EAL Literacy:
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
This theme focuses on the communication skills needed to express the values and beliefs around fair treatment and accessibility for all people. Find out more about this theme here.
Choose a CLB level by clicking below to access information about Real-World Tasks and Detailed Sample Tasks for this theme.
Helpful Hint
You would benefit from familiarity with Literacy Learner Considerations for each level as you navigate the Sample Real-World Tasks below.
Listening
CLB Foundation L
Listen to a short, simple sentence about equality in Canada and say or point to a picture of two groups who are protected.
Comprehending Information
Understand very simple information about highly familiar, concrete topics.
- Identifies a few obvious factual details, such as numbers, letters, time and dates.
- Identifies a few key words and short expressions related to immediate needs.
Listen to someone introduce themselves to you, to identify their pronouns.
Interacting with Others
Understand individual greetings, introductions and goodwill expressions. Communication is very brief, 1 or 2 short turns.
- Identifies individual, familiar words and short phrases used in common courtesy formulas.
- Indicates comprehension with appropriate verbal or non-verbal responses.
CLB 1L
Listen to a short, simple sentence about equality in Canada and say or point to a picture of two groups who are protected.
Comprehending Information
Understand very simple information about highly familiar, concrete topics.
- Identifies a few obvious factual details, such as numbers, letters, time and dates.
- Identifies a few key words and short expressions related to immediate needs.
Listen to someone introduce themselves to you, to identify their pronouns.
Interacting with Others
Understand individual greetings, introductions and goodwill expressions. Communication is very brief, 1 or 2 short turns.
- Identifies individual, familiar words and short phrases used in common courtesy formulas.
- Indicates comprehension with appropriate verbal or non-verbal responses.
CLB 2L
Listen to a couple of sentences about simple rights in Canada and name or point to pictures of two of your rights.
Comprehending Information
Understand simple information about familiar, concrete topics.
- Identifies simple factual details, such as numbers, letters, time, place, key words and expressions.
- Identifies words related to personal identification information.
Listen to someone who is 2SLGBTQIA+ introduce themselves and their partner.
Interacting with Others
Understand greetings, introductions, requests, goodwill expressions and an expanding range of basic courtesy formulas. Communication is very brief, 2 or 3 turns.
- Identifies common courtesy phrases and an expanding range of expressions.
- Identifies participant roles and relationships based on courtesy formulas and introductions.
CLB 3L
Listen to a few short sentences about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada and name three of your rights.
Comprehending Information
Understand short descriptive narrative communication on topics of personal relevance.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies factual details, key words and expressions as required.
Listen to a few short sentences about local community services for seniors.
Comprehending Information
Understand short descriptive narrative communication on topics of personal relevance.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies factual details, key words and expressions as required.
CLB 4L
Listen to up to 10 sentences about your rights and responsibilities in Canada and name several of your rights and responsibilities.
Comprehending Information
Understand short descriptive narrative communication on topics of personal relevance.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies factual details, some implied meanings, key words and expressions.
Listen to a BIPOC speaker give tips on how to be a good ally.
Comprehending Information
Understand short descriptive narrative communication on topics of personal relevance.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies factual details, some implied meanings, key words and expressions.
Speaking
CLB Foundation L
Introduce yourself with your pronouns.
Interacting with Others
Use and respond to basic courtesy formulas and greetings
- Uses appropriate basic courtesy formulas.
- Indicates communication problems verbally or nonverbally.
Ask your teacher for help if you can’t hear the lesson.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to simple requests related to immediate personal needs.
- Uses appropriate single words, phrases, memorized expressions and courtesy formulas.
- Uses simple expressions of time.
Practice the cultural greetings for classmates’ celebrations both in first languages and English.
Interacting with Others
Use and respond to basic courtesy formulas and greetings
- Uses appropriate basic courtesy formulas.
- Indicates communication problems verbally or nonverbally.
CLB 1L
Introduce yourself with your pronouns.
Interacting with Others
Use and respond to basic courtesy formulas and greetings
- Uses appropriate basic courtesy formulas.
- Indicates communication problems verbally or nonverbally.
Ask your teacher for help if you can’t hear the lesson.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to simple requests related to immediate personal needs.
- Uses appropriate single words, phrases, memorized expressions and courtesy formulas.
- Uses simple expressions of time.
