Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 4L - Listening
Comprehending Information

Health and Wellness

Real-World Task

In the emergency room, listen to a nurse saying they do not speak French or another language but will get another nurse who can.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Present simple
Names of languages: French, English, Spanish, Farsi, Amharic, and so on

Context:

There are often nurses in hospitals who speak multiple languages.
Hospitals often have access to interpreter services as well, to support speakers of other languages.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Modal verbs: can
Coordinating conjunctions: and, or, but, so

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Speakers often string their sentences together into compound sentences.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

You can ask for a translator in a hospital.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What is an emergency room? What is an urgent care facility and what is the difference between emergency and urgent care? What is the name / are the names of hospitals with emergency rooms in your community?
Discuss as a class: When do you go to emergency? What are examples of good reasons to go to emergency?
Discuss as a class: What do you do when you have an emergency and need help in your own language? How do you ask for a translator?
Review vocabulary and have learners write words to complete a mini-dictionary.
Practice vocabulary using a variety of activities, such as matching, fill in the blanks, Bingo, Taboo (in which one learner describes a word without saying it and the other learners guess), crossword puzzles, putting the words in alphabetical order, and so on.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Review the modal can and practice by filling in blanks, editing incorrect sentences, and writing sentences.
Review and, or, but, so and practice using them in speech and in writing to join sentences together.
Write compound sentences about visiting the emergency room by combining a sentence from each column and using an appropriate coordinating conjunction,
e.g. I need to see a doctor, but I am going to have to wait.
Review common world languages. Sit in a circle. Have the first learner introduce themselves and say what language(s) they speak. The next learner introduces themselves and says their language(s) and then introduces every learner sitting before them and the language(s) they speak.
Practice sentences about the language they speak and a language or two that they don’t speak.
Listen to recordings of nurses saying they don’t understand. Circle the words you hear. Identify the language they do not understand.
Listen to a dialogue between a nurse and a patient about finding someone who can translate. Practice the dialogue with a partner and perform the dialogue for the class.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

In the emergency room, listen to a dialogue between a nurse and a patient about finding someone who can translate. Demonstrate understanding by answering comprehension questions.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

In the emergency room, listen to a nurse saying they do not speak French or another language but will get another nurse who can. Demonstrate understanding by answering comprehension questions.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Depending on where you live in Canada, there may be a shortage of family doctors, and in some communities, the emergency room is one of the only ways to see a doctor in person. Tailor your discussions for this task to the situation in your community.

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.
Scan online resources to find information.
Read formatted texts online, such as forms or labels.

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.
Teach reading strategies such as skimming and scanning to find information on websites.
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 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.
Recognize that women may not have had access to medical care. Make sure these learners are aware of their rights in Canada and the resources that are available to them.
Make sure that learners understand how to access medical care in Canada. Make sure learners understand what medical care is free, and that there is sometimes a cost involved in a prescription, and that there are ways to get help with those costs.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced trauma may find discussions of medical care triggering. Learners who are frightened or phobic about needles may find discussions of vaccines triggering.
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:

Attend a talk by a public health nurse.
Visit a pharmacy and complete an LEA (Language Experience Approach) story.
Look up local walk-in clinics online and note the closest one, including the address, phone number, and opening hours.

Realia:

Empty medication bottles
Pamphlets or handouts about hospitals

Units and Modules:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Staying Healthy: CLB 2L/3L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela (CCLB): At the Walk-In Clinic: CLB 3/4
(Not literacy but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela (OCDSB): Assessment Task: Comparing Information on Prescription Medicine Labels: CLB 4
(Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 4L
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Health