Real-World Task Guidelines:
EAL Literacy

CLB FL

Social Connections
and Relationships

Planning Context

Learners may require the following:

  • Clear photographs
  • Topics are related to immediate personal needs
  • Face-to-face or one-on-one digital interactions
  • Text that is single words
  • Slower rates of speech
  • Non-demanding contexts

Instructors may need to:

  • Limit vocabulary to highly familiar words and phrases
  • Speak slowly
  • Use increased white-space, large font size, a literacy-friendly 
font and clear photographs
  • Limit reading text to highly familiar words
  • Provide extensive scaffolding and support

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

Additional Sample Real-World Tasks and Competency Areas

Listen to 2 or 3 word instructions from
a friend about looking after their pet. (Comprehending Instructions)

Greet a new classmate and ask where they are from.
(Interacting with Others)

Read 2-3 names of your classmates.

Complete 1 or 3 highly familiar words in a guided text
to write about yourself like first name and last name.

Additional Resources

Digital Literacy Strategies

Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline digital knowledge and skills.

Learners may need to:

  • Look at a website.

Instructors can:

  • Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).

Equity, Diversity 
and Inclusion Strategies

Instructors Can:

  • Use diverse representations of people in all 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 and teach learners that Canada is a diverse place and has people from many different cultures. Canadian culture includes the cultures of 
all people in Canada.

Trauma-Informed Strategies

Triggers:

  • Meeting new people may be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma.
  • Give learners advance warning of this topic and be aware 
that there may be learners who require support.

Strategies:

  • Learners who have experienced trauma often benefit from having routine.
  • Learners who have experienced trauma benefit from having choices.
  • Learners have the right to choose if, when and what they 
share about themselves.

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.