Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 4L-Reading
Interacting with Others

Banking and Numeracy

Real-World Task

Read a message from a family member asking for advice about a possible scam targeting Newcomers.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Extended greetings and leave-takings
Numbers to 1000

Context:

There are many types of scams, including phone, email, and text scams, that try to trick people into revealing their financial information.
These scams often play on fear (e.g. by impersonating the CRA or by threatening legal action) and urgency (e.g. by insisting the payment must be made/the information must be given immediately).

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Modal verbs: can, should
Questions with modal verbs: Can you help me? What should I do?

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Messages often begin with a greeting and end with some form of leave-taking.
Informal messages, such as text messages, often don’t include a greeting or leave-taking.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Some requests for information or payment are scams.
There are people who can help you determine if something is a scam.
If you receive a message from someone claiming to be from a bank or utility company, you can always contact the bank/company directly, using an independently-verified phone number.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What is private information? Brainstorm a list of types of private information on the board, such as financial information like account and credit card number, PIN, passwords, passport number. Discuss what it means to keep this information private. Discuss the consequences if someone knows this information.
Discuss as a class: What is a scam? Talk about the purpose of a scam. Discuss two different types of scams: getting you to send information and getting you to send money. Tell learners that scams could be phone calls, emails, or text messages.
Review the task vocabulary. Have learners copy words to complete a mini-dictionary.
Use vocabulary cards with words, pictures, and very simple definitions to practice the vocabulary. Do activities such as matching, filling in the blanks, and crosswords.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
As a class, read a simple, instructor-adapted list of ways to avoid a scam. Have learners identify vocabulary words in the reading. Discuss the tips.
As a class, read several instructor-made sample scam emails or messages. Discuss what you can do if you receive a message like this and how you can check whether it is legitimate or not. Encourage learners to contact the purported source of the email (e.g. bank or company) independently to verify if the email came from them. A good strategy for learners at this level is to take the email or message (e.g. on their phone) to their bank and speak with someone in person.
Review modal verbs: can and should. Practice using can and should in sentences. Fill in the blanks, complete sentence stems, and unscramble sentences with can and should.
Review modal verbs in questions. Practice asking yes/no questions (e.g. Can you help me? Should I do it?) and information questions, using a question word (e.g. When can you come over? What should I do?). Do a variety of grammar activities to practice modal verbs in questions, including unscrambling, filling in the blanks, and writing questions from prompts.
Listen to an instructor-made dialogue between two friends discussing a scam. As a class, identify vocabulary words in the vocabulary and discuss the meaning of each sentence. Work with a partner to read through and practice the dialogue orally several times.
Discuss as a class: What are the different ways you receive messages? Which apps do you use? What information is included in a message? How is a text message different from an email?
Read an instructor-made message about a scam. Answer comprehension questions and discuss your answers with a partner.
As a class, and with full instructor support, explore a website on avoiding financial scams, such as this Government of Canada website: Protection from Financial Fraud.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read a simple instructor-made list of tips for avoiding scams, using familiar tips and language. Demonstrate understanding by answering comprehension questions.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read a message from a family member asking for advice about a possible scam targeting Newcomers. Demonstrate understanding by answering comprehension questions.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Some learners may be easy to manipulate by scammers who play on their fear and lack of understanding. Help empower learners by letting them know how to identify scams.

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 relevant to the task.
Use familiar apps, social media platforms and web pages relevant to the task.
Read information from a screen.
Navigate camera and microphone.
Adjust volume on device.
Navigate forms.

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 relevant to the task.
Support with clicking on appropriate fields for an online form.
Introduce tools and apps that can aid learners in coping with communication barriers, such as translation, pronunciation, text to speech, speech to text tools and so on.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Learners who are women may not have had access to their own finances. Make sure that all learners are aware of their rights in Canada and are aware of services and resources that can help them.
Help learners understand who can help them if they suspect there is a scam.
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 lived or are living in poverty and learners who have lost their homes and possessions may find discussions around banking, money, or finance triggering.
Learners who have lost everything or have been persecuted or targeted may be triggered by discussions of scams and fraud. They may also feel empowered by learning what a scam is and how to spot one.
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:

Avoid any kind of judgemental language around people who are victims of scams. Many victims do not come forward because they are ashamed of being tricked. Help learners understand that if they are victims of scams, it is not their fault, and there are steps that can be taken.
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:

Have learners work in groups to write tips for avoiding scams.
Have learners make posters to promote keeping your personal information private.

Realia:

Sample scam messages

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Reporting a Lost/Stolen Bank/Credit Card: CLB 3/4 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (CCLB Blended Modules): Reporting a Lost/Stolen Bank/Credit Card: CLB 3/4 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (CCLB): Avoiding Scams and Fraud: CLB 5/6 (Not the right level and not literacy but can be heavily adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Basic Banking: Module Plan and Assessment Tasks: CLB 4 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: Banking and Money: CLB 3/4 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (OCDSB): Collecting Information About Banks: CLB 4 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 4L
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Banking and Finance
Government of Canada: Protection from Financial Fraud