Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 3 - Speaking
Interacting with Others

Getting Around and Transportation

Real-World Task

Participate in a short, casual conversation with another transit passenger. Talk about where you are going.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Vocabulary related to casual conversations and small talk.
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.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

stop / station
route
transfer
connection
phrases related to conversation openers and closers ( such as, Hello, Nice day today. Have a great day!)
phrases related to chatting about the journey (such as Are you going far? Where are you going? I’m on my way to…)
phrases to show interest in small talk (such as, Me, too! That’s nice! That’s interesting! Oh really?)

Sample Grammar:

Present progressive tense
Adequate pronunciation to convey basic messages

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Cohesion links between sentences
(such as pronoun references).
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? Do you take transit in Canada? What do you notice about passengers 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 noticed Canadians taking part in small talk conversations? What topics are good when chatting with a stranger? What topics should you avoid in small talk?
Read small talk topics on a set of flashcards. Sort out the topics on each card into two groups, appropriate for small talk with a stranger and not appropriate for small talk with a stranger. Create a chart for the classroom.
Review the vocabulary and practice with various activities.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Review the form and use of the present progressive verb tense with a focus on actions happening now and future planned events. Practice making complete sentences by changing the base form of the verb in each sentence to the present progressive form of the verb in a handout or digital document. Check your completed sentences with a partner.
Read a paragraph about transit safety with a partner. The paragraph contains some errors with verb tenses; correct these errors with a partner so the present progressive form is now correct throughout. Take turns to read the paragraph aloud with attention to intonation and clear pronunciation.
Listen to a short conversation between two people in line up at a coffee shop. In groups, create two follow up comments or questions you could add to maintain this conversation.
Listen to an audio of a short conversation between two new LINC classmates on the first day of class. Listen again and read along with a text of the conversation. Read the text again, and draw a line upwards when the intonation is rising, downwards when it is falling and straight when it is level. In small groups, take turns reading aloud the conversation trying to match the intonation to the original.
Create a set of five 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 five 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.
Discuss as a class: Where do you travel by bus? What are some other locations in your community / town / city where you might go by bus? Practice asking each other where you are going in different forms as applicable, with responses determined by the use of flashcards of different locations.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Introducing yourselves and asking each other questions about learning English and coming to Canada. Then, introduce your partner to another classmate using the information you learned from them.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Role play with a classmate or the instructor, participating in a short, casual conversation with another transit passenger. Talk about where you are going.

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:

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:

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 the Canadian workplace. 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
Invite a guest speaker to talk about using transit safely
Create digital posters with tips about chatting with Canadians, including the benefits and some advice about topics.
Give short presentations about transit safety to another LINC class.
Visit another LINC class close to the same level and introduce themselves and make some small talk with other English learners.

Realia:

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

Units and Modules:

Lessons and Activities:

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

Multimedia: