Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 1L - Speaking Getting Things Done

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Real-World Task

Ask your teacher for help if you can’t hear the lesson.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Be aware that learners may not share information about their disabilities (e.g., visual or hearing) or express their individual needs for accommodation. Create a safe environment for learners to share their needs.

Context:

Everyone has the right to accommodations to have their needs met in the class.
It is appropriate for learners to ask for individual help or accommodation.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

vocabulary related to a specific challenge or disability (e.g., eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands)
verbs to express senses: (see, hear, smell, taste, feel,)
verbs related to learning: (read, write, listen, understand, speak)
can’t, no
words to express need for help (help, please, teacher)
nouns related to common objects in the classroom (chair, chalk, board, paper, pen)
nouns and pronouns for people in the classroom (teacher, classmate, I, she / he / they)

Sample Grammar:

Verbs in imperative form – affirmative  and negative (e.g., Please speak louder; Please don’t use your phone now).
Formulaic expressions with “can’t” to express lack of ability  (I can’t see; I can’t understand).
Expressions for polite requests  (please, could you).

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

No specific requirements for this task.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Using please to make a polite request.
It is appropriate and expected to ask the teacher for help.
Body language to convey a challenge or need for help.
Body language to show understanding and acceptance (a nod).

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Use TPR (Total Physical Response) to teach names of parts of the body (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands) and senses (see, hear, smell, taste, feel ). First call out the body parts (for example, Touch your ears and learners respond with the appropriate action), and then call out the senses (For example, I see with my eyes and learners respond by touching their eyes).
Use TPR to teach statements with senses/ actions and “can’t”. For example, call out I can’t see, and learners respond by covering their eyes, or I can’t hear, and learners respond by acting it out.
If learning in-person, play “swat:” Use magnets or tape to put up two copies of images of the desired vocabulary words on the board and divide the learners into two teams. Call up a learner from each team and give them a fly-swatter. Call out a vocabulary word; whoever “swats” the word on their list first gets a point.
From a short, simple instructor-made story on the topic, have learners listen as the instructor reads, following with their finger. Have learners repeat after the instructor to match intonation and fluency. Finally, have learners read the story as a group, and then individually
Have learners practice a short dialogue together as a class: Learner: Can you please help me? I can’t hear. Instructor: Of course! Please sit here. Practice as a class, in pairs and then have pairs demonstrate their dialogue for the class.
Practice asking for help in pairs: Can you please help me?
Match word cards to words in the sentence; for example, in the sentence Can you please help me? Have learners match you to you, help to help and so on. As a follow-up activity, learners use word cards to fill in a blank in the now very familiar sentence, Can you please help me?
Learners work in pairs. In response to a sentence expressing a challenge, they give simple advice, such as Sit here, Wear glasses and so on.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Role-play a dialogue in which a learner asks a teacher for help.
Ask a partner for help: Can you please help me? I can’t hear.
Tell a classmate you don’t understand the teacher.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Ask the instructor for help because you can’t hear. Use please and speak fairly clearly.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

In Canada, it is appropriate and expected for learners to ask the instructor for help if they need it.
In Canada, learners have the right to accommodations to meet their needs in the class (and in the workplace).

Digital Literacy Strategies:

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

Learners may need to:

Look at a website.
Read information from a screen.

Instructors can:

Introduce digital tools to cope with communication challenges, such as translation, text to speech or speech to text tools.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Instructors can:

Use diverse representations of people learning materials and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Francophone and of other cultures, and people who have disabilities or who are neurodivergent.
Recognize that learners with disabilities and learners who are neurodivergent may need accommodations in the class or workplace; when possible, help learners of all abilities understand their rights in the class or workplace.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have disabilities or who are neurodivergent may have experienced ableism or discrimination. Discussions of these topics can be triggering for these learners.
Give learners advance warning of this topic and be aware that there may be learners who require support.

Strategies

Create a safe and supportive classroom environment, where learners can feel comfortable to express their challenges and needs for accommodation.
Recognize and respect learners’ right to choose if, when and what they share about themselves.

Resources

Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:

Visit another literacy (or mainstream class) and see where learners sit so that they can see and hear the instructor.
If your school or organization has one, visit the learner services or learner accommodations centre.
Work as a class to make a poster with tips for hearing or seeing the instructor better.
Post simple sentences or phrases with common requests for help for learners to use when in need.

Realia:

Examples of glasses (for example, old readers that have been donated)
Cell phone options to help cope with disabilities (e.g., to increase font size, volume, magnify print, voice assistance, colour contrast)

Units and Modules: