Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB FL-Speaking
Interacting with Others

Employment: Finding a Job

Real-World Task

Greet an interviewer appropriately at a job interview and introduce yourself.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Very basic greetings: hi, hello, good morning

Context:

It is very common to greet someone and introduce yourself when you first meet, such as in a job interview.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

job
interview
boss
greetings
basic courtesy phrases: how are you?

Sample Grammar:

Simple sentence: My name is…
Personal pronouns: my, his, her

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

You can introduce yourself first or respond to someone else’s greeting and introduction.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

It is common in Canada to make eye contact and shake hands during an introduction, but not everyone in Canada shakes hands.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

At the beginning of each class, greet each learner in turn and have a short conversation. Repeat greetings and other phrases and gradually expand over time: Hello, nice to meet you, how are you?, What is your name?
Discuss as a class: What is a job? Do you have a job in Canada? What do you do? Did you have a job before you came to Canada? What did you do? How do you get a job? What is a job interview?
Discuss as a class: What do you say when you meet a new person? What do you say when you meet a boss in a job interview? Elicit greetings and introductions from learners.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Listen to a very simple instructor-made dialogue at a job interview that includes greetings and introductions. Practice the dialogue many times as a class. Practice the dialogue with a partner and perform your dialogue for the class.
Practice personal pronouns: my, his, her
Play the name game: sit in a circle. The first person introduces themselves: My name is Maron. Each person after that introduces the people before them and themselves, e.g. Her name is Maron. His name is Ali. My name is Tariq.
Cut out pictures of people doing jobs and glue to a page about jobs.
Read a simple story about jobs such as People at Work. Read the story to learners. Choral read and echo read the story.
Role play job interviews with a partner. One partner plays the role of the “boss” while the other plays the role of the person who wants a job. Make sure you greet each other and introduce yourselves. You can give the “boss” a prop to signify their role, such as a clipboard to make them look official.
Role play a job interview. Tell the interviewer your name and have them write it down. Spell your name or write your name to help your partner write it.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Role-play with a partner: greet a new classmate and introduce yourself.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Greet an interviewer appropriately at a job interview and introduce yourself.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Learners may not be familiar with how to get a job in Canada. Some Foundation L learners may never have had a paid job or a traditional job. Help learners understand how they can get a job.

Digital Literacy Strategies:

Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline knowledge and digital skills.

Learners may need to:

Have keyboarding and typing skills.
Locate, navigate and use websites.
Use familiar apps, social media platforms and web pages.
Type information to appear on screen.
Complete formatted texts online, such as simple forms.

Instructors can:

Dedicate time to improve digital literacy for learners.
Make and/ or adapt digital materials.
Introduce websites or apps that are relevant to the task(s).
Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites or apps.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

When discussing jobs, include many jobs that are common for learners at this level to have, as well as jobs of people they may come into contact with, like cleaners, babysitters, gardeners, labourers, security guards, store clerks, teachers, doctors, or nurses.
Use diverse representations of people in all your learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQ+, Indigenous, Francophone and of other cultures, and people who have disabilities or who are neurodivergent. Consider this diversity as you choose names for characters in stories you create as well.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced trauma may be triggered by authoritarian questioning or figures of authority, such as a boss. Make all discussion of jobs gentle and be aware of any learner who needs support.
When teaching about Canada, you may teach about things that are triggering to learners who have experienced trauma. We can’t know what the triggers might be and what seems commonplace to us may have a triggering component for learners. Be aware of this and be prepared to support learners as needed.

Strategies:

Give learners advance warning of this topic and be aware that there may be learners who require support.
Learners who have experienced trauma often benefit from having routine. Create a safe and supportive classroom environment by establishing familiar routines, repeated activities, and model friendly and non-evaluative interactions.
Learners will benefit from positive relationships established in the classroom with the instructor and peers.
Learners who have experienced trauma benefit from having choices.
- Allow learners choice:
  - the choice to work on a different topic
  - the choice to share or not share their own experiences
  - the choice to work alone or to work with others
  - the choice to take care of themselves
  - the choice to step out of the learning environment
When learners have shared personal distressing or traumatic experiences, make space for learners to feel safe and recover from the experience of sharing their experiences. Follow the activities which may make learners feel vulnerable with routine, predictable and comforting activities.
Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.

Resources

Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:

Visit a nearby employment centre.
Visit a job fair.
Look at pictures of people doing different jobs. Have learners identify jobs they have done and would like to do.
Bring in items associated with different jobs, like a doctor’s coat, a hammer, a spatula, and so on. Have learners role play different jobs.

Realia:

Items associated with different jobs: doctor’s coat, hammer, spatula, and so on.
Thank you cards

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Safety at Work: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela (CCLB): Greetings and Introductions: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela (Archway): Saying No to a Work Shift: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela (Archway): Warehouse Worker Module: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

LINC 1 Classroom Activities: Job Application Forms (p. 295) (Not literacy or the right level but can be adapted)
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB FL
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: People in Different Jobs
Unite for Literacy: People at Work