Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 1L-Listening
Interacting with Others

Education and Learning

Real-World Task

Listen to a new learner say their name and where they are from.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Name of own country in English

Context:

Learners are often required to introduce themselves and give some basic information about themselves, including their name, first language, and country of origin.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

greeting words: hello, hi, good morning
phrase: My name is…
countries: Canada, own country, and classmates’ countries in English
languages: English, own language, and classmates’ languages
courtesy phrases: How are you doing, Fine thanks, Nice to meet you
student
teacher
classmate
class

Sample Grammar:

Word order: subject, verb, object
Personal pronouns: I, he, and she

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Introductions in a language class often include your name and country of origin.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Introducing yourself and listening to an introduction is a good way to meet people.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Always greet each learner as they come into class, using a variety of greetings and building over time: hi, hello, good morning/afternoon/evening, it’s nice to see you, and so on.
Begin each class by going around the room and having a simple conversation with each learner: Hi, how are you? I’m fine, thanks. It’s nice to see you today. Have learners repeat the conversation with a partner.
Learn a simple pattern and practice with a partner: Hi, my name is ______. I am from ______.
Copy own name and name of your own country of origin.
Read your name and country of origin out loud to a partner and listen to them read.
Learn a simple dialogue between a learner and an instructor and practice with a partner: Hi, I’m your teacher. My name is Sara. What is your name? Hi, my name is Farzana. I am from Syria.
Change the names in the dialogue to fit the class, and have a learner role-play the teacher and repeat the dialogue with their classmates.
Complete exercises to practice personal pronouns. Point to self and say I. Go around the class and point to learners. This is Jamal, he, This is Amine, she and so on.
Elicit a simple LEA (Language Experience Approach) story from the class about the people in the class. Read together. Give each learner an index card with their own name, and have them match their card to their name in the story.
Answer yes/no questions about the story: “Is Luis from Tunisia? Yes, he is. Is Greta from Syria? No, she isn’t.”
If learners are willing, add photos of each learner to the LEA. Project the LEA onto the board, and when it comes to their page, have each learner introduce themselves and say where they are from. Choral read the story and then echo read the story. Read again, and ask questions on each page about the learner and have their classmates provide the answers.
Interview your classmates: What is your name? Country? Language? If learners are comfortable: Have them introduce a classmate: “This is Daraja. She is from Nigeria. She speaks Yoruba.”

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Give your personal information to a classmate, including your name and where you are from. Listen to your partner’s personal information. Introduce your partner to the instructor using words or short phrases, e.g. Aliya, Syria.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Listen to a new learner say their name and where they are from. Demonstrate understanding by answering very simple comprehension questions.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Be aware of the difference, for some learners, between their culture and their country, and be aware that some learners have never been to their country of origin because they have spent their lives in refugee camps or in bordering regions. Some learners, such as some Kurdish learners, might identify more strongly with a culture that spans several geographic countries than with a country. Always refer to learners with whatever country, culture, or People they choose to identify with, e.g. This is Araz. He is from Kurdistan. This is Yezda. She is from Iraq. Be equally careful with flags and let learners choose the flag that represents them best.

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.
Type information to appear on 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.
Show learners that the size of an image on the screen can be adjusted.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Use diverse representations of people in all your learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQ+, 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.
Teach learners that Canada is a multicultural country with people from almost every country in the world.
Build community wherever possible between learners of the same culture – connecting learners with learners in this or other classes from the same culture – and between learners of different cultures who may have something else in common.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced persecution or who have had to flee their countries may be triggered by this topic.
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:

Teach learners that Canada is an inclusive, multicultural country, and that all people have equal rights in Canada.
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 another class to visit and have each learner partner with a learner from the other class and introduce themselves.
Have a multicultural party in the class with music, dancing, and possibly food from the different cultures in the class.
Create a class poster highlighting the different countries and languages that represent the learners in the class.
Put markers on a map in the classroom that represent the countries the learners identify with as home countries.

Realia:

Flags
Food

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Greetings and Introductions: CLB 1L/2L

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Numeric Focus: CLB 1L/2L
Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Alphabetic Focus: CLB 1L/2L
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 1L
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Traditional Clothing
Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Citizenship