Detailed Sample Task: Stage II
CLB 7 - Speaking Giving Instructions
Financial and Numerical Literacy
Real-World Task
Explain to a client the steps to evaluate the fees of different RRSPs or TFSAs.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- Some knowledge of government programs such as Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) and personal retirement savings options, such as Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) or Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSAs).
- Some experience with banking in Canada.
- Some knowledge of common business and financial vocabulary.
Context:
- In Canada, pensions or retirement savings matching programs are often part of an employee’s compensation package. However, they are not available to all employees through their employers. Understanding the different types of retirement savings accounts or programs, and their pros and cons, is an important part of planning for retirement.
Vocabulary and Grammar
Sample Vocabulary:
- retirement
- RRSP
- TFSA
- CPP
- OAS
- GIC
- bonds
- savings
- mutual funds
- market funds
- tax free
- tax deduction
- beneficiary
- withdrawal penalty
- financial advisor
- management fees
Sample Grammar:
- Future tenses and conditional sentences.
- Relative clauses.
- Modals of necessity.
- Common comparison phrases, such as “just like, in a related way, in a similar fashion, at the same rate” and so on.
Knowledge and Strategies
Textual and Functional Knowledge:
- Describe sequenced steps and requirements (modals of necessity, relative clauses).
- Use future tenses/ conditional to describe possible situations.
- Compare and contrast.
- Common business and financial terms.
- Questions to confirm understanding.
Sociolinguistic Knowledge:
- Appropriate level of formality for the workplace.
- Appropriate eye contact and body language for a business discussion or presentation.
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- Elicit knowledge of and strategies for saving for retirement in Canada.
- Discuss government programs and supports for seniors in retirement and the need for savings.
- Read an article or blog post about RRSPs.
- Read an article or blog post about TFSAs.
- Try out a retirement calculator, such as Government of Canada: Retirement Hub.
- Skim bank brochures or websites for information about different types of TFSAs and RRSPs.
- Elicit vocabulary for contrasting and comparing products or services.
- Practice phrases and use of connectors to compare or contrast products or services.
- Learn/ practice formal language for presenting information in the workplace.
- Role-play a conversation explaining the differences between a TFSA and a RRSP to a friend or neighbour.
- Scan bank brochures or websites for details about costs and fees associated with different retirement savings accounts.
- Create a comparison chart or use a graphic organizer to compare costs and fees and select the best product for different scenarios.
- Practice sequencing phrases and signposts to repeat the steps taken to compare and contrast fees.
- Role-play describing a sequence of steps to compare costs or fees of two financial products or services (bank accounts, credit cards, phone plans and so on).
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Role-play explaining to a client the steps to evaluate the fees of different banking products.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Explain to a client the steps to evaluate the fees of different RRSPs or TFSAs.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- Salaries, personal finances and money in general can be sensitive topics in Canada and are not appropriate topics for small talk or casual conversation with neighbours, classmates and colleagues. Discuss attitudes to money and personal finances from different cultures to develop intercultural awareness.
- Activities should always use hypothetical contexts and not learners’ real financial situations.
- Compare and contrast approaches to retirement and funding retirement from learners’ countries and Canada.
Digital Literacy Strategies:
Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline digital knowledge and skills.
Learners may need to:
- Locate, navigate and use websites.
- Scan online resources to find information.
- Evaluate online research results.
- Interpret information from online sources, such as statistics, graphs or charts.
- Identify safe and reliable sources of information and news.
- 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.
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 some learners may experience changes to gender roles when they come to Canada. For some, this may be a welcome change, but for others it may be challenging. Address their concerns with sensitivity but teach that Canada is equitable and inclusive to people of all genders.
- Recognize and teach learners that Canada is a diverse place and has people from many different cultures. Canadian culture includes the cultures of all people in Canada.
- 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.
Trauma-informed Strategies:
Possible Trauma Triggers:
- Discussions of savings, retirement and money scams, fraud, and money may be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma, especially those who have lost their homes, possessions, and or money. Make space for learners to feel safe and recover from the experience of sharing their experiences.
Strategies:
- Learners have the right to choose if, when and what they share about themselves.
- Give learners advance warning of discussions of this topic.
- Make space for learners to feel safe and recover from the experience of sharing their experiences.
- Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.
Resources
Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:
- Attend a retirement workshop at a local library or community centre.
- Invite a financial planner as a guest speaker.
- Watch videos about budgeting tips and finding ways to budget for savings.
- Read about other federal, provincial or territorial programs that incentivize savings, such as RESPs, RDSPs, First Time Home Buyers plans and so on.
Realia:
Units and Modules:
- Avenue Course Builder: Select the theme Banking and Financial Services, and CLB 5, 6, 7 and 8 (adapt for the CLB level you teach).
- CLB 5 Expressing opinion about financial products
- CLB 5 Applying for a Tax Benefit
- CLB 5 Choose the Right RESP
Lessons and Activities:
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.
