Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 1L - Speaking
Interacting with Others

Employment - Finding a Job

Real-World Task

Greet an interviewer appropriately at a job interview and introduce yourself.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Name of own country in English
Name of own language in English
Basic jobs vocabulary: teacher, doctor, nurse, etc.

Context:

You usually need to introduce yourself when trying to get a job.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

greeting words: hello, hi, good morning
phrase: My name is…
courtesy phrases: how are you doing, fine thanks, nice to meet you
jobs: cleaner, delivery person, security guard, cook, etc.
interview
boss

Sample Grammar:

Word order: subject, verb, object, taught with whole phrases

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Interviews usually begin with introductions.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Greeting a potential employer, introducing yourself, making eye contact, and shaking hands is a good way to make a good first impression.
First impressions are very important.
It is important to be on time, to dress appropriately and be prepared.

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 ______.
Discuss as a class: what is a job? How do you get a job in Canada? Who has a job in Canada? What do you do? Who had a job before coming to Canada? What did you do?
Elicit a simple LEA (Language Experience Approach) story from the class about having a job. Write on the board and then as a bookfold. Read together. Give each learner an index card with a word from the story and have them match their card to the word in the story.
Use vocabulary cards with words and clear pictures to practice jobs vocabulary. Play games such as Bingo, matching, and Memory.
Read a very simple instructor-made story about going to a job interview in Canada. Use strips with simple words and pictures. Work together with a partner to sequence the events in the story.
Practice the story frequently, reading to the class as well as echo and choral reading.
Read People at Work on a computer or other device. Learn how to click or tap to change the pages and how to play the audio for the story.
Listen to a simple dialogue at a job interview and practice with a partner. Perform your dialogue for the class.
Copy simple jobs to complete sentence stems, e.g. I want to be a _______.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Role-play an introduction with a classmate: Hi. Hello, my name is ________. It’s nice to meet you. It’s nice to meet you, too.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

In a role play, greet an interviewer appropriately at a job interview and introduce yourself, also saying where
you are from.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Body language is highly cultural, including how to show respect and things such as eye contact, how to greet someone (shake hands, kiss, bow, etc.), and how close to comfortably stand next to someone else. Without judgement for the appropriate body language of other cultures, teach learners what is expected in Canada. Practice making brief eye contact while shaking hands, with an appropriately firm handshake, and saying hello.

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 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.
Learners who are women (all women, including transwomen), may not have had the opportunity to work in their country of origin. Teach learners that people of all genders can do any job in Canada.
Recognize and teach learners that work done in the home and other unpaid work is still work, and list cooking, cleaning, gardening, and raising children as examples of work.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced trauma may be triggered by authoritarian questioning or figures of authority, such as a boss. Make all mock interviews gentle and be aware of any learner who needs support.
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:

Visit a job fair.
Practice a very simple job interview with learners.
Invite some learners to class who have a job. Have them tell you about their interviews. Learners practice introducing themselves.

Realia:

Items associated with different professions such as a stethoscope, tools, and so on. Be mindful that realia should include a mix from professional, blue-collar and what are typically considered survival jobs.

Units and Modules

Lessons and Activities:

LINC 1 Classroom Activities Employment (p. 285-326)
(Not literacy but can be adapted)
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: Reading Skills Stories
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 1L
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: People in Different Jobs
Unite for Literacy: People at Work