Real-World Task Guidelines:
EAL Literacy
CLB 2L
Health and Wellness
Possible Topics
This theme may include these topic areas:
And so on
Planning Context
Learners may require the following:
- Slower rate of speech
- Face-to-face or one-on-one digital interactions
- Short and supportive interactions
- Texts which are clear, sparse and very easy to read
- Texts which are supported by visual clues (for example, pictures)
- Very short texts which are limited to everyday words and phrases
- Non-demanding contexts
- Topics that are related to immediate personal needs
Instructors may need to:
- Teach all concepts and vocabulary orally first
- Slow their rate of speech
- Use everyday common speech and text
- Create simplified versions of texts and audio clips/ recordings
- Modify instructions to limit to simple imperative sentences
- Use increased white-space, large font size, a literacy-friendly font and clear images
- Provide extensive scaffolding and support
Comprehending Information
Understand simple information about familiar, concrete topics.
- Identifies factual details, such as numbers, letters, time and place.
- Identifies key words and expressions.
Comprehending instructions
Understand short, simple common instructions, commands, requests and directions related to immediate needs.
- Identifies words or phrases that indicate positive or negative commands.
- Responds verbally or nonverbally to indicate understanding.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to simple requests related to common everyday activities.
- Opens a short conversation.
- Uses appropriate memorized expressions, simple sentences and courtesy formulas for requests.
- Indicates communication problems verbally, if needed.
Sharing Information
Give expanded personal information to a supportive listener.
- Answers simple questions about personal information.
- Expresses basic ability or inability.
Comprehending Information
Understand the purpose and some basic details in very simple, short texts related to everyday, related to personally relevant situations and topics.
- Identifies purpose (what is EDII?).
- Identifies numbers, a few key words, and short common expressions.
Getting Things Done
Get information from simple formatted texts.
- Recognizes layout.
- Scans text to find specific details.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand short, simple, clearly sequenced instructions for common, familiar everyday situations.
- Recognizes individual words, phrases and symbols used in simple instructions.
- Follows instructions in the proper sequence
Getting Things Done
Complete short, simple or simplified forms that require only basic personal identification or familiar information.
- Includes the required basic information.
- Follows standard conventions for capitalization and punctuation.
Reproducing Information
Copy a range of information for personal use.
- Copies or records letters, numbers, words and short sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation.
- Copies text with no major omissions and only occasional copying mistakes.
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 language 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
Additional Sample Real-World Tasks and Competency Areas
Listen to a pharmacist give information about taking medication like avoid dairy or alcohol or take with food. (Comprehending Instructions)
Give an instruction to a family member or friend about where to fill a prescription. (Giving Instructions)
Find 2 to 3 details on an invoice from the dentist like your own name, name of clinic and amount of service. (Getting Things Done)
Write answers to simple questions about your health care needs like family doctor, dentist and pharmacy. (Sharing Information)
Additional Resources
- Avenue
- CCLB
- Tutela
- Settlement.org. LINC 2 Classroom Activities.
- Health and Safety p. 387-424
- CCLB. Dealing with Emergencies.
- CIWA. Health Literacy Resources.
- TIES. Healthy Lifestyle.
- Burnaby English Language Centre. Health and Safety: Teaching resources CLB 1-4.
- ISS of BC. Does your arm hurt? Health videos for CLB 2-3.
Digital Literacy Strategies
Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline digital knowledge and skills.
Learners may need to:
- Look at a website.
- Read information from a screen.
- Send and receive text messages.
- Fill in forms online.
Instructors can:
- Have keyboarding and typing skills
- 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.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategies
Instructors Can:
- 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.
- Recognize that people who identify as women may not have had independent access to medical professionals and health care. Make sure these learners are aware of their rights in Canada and the resources that are available to them.
Trauma-Informed Strategies
Triggers:
- Learners who have experienced trauma can be triggered by people in positions of authority; make sure learners understand their rights in the healthcare system and give strategies for making polite requests.
- Learners who have experienced trauma may find discussions of health care triggering.
Strategies:
- Learners have the right to choose if, when and what they share about themselves.
- Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.
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.
