Content and Language Objectives for ELL Students: How to Write Them and Why They Matter
Most teachers write content objectives. Fewer write language objectives. For classrooms with ELL students, the language objective is where the real scaffolding work happens — because it forces the teacher to make explicit what language students will need to demonstrate their learning. Once you can name the language demand, you can scaffold it.
The Difference Between Content and Language Objectives
A content objective states what students will know or be able to do as a result of the lesson.
- Students will be able to explain the causes of the American Civil War.
- Students will be able to solve two-step equations.
- Students will identify the main idea and supporting details in a nonfiction text.
A language objective states how students will use language to demonstrate that learning.
- Students will explain one cause of the Civil War using the sentence frame "One cause of the Civil War was ___ because ___."
- Students will describe their problem-solving process using the sentence frame "I used ___ because ___."
- Students will identify the main idea by completing the sentence "The main idea of this text is ___. The author supports this by ___."
The content objective describes the destination. The language objective describes the vehicle for getting there.
Why Language Objectives Transform ELL Instruction
Writing a language objective forces you to answer three questions most lessons leave implicit.
What mode of language are students using? Reading, writing, speaking, listening. The mode changes the scaffold you need to provide.
What structures will they need? Specific grammatical forms, sentence frames, discourse markers, academic vocabulary.
What is the language demand of the task? Not the content demand — the language demand. What specifically would a student need to say or write to demonstrate understanding?
When these questions are answered before the lesson, scaffolding is no longer an afterthought. It is built into the lesson design.
How to Write a Language Objective
A well-written language objective has three components.
- The language function — what the student will do with language: describe, compare, explain, argue, summarize, predict, evaluate
- The content — what they will apply that function to
- The support — the frame, structure, or vocabulary they will use
Formula: Students will [language function] [content] using [support].
- Students will compare the properties of metals and nonmetals using the sentence frame "___ and ___ are similar because ___. They are different because ___."
- Students will argue a position on immigration policy using the academic vocabulary: claim, evidence, counterargument, perspective.
- Students will summarize the events of Chapter 4 using the signal words: first, then, finally, as a result.
Language Functions and the Frames That Serve Them
- ___ is ___. It has ___. It is located ___.
- ___ and ___ are similar because ___. They are different because ___.
- Unlike ___, ___ is ___.
- ___ happened because ___.
- One effect of ___ was ___.
- As a result of ___, ___.
- I claim ___ because ___.
- My evidence is ___. This supports my claim because ___.
- A counterargument is ___, but ___.
- The text is mainly about ___.
- First ___. Then ___. Finally ___.
- The author's main argument is ___, supported by ___.
- I predict ___ because ___.
- Based on ___, I think ___ will happen because ___.
Common Mistakes When Writing Language Objectives
Writing a content objective twice. "Students will understand the water cycle" is not a language objective — it is a reworded content objective. A language objective specifies how students will use language.
Making them too vague. "Students will discuss the text" is not actionable. "Students will discuss the author's argument using the frame 'The author claims ___ because ___'" is.
Not posting them. A language objective that lives only in the lesson plan is not useful to students. Post it. Read it aloud. Return to it at the end of the lesson.
Writing one for every lesson but never using it. Language objectives are instructional tools, not compliance checkboxes.
How Assist ELD helps
The sentence frames and task supports Assist ELD generates are built around the language functions in your lesson — the same functions your language objectives should name. Paste your lesson content and get supports calibrated to ELP 1–2 and 3–4 in under 60 seconds.
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