Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 1L - Reading
Comprehending Instructions

Employment - Finding a Job

Real-World Task

Read a very simple instruction accompanied by a visual for appropriate body language in a Canadian job interview (such as make eye contact or shake hands).

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Capital and lowercase letters
Simple names of some common jobs: teacher, cleaner, security guard, nurse, driver, and so on

Context:

There is expected appropriate body language for Canadian job interviews, including shaking hands or another form of greeting, making eye contact, sitting up straight, etc.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Spacing between letters in a word

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Words on a page can give you information and tell you what to do.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Using appropriate, expected body language in a job interview can help
you get the job.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: what is a job? How do you get a job in Canada? Who has a job in Canada? What do you do? Who had a job before coming to Canada? What did you do?
Review simple job names. Use TPR
(Total Physical Response) to practice job vocabulary: call out a job and have learners respond with their actions, such as swinging a hammer for a carpenter and
so on.
Discuss as a class: what is a job interview? Who has had a job interview?
Listen to a very simple instructor-made dialogue of a job interview, e.g. Hi, John. Do you have a job right now? I am a student. Do you have experience? Yes, I worked in a store. Practice the dialogue as a class until learners are comfortable with it. Have them practice the dialogue in pairs and perform their dialogues for the class.
Discuss as a class: how do you act in a job interview in Canada? Use very simple words and miming to show appropriate body language.
Use vocabulary cards with words and clear pictures to practice job interview vocabulary. Play games such as Bingo, matching, and Memory.
Incorporate phonics activities based on the vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic. Practice 1-2 letters at a time, adding new letters as learners become proficient. Learn the sound and trace and write the letter. Circle the letter in a short list of short, familiar words.
Read a very simple instructor-made story about getting a job in Canada. Use strips with simple words and pictures. Work together with a partner to sequence the events in the story.
Echo and choral read the story several times over the course of several lessons.
Read several instructions about appropriate body language in an interview and match with visuals. Compare with a partner and take turns saying the instructions.
Copy simple jobs to complete sentence stems, e.g. I want to be a _______.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Read a very simple instruction accompanied by a visual for appropriate body language in a Canadian job interview (such as make eye contact or shake hands). Demonstrate understanding by saying the words.
(Very similar to an assessment task; only one of the two may be used in the portfolio.)

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Read a very simple instruction accompanied by a visual for appropriate body language in a Canadian job interview (such as make eye contact or shake hands). Demonstrate understanding by saying the words.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Learners may not be aware of the job possibilities for them in Canada. Help learners to understand what kinds of jobs are available to them and what their rights are as employees.

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.
Type information to appear on screen.

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.
Show learners that the size of an image on the screen can be adjusted.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

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.
Learners who are women (all women, including transwomen), may not have had the opportunity to work in their country of origin. Teach learners that people of all genders can do any job in Canada.
Recognize and teach learners that work done in the home and other unpaid work is still work, and list cooking, cleaning, gardening, and raising children as examples of work.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced trauma may be triggered by authoritarian questioning or figures of authority, such as a boss. Make all mock interviews gentle and be aware of any learner who needs support.
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:

Visit a job fair.
Practice a very simple job interview with learners.
Practice filling out other simple application forms such as forms for the library, community centre activities or volunteering.

Realia:

Items associated with different professions such as a stethoscope, tools, and so on. Ensure that the realia includes a range of items used in professional, blue collar and what are commonly described as survival jobs.

Units and Modules

Lessons and Activities:

LINC 1 Classroom Activities Employment (p. 285-326)
(Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Numeric Focus: CLB 1L/2L
Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Alphabetic Focus: CLB 1L/2L
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 1L
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: People in Different Jobs
Unite for Literacy: People at Work