Detailed Sample Task: Stage II
CLB 5 - Writing Reproducing Information
Employment Readiness
Real-World Task
Copy information from a resume into a short job application form.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- General knowledge of the process for applying for a job in Canada.
- Some knowledge of job application forms.
- Some experience completing forms with personal information.
Context:
- In Canada, many employers have prospective employees apply for work using application forms or online applications. These forms often require similar information to what you would find on a resume (personal information, education, work experience and references).
Vocabulary and Grammar
Sample Vocabulary:
- personal information
- surname
- pronouns
- gender
- work experience / employment history / job experience
- skills
- position
- responsibilities / tasks / duties
- reason for leaving
- shift
- availability
- preference
- reference
Sample Grammar:
- Action verbs and collocations to describe experience and skills.
- Canadian conventions for personal information (addresses, honorifics, punctuation, capitalization).
Knowledge and Strategies
Textual and Functional Knowledge:
- Common types of forms.
- Common categories on forms.
- Canadian conventions for personal information (addresses, honorifics).
- How to describe educational background.
- Common job titles.
- How to describe skills and experience.
Sociolinguistic Knowledge:
- Awareness of legal concepts and employment policies/ practices in Canada, such as what questions can legally be asked on a form, what information is required and what information is optional.
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- Elicit common job titles and brainstorm vocabulary for related tasks and/ or responsibilities.
- Look at sample formatted resumes and identify categories of information.
- Examine the sections of resumes and identify the purpose of/ content in each section.
- Look at sample forms and identify conventions for entering personal information on a form.
- Practice completing a variety of forms found in daily life with personal information (forms from schools, doctors’ offices and so on).
- Practice matching content on sample resumes to sections on sample forms (education, work experience, skills, references and so on).
- Practice reproducing information from a resume section to a form section.
- Practice strategies for double checking information entered on a form to ensure there are no mistakes before submitting.
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Complete an everyday form with personal information from a profile.
Copy information from sample resumes to complete a short job application form. Check for errors.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Copy information from a resume into a short job application form.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- The process for getting a job varies from country to country. Compare approaches to applying for work in different countries to develop intercultural awareness.
- Review protections from discrimination under provincial and territorial laws as well as the Canadian Human Rights Act. There are questions that employers cannot ask on a job ad or in an interview. Compare types of information an employer can request on a job application in Canada in comparison to other countries.
- Certain aspects of looking for work in Canada, such as showcasing and hyping your skills and abilities, may be very unfamiliar and uncomfortable to learners. Assure them that this is a normal part of looking for work in Canada.
Digital Literacy Strategies:
Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline digital knowledge and skills.
Learners may need to:
- Have keyboarding and typing skills.
- Have an email address and be able to navigate email proficiently.
- Locate, navigate and use websites.
- Effectively navigate job search websites.
- Create a professional online profile.
- Understand safe use of the internet and social media.
Instructors can:
- Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
- Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites.
- Teach reading strategies, such as skimming and scanning, to find information on websites.
- Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:
Instructors can:
- Use diverse representations of people in all your learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Francophone and of other cultures, and people who have disabilities or who are neurodivergent.
- Recognize that learners with disabilities and learners who are neurodivergent may need accommodations in the workplace; when possible, help learners of all abilities understand their rights in the workplace.
- Recognize that some learners may have different views. You can be sensitive to their differing opinions, but all learners benefit from EDI, and all learners have the right to an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
- Teach that race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics and disability are all protected grounds under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
- Raise learner awareness of the need for respecting and using preferred pronouns of co-workers when making requests or talking about them with others.
Trauma-informed Strategies:
Possible Trauma Triggers:
- Learners who have experienced trauma can be triggered by people in positions of authority.
- Filling in forms and dealing with authority can be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma, especially for learners who have been in unsafe situations or have been in a political regime.
Strategies:
- Give learners advance warning of discussions of this topic.
- Make sure learners understand their rights in the workplace and give strategies for making polite requests.
- Make sure that learners are always aware of the purpose of the form and be ready to provide support if needed.
- Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.
Resources
Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:
- Invite a guest speaker from an employment resource centre to talk about how to apply for jobs.
- Invite a guest speaker from a community volunteer organization to talk about volunteering as a way of gaining experience in Canada.
- Introduce and browse online job and volunteer posting sites, such as Indeed, LinkedIn, Career Beacon and so on.
- Examine possible job online scams and fraudulent employment websites.
- Compare and contrast different application forms from different employers or for different jobs.
Realia:
- Sample job application forms.
- Sample resumes.
Units and Modules:
- Avenue Course Builder: Select the theme Employment, and CLB 4 and 5 for units related to job applications and resumes (adapt for the CLB level you teach).
- CLB 5 Pathways to Employment: Applying for Jobs
- CLB 5-6 Preparing to Write a Resume
- CLB 4 Make Requests at Work
- CLB 3/4 Applying for a Job
- LINC Works: CLB 5 Application Forms
Lessons and Activities:
(Adapt for the CLB level you teach)
Detailed Sample Task
This exemplar is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and is designed to guide and inform your lesson and module planning. Consult the Canadian Language Benchmarks English as a Second Language for Adults for detailed performance descriptors at this benchmark and skill.
The information in this document is not exhaustive and can be expanded on. As well, you can use more learner-friendly language in your materials and assessments.
This is NOT a lesson or module plan.
