Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB 3L-Listening
Interacting with Others

Education and Learning

Real-World Task

Listen to a conversation between an instructor and a new learner to find out the new classmate’s name, where they are from, and their family structure.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Present simple
Basic family vocabulary: husband, wife, mother, father, son, daughter, child/children, grandparents, and so on.
English name of own country and several other countries
Subject pronouns: I, you, she, he, we, they

Context:

It is common at school to introduce yourself with where you are from.
There are many different kinds of families.
This task reflects the intention to include all people in Canada in the themes. The language skills in this task could be applied to other contexts.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Information questions in the present simple: Where are you from? What is your name? Do you live with your family?

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

The answer to an information question echoes the structure of the question, e.g. Where are you from? I am from Canada.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Greetings and introductions are common parts of small talk.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

At the beginning of each class, greet each learner and engage them in a little small talk. Gradually vary the greetings and courtesy expressions over time.
Listen to a dialogue between two learners introducing themselves and talking about where they are from.
Play the introductions game. Sit in a circle. The first learner introduces themselves and says where they are from, e.g. My name is Sadia. I am from Afghanistan. The next person introduces the first person and adds their own information, e.g. This is Sadia. She is from Afghanistan. My name is Tomas. I am from Colombia. The third person introduces both people before them before adding their own information and so on around the circle, until the last person must try to introduce everyone in the circle.
Post several different family trees on the board/screen. Choose family trees with a photograph and name of each person, and choose a variety of families, e.g. a family with same-sex parents, a family with different sex parents, a single-parent family, and so on. Discuss as a class: What are the relationships between the people? What kinds of families are there? Note: it is easiest for many learners to talk about fictional families rather than their own families, especially if they have experienced trauma.
Make a list of family vocabulary words and use the family trees on the board to practice the words.
Read a simple story about different families. Read the story to the class and then choral read and echo read the story. Discuss what the story is about. Match vocabulary cards to words in the story and copy family vocabulary words to complete sentences. Read the story multiple times over the course of several lessons to practice pronunciation, intonation and fluency.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Listen to statements about a family and circle the correct vocabulary words used in the statements. Fill in the blanks to complete a short cloze exercise about each family.
Review information questions in the simple present. Practice information questions by unscrambling words and writing the correct question.
Interview your partner about their name, where they are from and who they live with. Learners should be encouraged to share as much as they are comfortable with.
Complete a jigsaw activity with your partner. Each partner has a prompt card about a person. Ask your partner questions about the person. Your partner responds with the person’s information including their name, where they are from, and their family or who they live with.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Listen to several people introduce themselves, saying their names, where they are from, and the family they live with. Demonstrate understanding by circling the correct information you hear.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Listen to a conversation between an instructor and a new learner to find out the new classmate’s name, where they are from, and their family structure. Demonstrate understanding by answering comprehension questions.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Some learners may come from cultures where there is a lot of discrimination against people who are 2SLGBTQIA+, or where it is illegal to be 2SLGBTQIA+. Some learners may have strong opinions about being 2SLGBTQIA+. Respect learners’ rights to their opinions, but gently affirm the laws in Canada and teach that Canada is an inclusive country for all people.

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.
Use familiar apps, social media platforms and web pages.
Read information from a screen.

Instructors can:

Dedicate time to improve digital literacy for learners.
Make and/or adapt digital materials.
Introduce websites and/or apps that are relevant to the task(s).
Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites.
Teach reading strategies such as skimming and scanning to find information on websites or apps.
Introduce tools and apps that can aid learners in coping with communication barriers, such as translation, pronunciation, text to speech, speech to text tools and so on.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Use diverse representations of family including families with different kinds of parents (different sex, same sex, single parents of any sex) and from different cultures.
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.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced discrimination for being 2SLGBTQIA+ or who have experienced or are experiencing gender-based violence may be triggered by discussions of family, even inclusive discussions of family.
Learners who have lost family members may be triggered by discussions of family.
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:

Use fiction, or, if you are willing, examples from your own family to talk about family. Never require learners to tell their own stories.
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:

Have learners write simple sentences to describe themselves and gather this together into a little booklet. Take a picture of each learner, if they are willing, for their page.
Invite another class to come visit and practice introducing yourself to the learners in the other class.
On a simplified world map, tag the countries represented by the learners in the class with the learners’ names.
If appropriate for the class, considering trauma implications, complete basic family trees.

Realia:

Maps
Flags
Photographs of different kinds of families

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Socializing with Others: CLB 3/4 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela (ATESL): Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism: CLB 3/4 (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: Classroom Language: CLB 2L/3L

Lessons and Activities:

LINC 3 Classroom Activities: Education (p. 311-342) (Not literacy but can be adapted)
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB 3L
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Education
YouTube (AWES): Video Playlist for Newcomers on Diversity and Inclusion