Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 4 - Speaking
Getting Things Done

Global Citizenship

Real-World Task

Leave a voicemail message to offer to volunteer at a girls sport event in the community giving your name, your reason for calling, your phone number and your availability.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Knowledge of how to leave voicemail messages, such as ways to leave your name, number and reason for the message.
Vocabulary related to community events, volunteering and dates and times formats.

Context:

In Canada, it is common for people to volunteer for children’s activities and events in their community. They may see it as a way to give back to the community, to help build community pride, to meet new people, to improve their language skills or to gain Canadian experience when looking for a job. Many Canadians value building strong, supportive communities where people know and help each other.
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:

call / ing
volunteer
event
available
weekdays / weekends
all day
Call me back.
You can reach me at … / My number is … /
Let me know

Sample Grammar:

Simple present and progressive present verbs
Adequate pronunciation to convey basic messages

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Connective words and phrases to
indicate preferences and availability.
Use typical set formats in sequencing information such as openings,
pre-closings and closings for leaving voicemail messages.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Cultural references or information.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What are your experiences with volunteering at events or community sports activities in Canada and in other countries?. Compare the frequency, scope and impact of such events. Have you volunteered in Canada? What are some benefits of volunteering? Do you enjoy volunteering? Where can you learn about volunteering opportunities in your community?
Discuss the volunteering opportunities that might be available at a girls sports event or other types of kids sporting events in the community. What skills can you learn when you volunteer? How can volunteering help you when you apply for jobs in Canada? Make a list of potential duties on the board. Are these duties that you can do?
Discuss the vocabulary words and the importance of leaving very clear information in voicemail messages. List all the information you need to leave in a voicemail. What other strategies can help with voicemails? Answers may include speaking a bit slowly and extra clearly.
Listen to a short audio text describing a future school event and the need for volunteers. Answer a set of true / false questions about the listening.
In pairs, read the transcript of the above audio and circle all of the simple and progressive present verbs. Review the rules for the form of these verb tenses and also when to use them. Sentences could include, We are looking for volunteers., and We need 10 volunteers for our event.
Listen to a series of instructor-made voicemails offering to help / volunteer at different events. Each voicemail is missing one key piece of information. Learners identify which piece of information is missing in each audio such as their name, why they are calling, when they can volunteer or their phone number.
In pairs, create a simple voicemail to offer
to volunteer at the future school event. Learners form a small group of four. Practice reading the voicemails they wrote together aloud to the group.
Using cards with various volunteer opportunities, work with a partner and take turns leaving voicemails to respond to the opportunity. Be sure to match the voicemail to the opportunity, the availability needed and the correct contact information (real or imagined).
Look at images of different community sports events for children. Take turns with a partner leaving a voicemail message to offer to volunteer at one of these events including all the key information.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Role play leaving a voicemail offering to volunteer at a holiday event at your child’s school including your name, number and when you are available to help.
Role play a conversation with the instructor where you offer to volunteer at a school event and let your instructor know when you can help and what your skills are.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Role play leaving a voicemail message to offer to volunteer at a girls sport event in the community giving your name, your reason for calling, your phone number and your availability.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

In Canada, volunteering is highly valued because it is seen as a way to give back to the community, build work experience, and meet people. Some Newcomers may come from cultures where unpaid work is rare or only done within the family or religious community.
Even though volunteering is unpaid, the application process can be formal and often is similar to applying for a paid job.
Many organizations, especially those working with youth or vulnerable people, require references or a police background check. For some Newcomers, this may feel surprising or uncomfortable, but in Canada it can be expected.
In Canada, people are often encouraged to express personal motivation including why they want to volunteer or what they hope to learn.

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.
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.
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:

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.
People from all genders, backgrounds, and ages can volunteer in different settings in Canada. There is no one type of person who can volunteer. Some learners may experience changes to gender roles when they come to Canada. For some, this may be a welcome change, but for others it may be challenging. Address their concerns with sensitivity but teach that volunteering in Canada is equitable and inclusive to people of all genders.
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.

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 leaving voicemails for strangers.

Strategies:

Adapt tasks to interact with “safer” people such as classmates or other teachers as needed.
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:

Visit a Local Community Centre and take a tour of the facility, meet staff, and learn about volunteer roles firsthand.
Visit a Volunteer Fair: practice interacting with representatives and learn about real volunteer opportunities in the community.
Invite an Employment Counsellor as a guest speaker to provide a simple introduction to discuss how volunteer work supports job-readiness and skill development.
Give informal presentations: “Why I Want to Volunteer” to share where learners would like to volunteer and how it connects to work and personal goals or past experiences.
Invite community volunteers to talk about their experiences.

Realia:

Authentic volunteer application forms from community centres, libraries, food banks, or settlement agencies.
Sample resumes & cover letters (for volunteer roles) showing different levels of detail and formats.
Volunteer handbooks or role descriptions to provide learners with insight into expectations, duties, and responsibilities.
Community centre flyers or newsletters that include event postings, program descriptions, or calls for volunteers.
Application forms in a variety of languages.

Units and Modules:

Lessons and Activities:

Multimedia:

Tutela: Volunteering Video CLB 3-4
NorQuest College: LINC Works Videos