Real-World Task Guidelines:
EAL Literacy
CLB 1L
Canada
Possible Topics
This theme may include these topic areas:
Planning Context
Learners may require the following:
- Visual clues
- Topics are related to immediate personal needs
- Face-to-face or one-one-one digital interactions
- Text that is clear, sparse and very easy to read
- 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 images
- Modify instructions to limit to 2 to 5 words
- Provide extensive scaffolding and support
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.
Comprehending Information
Understand very simple information about highly familiar, concrete topics.
- Identifies a few obvious factual details, such as numbers, letters, times and dates.
- Identifies a few key words and short expressions related to immediate needs.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand very short, simple instructions, commands and requests related to immediate needs.
- Identifies words or phrases that indicate positive or negative commands.
- Indicates comprehension with appropriate verbal or non-verbal requests.
Interacting with Others
Use and respond to basic courtesy formulas and greetings.
- Responds appropriately to common greetings, introductions, and leave-takings.
- Uses acceptable gestures and body language when making requests.
Sharing Information
Give basic personal information in response to direct questions from a supportive listener.
- Answers simple questions about personal information.
- Speaks in isolated words or strings of 2 to 3 words.
Interacting with Others
Understand short greetings and simple goodwill messages.
- Locates dates, times, addresses and phone numbers.
- Locates specific words and phrases.
Getting Things Done
Get information from very short, simple, common formatted texts.
- Identifies numbers and familiar words.
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.
Getting Things Done
Complete very short, simple or simplified forms that require only basic personal identification information. Forms contain up to about 5 personal identification items and have clear labels and areas in which to write.
- Includes the required basic information.
- Write basic information in appropriate sections.
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 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 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
Additional Sample Real-World Tasks and Competency Areas
Listen to a Canadian introduce themselves and say where they are from. (Interacting with Others)
Say your favourite season in Canada and say 1 thing about the weather in that season. (Sharing Information)
Read a very simple instruction, supported with visuals, for what to take with you if you go camping like a flashlight and tent. (Comprehending Instructions)
Copy a few very simple details about your city or town in Canada. (Reproducing Information)
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.
Instructors can:
- Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
- Show learners how to send and receive text messages.
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 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.
- Recognize that some learners may have different views. You can be sensitive to their differing opinions, but all learners benefit from EDI, and all learners have the right to an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
Trauma-Informed Strategies
Triggers:
- Learners may have experienced misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and/or racism in the community.
- Discussions of gender, sexuality, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia may be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma.
- Learners who have experienced trauma may not want to talk about why they came to Canada.
- Give learners advance warning of these topics 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.
- Allow learners to choose how and whether they would like to participate in sharing 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.
