Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB FL - Listening
Comprehending Information

Health and Wellness

Real-World Task

Listen to an announcement for the vaccine clinic to find out the address.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Addresses have numbers and a street name.
You need the addresses of places you need to go for appointments or other reasons.

Context:

Vaccine clinics in the community provide children’s vaccinations, flu shots, COVID vaccinations, and other vaccinations.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Present simple: is
Question word: where

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

There are small spaces between letters and larger spaces between words.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

You can ask someone to repeat themselves if you didn’t understand what they said.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Put up a clear photograph on the board
or screen of a nurse giving a child a vaccination. Ask learners: what is happening? Where are they? Who is this (point to the nurse)? Who is this (point to the child)? What is this (point to the needle)? Ask learners if they have ever had a needle. Teach the word vaccine.
Use word cards with large, clear photographs to practice nurse, clinic,
and needle.
Read a very simple instructor-made story to the learners about getting a vaccine. Ask questions to guide comprehension: who is this (point to the nurse)? Who is this (point to the patient)? Where are they (point to the clinic)? What is this (point to the needle)?
Role-play a vaccine clinic. Write a sign on the board. Have a learner play the part of the nurse and mime giving a vaccine. Have the other learners play the parts of the patients. Encourage as much language as possible: clinic, I need a vaccine, needle, nurse, here is the vaccine.
Sing and work out to Count by 1s to 10.
Work with a partner. Count objects, such as stones, bingo chips, markers, or pencils.
Tell the instructor how many there are.
Work as a class. Count how many learners are in the class. Tell the instructor how many there are.
Listen to the instructor as “What is your name? “ Answer the instructor. In a round circle, ask and answer “What is your name?” with classmates.
Listen to the instructor ask “What is your address?” With support from the instructor repeat your address. In a round circle practice asking and answering “What is your name? What is your address?”.
Copy your own address.
Listen to a number from the instructor.
Hold up that many fingers to show understanding.
Play “Where Is It?” The instructor says a simple address for a location, like a school, clinic, or store. Learners repeat the address back.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Listen to someone telling you the address of a clinic and repeat it back, using a number from 1 to 10 and a familiar and simple street name.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Listen to an announcement for the vaccine clinic to find out the address. Demonstrate comprehension by saying the address (number from 1 to 10 and familiar and simple street name, e.g. 2 Main Street).

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Learners may not come from places where they have access to childhood vaccinations. They may not know what a vaccination is.
Some learners may not be in favour of vaccinations, although they likely received multiple vaccinations when they came to Canada as part of the immigration process. If it becomes an issue in class, adjust the task to a different kind of clinic and focus on listening to the address.

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.

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.

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.
Research actual vaccination clinics in your community and in the neighbourhoods where the learners live so that they know where they can go.
Make sure learners know that vaccinations (with the possible exception of specific vaccinations for travel) are free.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have had bad experiences with medical care or with lack of medical care, or learners who have been through serious illness or the serious illness of a loved one, may find this topic triggering.
Some people are frightened of needles and may find this topic 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:

Invite a public health nurse who understands the level of the class to speak with the class.
Visit a public health clinic and arrange a tour if possible.
Visit a blood donation clinic. Give the clinic advance notice.
Create a class poster of significant locations, corresponding addresses, and phone numbers.

Realia:

Plastic syringes used for administering liquid medication

Units and Modules:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Visiting the Doctor: CLB FL/1L

Lessons and Activities:

LINC 1 Classroom Activities: Health and Safety (p. 366-404)
(Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: Following Medication Instructions: CLB FL/1L
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB FL
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

YouTube: Count by 1s to 10
Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Health