Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy
CLB
4L-Writing
Getting Things Done
Banking and Numeracy
Real-World Task
Write your bank representative an email and ask them to correct the spelling of your name.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- Basic greetings
- Names of letters in English
Context:
- It is important to get the spelling of your name correct on all financial and important documents.
- If there is an error in the spelling of your name or any other personal information, you can have it corrected.
Vocabulary and Grammar
Sample Vocabulary:
- extended greetings and leave-takings: dear, to whom it may concern, warm regards, sincerely
- correct
- spelling
- account
- polite phrases: I appreciate it, thank you very much, could you please…
Sample Grammar:
- Questions with modals: Could you please change…
Knowledge and Strategies
Textual and Functional Knowledge:
- Formal emails use greetings, paragraph structure, and leave-taking.
Sociolinguistic Knowledge:
- Polite requests show respect when speaking to someone in a formal situation, such as at a bank.
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- Discuss as a class: How do you spell your name in your own language? Did this change when you came to Canada? Do you consider the current English spelling of your name to be “correct?” Is there more than one way to spell your name (i.e. is your name spelled different in different places in Canada)? Why is it important for your name to have an official spelling in English?
- Invite each learner to write their name on the board in their own language and in English. Ask learners to spell their names in English for the class and have everyone else write down their names.
- Discuss as a class: How do you write a polite email? Who do you write polite emails to? Make a list of polite phrases on the board in four categories: greetings, requests, saying thanks, leave-takings.
- Have learners copy words to complete a simple mini-dictionary of polite language for email.
- Create a chart for the classroom highlighting this polite language.
- Review the remaining task vocabulary. 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.
- Review questions with modals, such as could and would. Practice making polite requests using modals by filling in the blanks, unscrambling sentences, and completing sentence stems.
- Work in small groups. Use TPR (Total Physical Response) to call out simple classroom commands, but use polite requests with modals instead of the typical imperative voice, e.g. Could you please stand up? Would you open your binder? Take turns calling out the commands.
- Using a model written on the board, have learners identify errors in information on a worksheet with different samples.
- Choral write a polite email to request a correction to how your name is spelled. Elicit language from learners for each step of the paragraph.
- Read an instructor-made email to the bank and circle all the polite language. Answer comprehension questions.
- Practice writing emails requesting a correction in other information such as address, telephone number, and date of birth.
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Write your bank representative an email and ask them to update your address. Use a simple checklist to check your writing for capital letters, punctuation, greeting, leave-taking, and polite requests.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Write your bank representative an email and ask them to correct the spelling of your name.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- Learners may have experienced a change to their name during immigration, and many learners have a variety of English spellings for their name. Encourage learners when possible to choose one spelling for their name and try to enforce it consistently in all their documentation.
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.
- 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 of banking, money, or finance triggering.
- Learners who are in Canada as refugees may not have chosen Canada as a home so much as they were forced to flee another country. They may have ambivalent feelings about being in Canada and may have ambivalent feelings about their names being written in English.
- 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:
- Do your best to pronounce learners’ names as they do. Avoid giving learners nicknames or “English” names and avoid telling learners that their names are “difficult.”
- 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
- Allow learners choice:
- 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 exchange messages with each other using simple greeting cards or printed templates. Have learners teach each other how to spell their names so they can write each other’s names on the messages.
- Have learners share if their name has a special meaning in their language or if they are named after someone, like a family member.
Realia:
- Sample email
Units and Modules:
- Tutela (The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES): Using Email: CLB 2L/3L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
- 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)
Lessons and Activities:
- Tutela: How to Write an Email: CLB 3 (Not literacy or the right level but can be adapted)
- 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:
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.