CLB 2L
In a couple of phrases or a sentence, explain to another student how to introduce yourself with your pronouns if you wish to.
Giving Instructions
Give short, simple, common, routine instructions to a familiar person.
Instructions are short phrases or imperative sentences.
- Uses imperative forms, memorized stock expressions and appropriate courtesy words (such as please).
- Gives both positive and negative commands.
Ask for support from your teacher and explain one thing that will help you.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to simple requests related to common everyday activities.
- Uses appropriate memorized expressions, simple sentences, and courtesy formulas for requests.
CLB 3L
Give 2-3 instructions to a new classmate on how you are inclusive in your classroom.
Giving Instructions
Give simple, common, routine instructions and directions to a familiar person. Instructions are 2 to 3 steps.
- Uses appropriate courtesy forms and structures.
- Expresses movement and location.
Ask for support in school for a child with a disability and explain two things they need.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to an expanding range of simple requests related to everyday activities.
- Uses appropriate polite expressions.
- Uses simple sentences and question formations.
CLB 4L
Give 4-5 instructions about how you can be inclusive in the school or community.
Giving Instructions
Give a set of simple, common, routine instructions and directions to a familiar person. Instructions are about 4 to 5 steps.
- Uses appropriate courtesy forms and structures.
- Expresses movement and location.
Ask for support in school for a neurodivergent friend or family member and explain what help they need.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to a range of requests and offers.
- Asks questions and makes requests and suggestions politely and appropriately.
- Uses modals with some accuracy.
Reading
CLB Foundation L
Read 2-3 words in a message from a friend wishing you well on your cultural holiday like Congratulations, Best Wishes, or Thinking of You.
Read a familiar word or symbol (such as an arrow, the Pride flag, or the word “park”) on a sign to locate a Pride event at your school.
CLB 1L
Read a very short message of a few sentences from a friend wishing you well on your cultural holiday.
Interacting with Others
Understand short greetings and simple goodwill messages.
- Locates dates, times, addresses and phone numbers.
- Locates specific words and phrases.
Read a familiar word or symbol (such as an arrow, a Pride flag, or the word “park”) on a sign to locate a Pride event at your school.
Getting Things Done
Get information from very short, simple, common formatted texts.
- Identifies numbers and familiar words.
CLB 2L
Read a short message from a friend wishing you well on their cultural holiday.
Interacting with Others
Understand short greetings and other goodwill messages.
- Finds a few simple details.
- Gets the gist.
Read a simple poster for a Pride event at your school or organization.
Getting Things Done
Get basic information from short, simple business or service notices.
- Scans text to find specific details.
CLB 3L
Read a message from a friend with an invitation to celebrate their cultural holiday at their home.
Interacting with Others
Understand short, personal social messages within predictable contexts of daily experience.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies some specific details and information (such as sender, date and response required).
Read a handout for Pride Month at your school or organization.
Getting Things Done
Get information from simple, formatted texts.
- Identifies layout and specific information.
- Scans formatted text to find specific information.
Read a greeting and message from a friend for International Women’s Day telling you about three women who influenced them in their lives.
Interacting with Others
Understand short, personal social messages within predictable contexts of daily experience.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies some specific details and information (such as sender, date and response required).
CLB 4L
Read a message from a friend with a description of a cultural holiday (Diwali, Eid, Hanukkah, Christmas, and so on).
Interacting with Others
Understand simple personal social messages within predictable contexts of daily experience.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies specific important details (such as sender, date and response required)
Read a short brochure for Pride Month in your community and compare several of the events to decide which one to attend.
Getting Things Done
Get information from simple, formatted texts.
- Identifies layout and specific information.
- Compares facts and information to make choices.
Writing
CLB Foundation L
Copy several orally familiar words about gender and sexuality like man, woman, gay, and trans.
Write words to match images to identify a very common accommodation like glasses or a wheelchair.
CLB 1L
Copy a short list of orally familiar words about gender and sexuality like man, woman, gay and trans.
Reproducing Information
Copy numbers, letters, words, short phrases or sentences from simple lists or very short passages, for personal use or to complete short tasks. Texts to copy are up to 2 sentences in length, have a clear layout and basic everyday information.
- Copies letters, numbers, words and short sentences, including capitalization and punctuation.
