Real-World Task Guidelines:
EAL Literacy
CLB 3L
Employment:
At the Workplace
Possible Topics
This theme may include these topic areas:
Following instructions for procedures
Safety
And so on
Planning Context
Learners may require the following:
- Slow to normal rates of speech
- Face-to-face or digital interactions (that are usually one-on-one or in small groups)
- Topics related to personal relevance
- Non-demanding contexts
- Relatively short texts
- Vocabulary limited to common, factual and concrete terms
Instructors may need to:
- Create simplified versions texts and audio clips/ recordings
- Adapt resources to simplify social interactions
- Modify instructions to limit to 2 to 4 steps
- Speak clearly at a slow to normal rate
- Provide texts which are clearly organized and easy to read with simple layout, with plenty of white space and a larger- than-average font size
- Provide scaffolding and support
Comprehending Information
Understand short descriptive narrative communication on topics of personal relevance.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies factual details, key words and expressions as required.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand instructions and directions related to familiar, everyday situations of immediate personal relevance.
- Identifies basic connectors related to time (now, then, before, after) and place (this, that, here, there).
- Responds with correct actions to instructions.
Comprehending Information
Understand short, simple, descriptive communication about a person, object, situation, scene, personal experience or daily routine.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies factual details, key words and expressions as required.
Getting Things Done
Understand expressions used in familiar everyday situations (such as requests, permission and warnings).
- Identifies phrases and sentences related to simple persuasive functions.
- Understands the gist and an expanding range of factual details.
Sharing Information
Give simple descriptions of concrete objects, people or experiences in a few short sentences.
- Sustains about 4 or 5 sentences, which may not be adequately connected as discourse.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to an expanding range of simple requests related to everyday activities.
- Uses appropriate polite expressions.
- Uses simple sentences and question formations.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand short, simple, clearly sequenced instructions for familiar everyday situations.
Instructions are up to about 5 steps, in point form or prose, and are often accompanied by illustrations.
- Identifies sequence signals (such as first, second, next).
- Recognizes words, phrases and symbols commonly used in instructions.
Getting Things Done
Get information from simple, formatted texts.
- Identifies layout and specific information.
- Scans formatted text to find specific information.
Reproducing Information
Copy or record a range of information from short texts or personal use.
Texts to copy are up to about 1 paragraph and have a clear layout.
- Follows standard Canadian conventions for capitalization, punctuation and other requirements of the genre.
- Copies text legibly, causing only slight uncertainty in decoding for the reader.
Interacting with Others
Convey short, personal, informal social messages on topics related to familiar everyday situations.
Messages are a few short sentences addressed to a familiar person and related to personally relevant situations.
- Conveys the message; reader may have to guess or make inferences to follow completely.
- Describes time and location.
Reproducing Information
Copy or record a range of information from short texts for personal use.
- Copies or records letters, numbers, words, and sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation.
- Copies legibly, causing only slight uncertainty in decoding for the writer.
- Copies text with no major omissions and only occasional copying mistakes.
Literacy Learner Considerations
Listening and Speaking
3L learners are meeting the requirements of CLB 3 in listening and speaking. It is important for 3L learners to develop all new language orally first so that it is familiar to them when they encounter it in print. Listening and speaking should be taught and assessed orally and not through the skills of reading and writing. There is a focus on widening basic vocabulary and learning grammatical structures through rhythm and repeated patterns.
Reading
To be successful in 3L reading tasks, 3L learners can work towards the development of reading skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- categorizing familiar single-syllable words by rime (make, take, lake)
- recognizing diagraphs as a single sound while reading familiar words (fish, church, think)
- attending to initial, medial and final sounds when reading familiar words
- recognizing inflectional endings (-ing, -ed, -s)
Writing
To be successful in 3L writing tasks, 3L learners can work towards the development of writing skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- forming letters and numbers in consistent, adult-like size
- writing with consistent spacing
- developing a larger rote spelling repertoire including multisyllabic words
- using long vowel conventions in spelling
Additional Sample Real-World Tasks and Competency Areas
Listen to your new supervisor introduce themselves to you. (Interacting with Others)
In a few simple sentences, explain how to get to the main office. (Giving Instructions)
Read a simple description of a job. (Comprehending Information)
Complete up to 15 items on a form for medical benefits. (Getting Things Done)
Digital Literacy Strategies
Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline digital knowledge and skills.
Learners may need to:
- Look at a website.
- Read information from a screen.
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.
- Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategies
Instructors Can:
- Use diverse representations of people in all 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.
Trauma-Informed Strategies
Triggers:
- Learners who have experienced trauma can be triggered by people in positions of authority.
- Filling in forms can be a trigger for learners who have experienced trauma.
- Give learners advance warning of this topic and be aware that there may be learners who require support.
Strategies:
- Learners who have experienced trauma often benefit from having routine.
- Learners who have experienced trauma benefit from having choices.
- Learners have the right to choose if, when and what they share about themselves.
Sample Real World Tasks
This information is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and is designed to help guide you in the planning process. You can use these sample real-world tasks to guide and inform your selection or creation of skill-building activities, skill-using tasks and assessment tasks.
These sample real-world tasks include the following: skill, real-world task, competency area, one competency statement and two sample indicators of ability. This is not an exhaustive list: there are more indicators of ability and information about this CLB level in Canadian Language Benchmarks English as a Second Language for Adults. Consult this resource for more information and to select your own competencies or indicators of ability. Remember, you can use more learner-friendly language in your materials and assessments.
This is NOT a lesson plan, module plan or curriculum.
