about the topic of ... .

11. Strategies I will try at home to help me reach my goals:

12. To improve my listening I will
listen to the radio 10 min a day.
listen to the websites 30 min a day and do the exercises after each listening activity.
watch news on TV 20 min every day.

13. To improve my listening I will
call 311 to find more information about City of Calgary services and make notes.
watch my favourite TV show in English with English subtitles.
listen to weekly newscast on Learning English with CBC Calgary.

14. To improve my listening I will
call a bank /business / the library when it is closed and listen to the recorded message. Take notes of opening times and other information.
listen to conversations on the C-train/bus and try to understand what they are talking about.

15. To improve my speaking I will
volunteer and get involved in the community.
register at the library for ESL Coffee and Conversation.
record myself speaking about a topic we covered in class for 2 minutes, without stopping, then listen to my speech.

16. To improve my speaking I will
read books to my children every night in English.
search on YouTube for videos of conversations I want to practice (e.g. talking to a doctor, job interview, parent- teacher interview at school, telephone conversations etc.).
try to use new words and idioms I learned in class outside of class.

17. To improve my speaking I will
participate actively in class discussion/speaking activities.
meet with other students from class outside of school time to practice my speaking and/or review class material every week.
make small talk with my neighbours / colleagues at work every day.

18. To improve my reading I will
go to the library ______ times a week to work on my English.
I will do research about possible options for my future. (Work? Courses? Hobbies? Groups? Clubs?)
read short news stories on ___ times a week.

19. To improve my reading I will
borrow graded readers from the library.
read graded readers and listen at the same time to the audio CD to increase reading speed.
read texts without a translator, highlight new words and check new words only after reading.

20. To improve my reading I will
ask myself questions when I read: WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN WHY HOW
write a summary of what I read.
read articles about what I am interested in.
use

21. To improve my writing I will
build my skills in this area of grammar: ­­­­ _________________ by using websites (e.g. englishpage.com) and books (e.g. Essential Grammar in Use).
keep a journal and write __________________ times a week.
use the LOOK – COVER – WRITE method to learn the spelling of difficult words.

22. To improve my writing I will
keep a list of my most common writing mistakes (spelling or grammar) and check my future writing tasks for these mistakes.
stick new vocabulary on Post-It Notes around my home (on the fridge door, washroom door, front door).
write sentences using the new words I want to remember.

23. To improve my writing I will
brainstorm ideas before I start writing an or letter.
write s and text messages to my classmates.
write to a company to ask for more information about their product.
copy sentences and short stories.

24. GOOD LUCK!