Detailed Sample Task:
EAL Literacy

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.
• Read information from a screen.
• Navigate camera and microphone
• Adjust volume on device

Instructors can:

• Dedicate time to improve digital literacy for learners
• Make and/ or adapt digital materials.
• Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
• Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites.
• Show learners how to zoom in and zoom out on a digital map.

• Ensure that the images and cultural representations of Indigenous peoples are diverse and free from stereotypes and biases.
• Raise learner awareness of the need for using appropriate language when discussing and addressing Indigenous peoples.
• Use authentic Indigenous content, sources, and materials whenever possible to support discussion and learning.
• Celebrate Indigenous cultures.  

Possible Trauma Triggers:

• Learners who have been forced to flee from their own land may be triggered by discussions of traditional territory and home, and learners who come from Indigenous groups in their home countries may be triggered by considerations of the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
• Teaching an Indigenization theme will result in some difficult conversations and may revisit past trauma, oppression, and discrimination your learners have experienced.
• When teaching about Canada, you may teach about things that are triggering to learners who have experienced trauma, such as the treatment of Indigenous people in residential schools. Be aware of this and be prepared to support learners as needed. However, it is important for all learners, including learners who have experienced trauma, to learn as complete a story of Canada as possible, and it may be helpful to learners to know that the Canadian government has said sorry for mistakes they made in the past. Knowing that a government can recognize when it has been wrong and can work towards reconciliation can help learners who have experienced trauma to begin to regain a sense of trust.
• Acknowledge that you are learning too, and avoid speaking for Indigenous peoples.
• Use resources and voices from Indigenous communities when possible (e.g., guest speakers, videos, or approved materials).
• 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.