EAL Literacy:
Getting Around
and Transportation
This theme focuses on the communications skills needed to move around communities effectively.
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 an announcement of 2 or 3 words from a bus driver about the next stop.
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 two people greet each other to learn whether they drove or took the bus.
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 an announcement of 2 or 3 words from a bus driver about the next stop.
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 two people greet each other to learn whether they drove or took the bus.
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 an announcement at a train or subway station that gives the number of the train that is arriving and its destination.
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 a short conversation between two learners who are talking about a cultural event like an Indigenous or Francophone festival to find out how they got there, the date and time.
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 an announcement on public transportation that gives information about the transportation like a delay or route change.
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 conversation between two people where one person is asking the other person for directions to a Francophone cultural centre to find out the address.
Interacting with Others
Understand simple social exchanges, including styles of greetings, introductions and leave-taking.
Communication is brief, about 5 turns.
- Identifies a range of common courtesy expressions in discourse.
- Identifies participant roles and relationships based on courtesy formulas and introductions.
CLB 4L
Listen to an announcement on public transportation that says that the bus/ train is shutting down and explains alternate arrangements.
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 conversation between two people who are comparing the best route to get to the cultural centre.
Interacting with Others
Understand short social exchanges containing introductions, casual small talk and leave-taking.
Communication is about 6 turns.
- Identifies formal and casual style and register.
- Identifies specific factual details and some implied meanings.
Listen to two people talking about transportation challenges for disabled people and possible solutions.
Interacting with Others
Understand short social exchanges containing introductions, casual small talk and leave-taking.
Communication is about 6 turns.
- Identifies formal and casual style and register.
- Identifies specific factual details and some implied meanings.
Speaking
CLB Foundation L
Ask for directions to the bus stop.
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.
Give directions from your classroom to another part of your school/ organization.
Giving Instructions
Give brief, simple, common, routine instructions to a familiar person.
Instructions are a few words or a short phrase.
- Uses imperative forms and memorized stock expressions.
- Uses appropriate courtesy words (such as please, thank you).
CLB 1L
Ask for directions to the bus stop.
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.
Give directions from your classroom to another part of your school/ organization.
Giving Instructions
Give brief, simple, common, routine instructions to a familiar person.
Instructions are a few words or a short phrase.
- Uses imperative forms and memorized stock expressions.
- Uses appropriate courtesy words (such as please, thank you).
CLB 2L
Ask for directions to a familiar location, such as the school or grocery store.
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.
Give directions from the school/ organization to your home.
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.
CLB 3L
Ask for directions to two different locations in the community on foot.
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.
Give directions on how to walk from one location in the community to another.
Giving Instructions
Give simple, common, routine instructions and directions to a familiar person.
Instructions are about 2 to 3 steps.
- Uses appropriate courtesy forms and structures.
- Expresses movement and location.
CLB 4L
Ask for directions to two different locations in the community by public transportation and decide which to take.
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.
Give directions from one location in the community to another location by public transportation.
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.
Reading
CLB Foundation L
Read 2 or 3 highly familiar words (own name, bus and so on) in a very short message from a friend that says they are taking the bus to school today.
Read a highly simplified bus schedule with one stop and one time to see when the bus will arrive at the school.
CLB 1L
Read a very short, very simple message from a friend that says that they are taking the bus to school today.
Interacting with Others
Understand short greetings and simple goodwill messages.
- Locates dates, times, addresses and phone numbers.
- Locates specific words and phrases.
Read a highly simplified bus schedule to see when the bus will arrive at the school.
Getting Things Done
Get information from very short, simple, common formatted texts.
- Identifies numbers and familiar words.
CLB 2L
Read a short, simple message from a friend that says how they are going to get to work today.
Interacting with Others
Understand short greetings and other goodwill messages.
- Finds a few simple details.
- Gets the gist.
Read a simplified bus schedule to see how often the bus will arrive at the school.
Getting Things Done
Get basic information from short, simple business or service notices.
- Scans text to find specific details.
CLB 3L
Read a short letter or email of a few sentences from a friend that describes their recent travel experience to another city or town in Canada.
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 bus schedule and choose the best way to get from home to another location.
Getting Things Done
Get information from simple, formatted texts.
- Identifies layout and specific information.
- Scans formatted text to find specific information.
CLB 4L
Read a letter or email from a friend that describes their recent travel experience to another country.
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 several bus schedules and choose the best way to get from one location to another, including at least one bus transfer.
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 the name and phone number of a local tax company.
Copy 2 to 3 highly familiar words into a very simple, short guided text to say how you came to school today.
CLB 1L
Copy the name, address and phone number of a local taxi company.
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 from a word bank to complete a very simple, short guided text to say how you came to school today.
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.
Copy the name and address of a store that sells food from your culture.
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.
CLB 2L
Copy the address and the French name of the school where an event is taking place.
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 guided text to say 1 to 2 places you can walk to from your home.
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 the address and information on how to take public transportation to a centre for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.
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.
Write a few sentences to describe your favourite way to travel in your community, town or city (such as on foot, by bus, by car, by taxi and so on).
Sharing Information
Write a few sentences to describe a familiar person, object, place, situation or event.
- Uses a few connected sentences.
- Provides adequate descriptions, though a reader may have some difficulty following the message.
CLB 4L
Copy the addresses and the information of how to take public transportation to two different cultural events to determine how much time it will take and which you will go to.
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.
Write a paragraph to describe two ways to get from your home to school (such as by bus, by car, on foot and so on).
Sharing Information
Write a short paragraph to describe a familiar situation, event, personal experience or future plan.
- Uses basic paragraph structure.
- Conveys main ideas and supports them with some detail.
To get to the local mosque Eid celebration on time, write your home address, the address of the mosque and determine how long to get there on time using public transportation schedules.
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.
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 others 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.
