Real-World Task Guidelines:
EAL Literacy
CLB 3L
Health and Wellness
Possible Topics
This theme may include these topic areas:
And so on
Planning Context
Learners may require the following:
- Slow to normal rates of speech
- Face-to-face or digital interactions (that are usually one-on-one or in small groups)
- Personally-relevant topics
- Non-demanding contexts
- Relatively short texts
- Vocabulary limited to common, factual and concrete terms
Instructors may need to:
- Teach all concepts and vocabulary orally first
- Create simplified versions of texts and audio clips/ recordings
- Adapt resources to simplify social interactions
- Modify instructions to limit to 2 to 4 steps
- Speak clearly at a slow to normal rate
- Provide texts which are clearly organized and easy to read with simple layout, with plenty of white space and a larger- than-average font size
- Provide scaffolding and support
Comprehending Information
Understand short, simple, descriptive communication about a person, object, situation, scene, personal experience or daily routine.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies factual details, key words and expressions.
Comprehending instructions
Understand instructions and directions related to familiar, everyday situations of immediate personal relevance.
- Identifies basic connectors related to time (now, then, before, after) and place (this, that, here, there).
- Responds with correct actions to instructions.
Interacting with Others
Understand simple social exchanges, including styles of greetings, introductions and leave taking.
- Begins to identify formal and casual style and register.
- Identifies participant roles and relationships based on courtesy formulas and introductions.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to an expanding range of simple requests related to everyday activities.
- Uses simple sentence and question formations.
- Provides some basic details.
Sharing Information
Give simple descriptions of experiences in a few short sentences.
- Answers simple, factual questions.
- Sustains about 4 to 5 sentences which may not be adequately connected as discourse.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to an expanding range of simple requests related to everyday activities.
- Uses simple sentence and question formations.
- Provides some basic details.
Comprehending Information
Understand the purpose, main idea, key information and some details in simple, short texts related to everyday familiar and personally relevant situations and topics.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies key information and main idea.
Getting Things Done
Get information from short business or service texts.
- Gets overall meaning.
- Scans text for specific information.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand short, simple, clearly sequenced instructions for familiar everyday situations.
- Identifies sequence signals (such as first, second, next.
- Recognizes words, phrases and symbols commonly used in instructions.
Getting Things Done
Complete short, simple forms that require basic, personal identification or familiar information.
- Includes the required basic information with no major omissions.
- Follows standard conventions for capitalization and punctuation.
Reproducing Information
Copy or record a range of information from short texts for personal use.
- Copies or records letters, numbers, words and sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation.
- Copies text with no major omissions and only occasional copying mistakes.
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 language 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
Additional Sample Real-World Tasks and Competency Areas
Listen to a technician give instructions when taking an x-ray like stand here, raise your arms, and lay still. (Comprehending Instructions)
Give a short instruction to a friend for how to get to the community health centre. (Giving Instructions)
Read a simple notice about hand washing. (Getting Things Done)
Write a short description of a healthy living practice. (Sharing Information)
Additional Resources
- Avenue
- CCLB
- Tutela
- Ottawa Public Health. Language learning for health CLB 2-3 Lesson plans and handouts.
- Settlement.org. LINC 3 Classroom Activities.
- Health and Safety p. 437-470
- CCLB. Dealing with Emergencies.
- CIWA. Health Literacy Resources.
- TIES. Healthy Lifestyle.
- Burnaby English Language Centre. Health and Safety: Teaching resources CLB 1-4.
- ISSofBC. 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.
- Locate, navigate and use websites.
- Have keyboarding and typing skills.
Instructors can:
- Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
- Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites.
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.