- Copies text legibly; reader may still have difficulties decoding some letters and numbers.
Write words to complete a very simple, short text about common accommodations like wearing glasses if you can’t see the board.
Sharing Information
Writes a few words to complete a short, guided text or answer simple questions to describe a personal situation.
- Writes a few personal and familiar details.
- Writes legibly.
CLB 2L
Choose two words from another culture and copy their meanings and sample sentences like the words “prayer” and “dance”.
Reproducing Information
Copy a range of information, from simple lists or very short passages, for personal use or to complete short tasks. Texts to copy are 3 to 5 sentences, have clear layout, and basic everyday information; lists have about 10 items.
- Copies letters, numbers, words and sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation.
- Copies text legibly; reader may still have difficulties decoding some letters and numbers.
Write words to complete a short text about common accommodations in class like sitting close to the front where you can see or using headphones if it is hard to hear.
Sharing Information
Write a few words to complete a short, guided text or answer simple questions to describe a personal situation.
- Follows some spelling and punctuation conventions.
- Writes legibly.
CLB 3L
Copy suggestions for being inclusive in class.
Reproducing Information
Copy or record a range of information from short texts or personal use. Texts to copy are up to about 1 paragraph and have a clear layout.
- Follows standard Canadian conventions for capitalization, punctuation and other requirements of the genre.
- Copies text legibly, causing only slight uncertainty in decoding for the reader.
Describe in a few sentences what you need in class to help you hear, see and understand the lesson.
Sharing Information
Write a few sentences to describe a familiar person, object, place, situation or event that is important in your life.
- Uses a few connected sentences.
- Provides adequate descriptions, though a reader may have some difficulty following the message.
Copy a list of ways the classroom causes problems for different groups of people that need accommodations in the classroom.
Reproducing Information
Copy or record a range of information from short texts or personal use. Texts to copy are up to about 1 paragraph and have a clear layout.
- Follows standard Canadian conventions for capitalization, punctuation and other requirements of the genre.
- Copies text legibly, causing only slight uncertainty in decoding for the reader.
CLB 4L
Choose approaches to equity, diversity and inclusion that you would like to see in your school or community and copy onto a graphic organizer.
Reproducing Information
Copy or record an expanded range of information from short texts for personal use. Texts to copy are up to about 2 paragraphs and have a clear layout.
- Follows standard conventions for capitalization and punctuation; accurately copies other elements of formatting.
- Copies text legibly, causing only slight uncertainty in decoding for the reader.
Describe in a paragraph what you need in class to support you in being a good language learner.
Sharing Information
Write a short paragraph to describe a familiar situation, event, personal experience or future plan.
- Use basic paragraph structure.
- Conveys main ideas and supports them with some detail.
Literacy Learner Considerations
CLB FL Literacy Learner Considerations
Listening and Speaking
For listening and speaking, Foundation L learners vary in their abilities. It is important for them to build oral language related to the task or theme. This will help them understand the structure of the language, cultural-specific ways of communication, and to recognize the same language in print.
Reading
To prepare for CLB 1L reading tasks, Foundation L learners can work towards foundation reading skills, in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task or text
- recognizing letters of the alphabet
- connecting letters and corresponding sounds
- attending to first sound when learning new oral vocabulary
- attending to the first letter and corresponding sound when locating a familiar word
- recognizing numbers 1-10
- recognizing date and date of birth formats
- recognizing their own name in print
- recognizing a few common sight words related to the task
Writing
To prepare for CLB 1L writing tasks, Foundation L learners can work towards foundational writing skills, in the context of real world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task or text
- gripping a pen or pencil effectively
- forming the letters of own name legibly, and orally spelling own name
- using letter counting to check accuracy while copying
- forming capital and lowercase letters from a model
- creating a reference card with personal identification information
- forming numbers 1-10
- tracing and copying words
- labeling a picture or diagram
- filling in missing first letter of a dictated familiar word related to the task
- attending to the first sound when attempting to write words
CLB 1L Literacy Learner Considerations
Listening and Speaking
1L learners are meeting the requirements of CLB 1 in listening and speaking. It is important for 1L learners to develop all new languages orally first so that it is familiar to them when they learn to recognize it in print. Listening and speaking should be taught and assessed orally and not through the skills of reading and writing. There is a focus on learning basic and immediately relevant vocabulary and beginning to learn the sounds of the language, including the ability to break words into sounds and to blend sounds into words.
