Real-World Task Guidelines:
Stage I
CLB 3
Employment - Finding a Job
Possible Topics
This theme may include these topic areas:
And so on
Planning Context
Learners may require the following:
- Slow to normal rates of speech
- Visuals and contextual clues
- Topics related to personal relevance
- Non-demanding contexts
- Relatively short texts
Instructors may need to:
- Adapt online resources for accessibility/ use in the classroom and explain that certain tasks are authentically completed online
- Ensure texts include familiar words and phrases
- Ensure topics are very familiar and concrete
- Repeat listening texts
- Give a lot of support to learners in dialogues
Getting Things Done
Understand expressions used in familiar everyday situations.
- Identifies phrases and sentences related to simple persuasive functions (such as requests and permissions).
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.
Interacting With Others
Use a range of courtesy formulas and greetings in very short, casual, face-to-face interactions.
- Opens a conversation.
- Uses an expanding range of courtesy formulas and small talk phrases.
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.
- Expresses some feelings.
Getting Things Done
Get information from short business or service texts.
- Gets overall meaning.
- Interprets simple graphics.
Comprehending Information
Understand the purpose, main idea, key information and some details in simple, short texts related to everyday familiar and personally relevant situations and topics.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies key information and main idea.
Getting Things Done
Complete short, simple forms that require basic personal or familiar information and some responses to simple questions.
- Includes the required basic information with no major omissions.
- Follows most spelling conventions.
Reproducing Information
Copy or record a range of information from short texts for personal use.
- Follows standard Canadian conventions for capitalization, punctuation and other requirements of the genre.
- Copies text with no major omissions and only occasional copying mistakes.
Additional Sample Real-World Tasks and Competency Areas
Listen to a short conversation between a job applicant and job counsellor to learn what job the applicant is looking for. (Comprehending Information)
In a couple of short, simple sentences, ask a friend to help you prepare for an interview. (Getting Things Done)
Read a paragraph about diversity in Canadian workplaces. (Comprehending Information)
Write a short email to set up a meeting with a job counsellor, requesting a specific date and time. (Getting Things Done)
Additional Resources
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.
- Fill in forms online.
- Scan online resources to find information.
Instructors can:
- Use digital tools such as translation or pronunciation tools to support language learning and foster autonomous learning.
- Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites.
- Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 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.
Trauma-Informed Strategies
Triggers:
- Learners who have experienced trauma can be triggered by people in positions of authority; make sure learners understand their rights in the workplace and give strategies for making polite requests.
- 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. Make sure that learners are always aware of the purpose of the form and be ready to provide support if needed.
- Questioning can be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma; be careful with the tone of questions in any kind of mock job interview situation and make sure learners understand the purpose of the activities.
Strategies:
- Learners who have experienced trauma benefit from having choice.
- Give learners advance warning of discussions of this topic.
- Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.
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.
