Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 2L-Speaking
Getting Things Done

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Real-World Task

Ask your teacher for help if you can’t hear the lesson.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Present simple: I hear, I see, I watch, I learn and so on

Context:

In order to learn best, you need to be able to understand the lesson.
Learners have the right to accommodation or support to help them learn best.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

help
hear
lesson
sit
close / far
classroom words: chair, desk, table, board, and so on

Sample Grammar:

Modal verbs for ability: can / can’t

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

When you ask for help, you usually state what the problem is and then ask for help.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

When you get the teacher’s attention, you usually use a polite phrase to interrupt, such as excuse me.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Use TPR (Total Physical Response) to practice sense words (see, hear, touch, smell, taste). Give each sense a physical action, such as holding your hand up above your eyes to shield the glare for see or cupping a hand around an ear for hear.
Call out a word and have learners respond with the correct action. After a few rounds, have learners take turns calling out the words.
Go around the class and list things you can see, hear, smell, touch, and even taste right now, e.g. I can hear the person in the hall, I can see the board, I can taste my coffee, and so on.
Use vocabulary cards with clear photographs and words to practice the task vocabulary. Use a variety of games to practice the words, including TPR, Bingo, and Memory.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Discuss as a class: How do you learn best? What do you need to learn best? Elicit from learners whether they need to see the board or hear the teacher. Write any ideas on the board.
Teach the modal verb can. Give learners very simple sentences with I can / can’t … (e.g. swim, speak Farsi, cook, and so on.) Have learners sit with a partner and read the sentences together and then circle either can or can’t. Use various images of different activities to support the exercise.
Play I can. Place your chairs in a circle and stand up in front of your chair. Go around the circle. Each learner takes a turn saying something they can do, e.g. I can speak Amharic or I can drive. Anyone who can’t do that must sit down. The last learner standing wins.
Read a very short, instructor-made, simple story about learning in a classroom, e.g. Tamil learns English. Tamil can’t hear. Help me, teacher. I can’t hear. Tamil moves his desk. Tamil sits close to the teacher. Tamil can hear now. Read the story several times over several days. Do a variety of activities with the story such as matching vocabulary cards to the story, retelling the story to a partner, sequencing the photographs in the story, and so on.
Give each learner a prompt card that has a picture of eyes or ears. Have learners practice with a partner asking for help, e.g. Excuse me. Can you help me? I can’t hear or I can’t see.
Listen to people asking for help because they can’t hear or see. Circle on your page what you hear: hear or see.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Role-play a scenario with a classmate that has a learner and an instructor. The “learner” (Partner A) asks for help because they can’t hear or see, and then “instructor” (Partner B) gives a suggestion, e.g. Sit close to the board.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Ask your teacher for help if you can’t hear the lesson.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Some learners may come from cultures where there is a stigma to being neurodivergent or to having a disability. Help learners to understand that in Canada, they have the right to learn and to have accommodations. At the same time, avoid giving learners the impression that there is no discrimination in Canada against people who are disabled or who are neurodivergent.

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.
Read information from a screen.
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.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

There are many reasons why a learner might not be able to hear, including being Deaf or hard of hearing or being distracted by other background sounds. Be aware that not every situation can be solved by moving the learner closer to the board, although that is usually a good step. One strategy is to ask learners what would help them.
Use diverse representations of people in all your learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQIA+, 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 discrimination for being disabled or neurodivergent may find this topic triggering. They may also find it empowering to learn about their rights in Canada.
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:

Work together as a class to make a classroom code of conduct for including all people.
Learn about common forms of accommodation, such as wheelchair ramps, accessible washrooms, and Braille.
Showcase other contexts in which “Can you help me?” would be useful.

Realia:

Examples of accommodations such as ramps, hand rails, or Braille.

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): A Child’s Education: CLB 1L/2L
Tutela (CCLB): Greetings and Introductions: CLB 1L/2L
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Using School Supplies: CLB FL/1L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Starting a New English Class: CLB FL/1L (Not the right level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

LINC 2 Classroom Activities Nice to Meet You (p. 3) (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (Archway): Items in the Classroom: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 2L
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories

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: Education