Reading
To be successful in 1L reading tasks, 1L learners can work towards the development of reading skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- recognizing that letters have distinct sounds
- connecting letters to sounds
- reading own name and recognizing own address and personal information
- developing first sight words
Writing
To be successful in 1L writing tasks, 1L learners can work towards the development of writing skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- forming lowercase and uppercase letters
- identifying the first sound and some other sounds in a familiar word
- copying words
- writing own name and personal information
CLB 2L Literacy Learner Considerations
Listening and Speaking
2L learners are meeting the requirements of CLB 2 in listening and speaking. It is important for 2L learners to develop all new languages orally first so that it is familiar to them when they learn to recognize it in print. Listening and speaking should be taught and assessed orally and not through the skills of reading and writing. There is a focus on increasing basic, immediately relevant vocabulary and learning the sounds of the language, along with the ability to break words into sounds and to blend sounds into words.
Reading
To be successful in 2L reading tasks, 2L learners can work towards the development of reading skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- using short vowel sounds to differentiate between a few short, highly familiar words
- beginning to blend sounds to read very simple words
- recognizing familiar repeated sentence stems
- developing some very basic sight words
Writing
To be successful in 2L writing tasks, 2L learners can work towards the development of writing skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- using a mature grip on a pencil or pen
- forming all letters and numbers with increasingly consistent size
- filling in missing initial and final sounds of dictated familiar words
- spelling own name and a small set of short, familiar function words from memory
CLB 3L Literacy Learner Considerations
Listening and Speaking
3L learners are meeting the requirements of CLB 3 in listening and speaking. It is important for 3L learners to develop all new languages orally first so that it is familiar to them when they encounter it in print. Listening and speaking should be taught and assessed orally and not through the skills of reading and writing. There is a focus on widening basic vocabulary and learning grammatical structures through rhythm and repeated patterns.
Reading
To be successful in 3L reading tasks, 3L learners can work towards the development of reading skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- categorizing familiar single-syllable words by rime (make, take, lake)
- recognizing diagraphs as a single sound while reading familiar words (fish, church, think)
- attending to initial, medial and final sounds when reading familiar words
- recognizing inflectional endings (-ing, -ed, -s)
Writing
To be successful in 3L writing tasks, 3L learners can work towards the development of writing skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- forming letters and numbers in consistent, adult-like size
- writing with consistent spacing
- developing a larger rote spelling repertoire including multisyllabic words
- using long vowel conventions in spelling
CLB 4L Literacy Learner Considerations
Listening and Speaking
4L learners are meeting the requirements
of CLB 4 in listening and speaking. It is important for 4L learners to develop all new languages orally first so that it is familiar to them when they read it and use it in print. Listening and speaking should be taught and assessed orally and not through the skills of reading and writing. There is a focus on an increasingly broad vocabulary for basic communication and a wider range of grammatical structures that are familiar through rhythm and repeated patterns.
Reading
To be successful in 4L reading tasks, 4L learners can work towards the development of reading skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- applying onset-rime knowledge to decode unfamiliar words in context
- attempting to break unfamiliar multisyllabic words into syllables while reading in context
- beginning to recognize common but irregular spelling patterns (height, although)
- identifying contractions and their connection to long forms
Writing
To be successful in 4L writing tasks, 4L learners can work towards the development of writing skills in the context of real-world tasks, such as:
- developing oral vocabulary related to the task
- forming letters and numbers with automaticity
- varying writing size and line spacing depending on context
- using root words to attempt to write new words independently (happy, happiness)
- applying spelling rules for inflectional endings with accuracy
Sample Real World Tasks
This information is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and is designed to help guide you in the planning process. You can use these sample real-world tasks to guide and inform your selection or creation of skill-building activities, skill-using tasks and assessment tasks
These sample real-world tasks include the following: skill, real-world task, competency area, one competency statement and two sample indicators of ability. This is not an exhaustive list: there are more indicators of ability and information about this CLB level in Canadian Language Benchmarks English as a Second Language for Adults. Consult this resource for more information and to select your own competencies or indicators of ability. Remember, you can use more learner-friendly language in your materials and assessments.
This is NOT a lesson plan, module plan or curriculum.
