Establishing objectives

Hi everyone,

Do you have any tips for establishing personalised objectives with adult beginners? How do you assess the needs and motivations of a student who doesn't yet have the base elements necessary to express them? Should I wait until they have more vocabulary or slip into their language where possible?

I'm fairly new to teaching and I'd like to be prepared for every eventuality, even though I think that I'll encounter very few grown up absolute beginners.

Thanks in advance.