Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 2 - Speaking
Interacting with Others

Getting Around and Transportation

Real-World Task

Start a short conversation with another transit passenger. Talk about the weather.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Some basic vocabulary related to the weather and small talk openers.
Knowledge of appropriate topics and questions for casual conversations with strangers in a Canadian community setting.

Context:

Canadians tend to participate in casual conversations with strangers as a way to be friendly, polite and to build a sense of community. It is a common part of social norms to greet strangers with a smile and chat briefly about neutral topics. These conversations often take place when people are in situations where they are waiting together, or travelling on transit.
In casual conversations, some kinds of topics are usually considered polite and culturally appropriate; these include weather, sports, weekend plans, hobbies, and non-personal family topics. These topics will not cause offence and not make others uncomfortable. Some topics to avoid in small talk include religion, politics, money, or health problems. In sharing where you are going on transit, keep information light and not too detailed.
Talking about the weather is a socially safe topic.The weather affects everyone, so everyone can comment on it. The weather makes an instant connection between people who may not know each other well. The weather is a very easy way to start a conversation.
In Canada, the weather changes often and sometimes dramatically, which makes it a constant topic of interest.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

weather words (such as, sunny, rainy, snowy, windy, cold, hot, cool, warm and so on.)
Simple phrases about the weather (such as, It’s sunny today.” “It’s cold this morning.” “Nice weather today!” and so on.)
phrases related to conversation openers and closers ( such as, Hello, Have a great day!)
phrases to show interest in small talk (such as, Me, too! That’s nice! Yes, it is.)

Sample Grammar:

Basic word order in simple statements.
Adequate pronunciation to convey basic messages

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Convey intended purpose of an utterance through intonation and body language.
Use common expressions for specific purposes.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Culturally appropriate non-verbal communication strategies.
Culturally appropriate strategies to convey politeness and respect.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What is small talk? When do you use small talk? What do you talk about? Do you take transit in Canada? What do passengers do on transit in Canada (Elicit responses such as: They thank the driver when they exit the bus.) Do you ever chat with strangers to pass the time or be friendly? Have you seen Canadians taking part in small talk conversations?
Elicit what topics are good when chatting with a stranger and what topics should you avoid in small talk? Compare this with experiences in other countries around the world. Ask what topics do strangers chat about in your previous country? Create a chart for the classroom.
Look at images on a set of five flashcards that depict small talk topics. Match the images to a written list of topics. Then in small groups, decide which topics are okay to chat with strangers about and which are not.
Create a mini word bank for small talk phrases, including opening and closing the conversation. Use this word bank for other activities later on.
Review the syntax of statements about taking the bus and fill in the missing verbs in simple sentences on a handout or digital document.
Practice making complete sentences about transit in your area by organizing word cards into simple sentences and read the completed sentences aloud with a friend.
Listen to a weather report or a weather forecast. Answer comprehension questions about the listening. Practice talking about the weather with a classmate.
Listen to a short, simple conversation between two people on a bus. In pairs, answer three simple questions about their conversation.
Create a set of three cards each with one statement you would make to start up a casual conversation with a stranger. Practice the introduction and then introduce yourself to three people in the class. Each time you do your introduction try to speak a little faster and use your cards a little less each time.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Role play with a classmate starting a conversation and making a one sentence small talk comment about an appropriate topic such as the transit journey, sports, or a local event.
Have a class discussion about the recent weather.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Role play with the instructor or a classmate starting a short conversation with another transit passenger. Talk about the weather.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

In Canada, brief conversations with strangers on transit are common and meant to be polite or friendly, not deeply personal.
Canadian transit culture values privacy and space. Some people may not want to talk. It’s okay to smile or say hello, but learners should also recognize when someone does not want to have a conversation with them.
Learners should feel confident that it is okay to make small mistakes or use simple English. Also, it’s important to teach that it is completely acceptable to stop talking if someone makes them feel unsafe or uncomfortable.

Digital Literacy Strategies:

Learners may need to:

Have keyboarding and typing skills.
Locate, navigate and use websites.
Use familiar apps, social media platforms and web pages.
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.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

In some cultures, men and women may not typically make casual conversation with each other, especially with strangers. Learners may be unsure how to greet or speak casually with someone of a different gender. Provide safe, respectful examples of gender-neutral greetings and behavior in Canada. Allow learners to choose role-play partners they’re comfortable with.
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:

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.
Recognize that not everyone will feel comfortable with the idea of meeting strangers.
Questioning can be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma.

Strategies:

Give learners advance warning of this topic and be aware that there may be learners who require support.
Adapt tasks to meet or do introductions with “safer” people such as classmates or other teachers as needed.
Be careful with the tone of questions in any kind of public setting and make sure learners understand the purpose of the activities.
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:

Take a field trip to a local transit hub and learn about where to buy tickets and passes
Create digital posters with one tip for transit safety. Invite another LINC class to come look at the posters.
Visit another LINC class close to the same level and make small talk with other students.

Realia:

Transit maps
Transit apps
Conversation cue cards for small talk and introductions
Printed signs commonly found in transit stations

Units and Modules:

Tutela: Meeting people
Tutela: Lesson plans: Taking the bus (adapt for the level you teach).
Tutela: Friendship and Events Module
Tutela: CLB 1/2 Module The Weather

Lessons and Activities:

Ellii: Transportation Simple Sentences CLB 2-4 (May need to be adjusted for the level you teach.)
Tutela: Skill-Using Task: Understanding Transit Signs (CLB 3) (May need to be adjusted for the level you teach.)
Tutela: Listening Assessment: A New Classmate CLB 2
Tutela: CLB 2 Listening Assessment: Weather Report
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia: