Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 3 - Speaking
Getting Things Done

Indigenization

Real-World Task

Ask an instructor to give information about an upcoming Truth and Reconciliation event at the school.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Basic vocabulary related to Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Some basic background knowledge of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Formats for dates and times

Context:

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Canada was set up to learn the truth about what happened to Indigenous children in residential schools. These schools were places where many children were taken from their families by the government and churches. They were not allowed to speak their language or follow their culture.
The TRC listened to survivors’ stories and helped teach Canadians what happened. It also gave ideas on how Canada and Canadians can make things better for and be fair to Indigenous people. The 94 calls to action from the TRC report are complex and written in legal language but adapted versions are available. Some are relatively easy to explain.

This task reflects the intention to include all people in Canada in the themes. The language skills in this task could be applied to other contexts.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Indigenous
Aboriginal / First Nations/ Inuit / Metis
event
workshop
presentation
schedule / timetable
place / location
date / time

Sample Grammar:

Question forms (5 Ws)
Adequate pronunciation to convey basic messages

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Convey the intended purpose of an utterance through intonation, language or body language.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Culturally appropriate non-verbal communication strategies.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

As a class: Explain that the Indigenous Peoples, including the Metis and Inuit, were the first people and caretakers of Canada. Discuss as a class: Have you visited any Indigenous museums or attended any Indigenous cultural events? Have you met any Indigenous people or heard any presentations from Indigenous Elders or community leaders?
Look at a flyer / digital flyer for an upcoming Indigenous cultural event. On the flyer, circle all of the words from the vocabulary list such as the date, time, location of the event.
Listen to a short audio text describing an upcoming cultural event in the community. With a partner, note down the date, time and one other fact about the event. Share your information with another pair to check for accuracy.
Review the grammar rules for questions for how to make wh- questions. Also, focus on the intonation for wh-questions and the intonation for answering a wh-question. Practice reading dialogues aloud with a partner while focussing on pronunciation.
Complete exercises to practice forming questions using what time, where, when and so on.
Listen to an instructor-made dialogue between two co-workers where one is asking the other about an upcoming cultural event at work. Identify the date and time of the event. Now read the transcript and practice shadowing the correct intonation for the dialogue.
With a partner, practice the dialogue. Perform as a role play for the class.
Discuss as a class how to ask for information politely; include a discussion of language and body language such as using a friendly tone, making eye contact and so on. Learners practice asking each other for information while using these communication strategies.
Take jumbled sentences for wh-questions and working with a partner, create questions and answers in the correct order. Now copy these sentences into a notebook or digital document.
Create your own set of three question cards for asking for information about events. On each card write one useful question that you could use to find out information about an event. Using these cards, circulate around the class asking for information about events, real or imagined, with various classmates. Each time you speak with a new classmate, try to use the cards a little less, and try to speed up your questions.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Role play, using simple posters of events, asking a classmate about an upcoming cultural event taking place in the community to determine where the event will take place and if there is a cost to attend.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Role play asking an instructor to give information about an upcoming Truth and Reconciliation event at the school to find the date and time.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

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, including Indigenous Peoples.
In Canada, “Indigenous” means the first peoples who lived here before settlers came. However, Indigenous does not mean one identical group. There are many different Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Each one has its own language, culture, traditions, and teachings. Indigenous Peoples in the forest, mountains, prairies, or North have different foods, homes, stories and ceremonies. So we say there are many Indigenous Nations, not just one way of being Indigenous.

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
Send and receive text messages and messages on other texting apps.
Send and receive email messages
Complete formatted texts online, such as forms
Navigate and use online learning management systems (LMS) such as Avenue.
Use a search engine to find information

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.
Use digital tools such as translation or pronunciation tools to support language learning and foster autonomous learning.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Ensure that the images and cultural representations of Indigenous Peoples are free from stereotypes and biases.
Raise learner awareness of the need for using appropriate language when discussing and addressing Indigenous Peoples.
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).
Use Indigenous sources for researching information related to Indigenous Peoples and traditional ways of being.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

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.
Newcomers 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.

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.

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 issued an official apology and made a commitment to work towards reconciliation. 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.

Resources

Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:

Visit local Indigenous cultural sites or museums.
Attend public celebrations on National Indigenous Day (June 21).
Include Indigenous art and cultural traditions in class materials.
Build class activities around Orange Shirt Day.
Create a poster of an upcoming cultural event (real or imagined) and add all of the important information to share.

Realia:

Units and Modules:

TIES: Indigenous voices in the classroom: CLB 4. (Not correct level but can be adapted.)
Live & Learn: Facts about Indigenous culture and history you should know.

Lessons and Activities:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Canadian Indigenous Content
Tutela: Indigenous Peoples: Vocabulary and Maps Stage 1
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Spirit Bear’s Guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Child-friendly calls to action
Government of Canada: First Nations Profiles Interactive Map