SMART Goals

Examples:

By the end of March, I want to improve my listening skills so that I can understand an episode of

Game of Thrones in English and write a 200-word review of it in my own words.

By the end of the summer, I will have listened to an entire 30-minute podcast in English and be

able to understand it enough to explain it to my teacher.

​S.M.A.R.T. Goals

​Nacoln Phaipanya

​SMART Goals

​Nacoln Phaipanya

Specific

First, ask yourself what you want to achieve and write it down. You can make a general
goal like “improve my listening skills” more specific by breaking it into several more
specific smaller goals. For example:
“I want to be able to…

understand interviews with my favorite musician”

understand international customers at work”

follow what’s being said in a group conversation”

• Antoine de Saint Exupery

" A goal without a plan is just a dream. " 

Specific

It’s a good idea to break all your big goals into smaller chunks like this because it helps you
start directing your own learning. To help you do this, come up with some questions using
Wh- words (what, where, when, why and how) and try to answer them in order to find out
exactly what you need to do.
To get you started, here are some useful questions to ask yourself:

Why do I want to…(improve my listening)?

What do I need to do to achieve this?

What materials or resources do I need?

Now write a specific goal for yourself.

Setting meaningful and realistic goals can add value to your life and help you enjoy the things you truly care about.

​

What are your goals?

Why is this important?

​How do I decide the right scope for my SMART Goals?

SMART goals are meant to address all of your major job responsibilities. Remember, goals are intended to focus attention and resources on what is most important so that you can be successful in achieving your priorities. SMART Goals are goals for your day-to-day job.

Multiple Choice

What does the S in S.M.A.R.T stand for?

• Silly

• Smart

• Specific

• Similar

SMART Goals GPS

Specific

First, ask yourself what you want to achieve and write it down. You can make a general goal like “improve my listening skills” more specific by breaking it into several more specific smaller goals. For example:

“I want to be able to…

• understand interviews with my favorite musician”

• understand international customers at work”

• follow what’s being said in a group conversation”

​Specifically...

It’s a good idea to break all your big goals into smaller chunks like this because it helps you start directing your own learning. To help you do this, come up with some questions using Wh- words (what, where, when, why and how) and try to answer them in order to find out exactly what you need to do.

To get you started, here are some useful questions to ask yourself:

• Why do I want to…(improve my listening)?

• What do I need to do to achieve this?

• What materials or resources do I need?

Note that this list does not include verbs like “improve,” “reduce,” or “increase” (e.g. “Improve customer service” or “reduce cost.” These imply the direction that you want a result to move in, but don’t do much to explain the role or specific action that you will take to accomplish this change.

​

Specific Action Words

M – Measurable

Goals should be measurable to track progress

Great work! You have something specific you want to achieve. Now you need to make sure you can measure your progress. This will keep you on track and motivated.

You could draw up a chart or checklist where you can tick off activities as you complete them.

Practice

You can also decide on exact numbers to measure, for example:

• I’m going to listen to and understand 10 minutes of a business podcast

• I’ll learn 15 new words when reading the news

• I’ll learn three new expressions while watching Netflix

 

Now make your specific goal measurable!

Achievable

It’s essential that your goal is something that you can achieve. That means it shouldn’t be too difficult – or too easy, either! You will need to be realistic about what you are capable of doing, considering the amount of time and resources you have.

Look at it this way, for a newbie runner, finishing a marathon in six months probably isn’t very achievable! Think about learning English in the same way. Choose activities that you know you will have time to do.

Relevant

Is your goal the right one for you? To decide, you’ll need to think about your strengths and weaknesses. It can sometimes be hard to evaluate this on your own. Ask your teacher what you can work on in your own time and think about what you’d like to achieve.

• Would you like to watch a series in English?

• Do you want to use English while you are travelling?

• Perhaps you need to pass an English exam for work?

Now ask yourself, is my goal relevant to my learning needs?

​Time-Bound

When will your goal begin and end? Putting a timeframe on things can help maintain momentum, especially if it’s not too far away.

Ideally, you should break up long-term goals into smaller goals. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing sight of your original aim and losing track of your progress.

Use time phrases like these to help you plan short, medium and long-term SMART goals:

• By the end of the week, I will have…

• By the end of the month, I will have…

• By the end of the summer, I will have…

• By this time next year, I will have…

Multiple Choice

Sam will get a job.

• Measurable

• Timely

• Both A and B

• None of the above

Multiple Select

While Beto is off of work for the next two weeks, he will build a Treehouse.

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Realistic

• Timely

Multiple Select

Robert will buy a new car.

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Realistic

• Timely

Multiple Choice

Achievable means _____?

• You build it and they will come

• You are smart

• Obtainable

• Manageable

Multiple Choice

All the words below are synonyms for Measurable except?

• Quantifiable

• Assemble

• Assessable

• Computable