Real-World Task Guidelines:
EAL Literacy
CLB 4L
Banking and Numeracy
Possible Topics
This theme may include these topic areas:
Planning Context
Learners may require the following:
- Slow to normal rates of speech
- Face-to-face or digital interactions (that are usually one-on-one or in small groups)
- Topics related to personal relevance
- Non-demanding contexts
- Relatively short texts
- Vocabulary limited to common, factual, and concrete terms
Instructors may need to:
- Create simplified versions of rental websites
- Create navigation guides for websites
- Adapt resources to simplify social interactions
- Modify instructions to limit to 4 to 5 steps
- Speak clearly at a slow to normal rate
- Provide texts which are clearly organized and easy to read with simple layout
Comprehending Information
Understand short descriptive or narrative communication on topics of personal relevance.
- Responds with appropriate actions to instructions.
- Recognizes and identifies the correct sequence of steps.
Comprehending information
Understand short, descriptive or narrative communication on topics of personal relevance.
- Identifies factual details (who, what, where and when).
- Identifies some implied meanings, key words, and expressions.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to a range of requests and offers.
- Asks questions and makes requests politely and appropriately.
- Facilitates the listener’s comprehension by repeating and explaining.
Sharing Information
Ask for and give information about needs and feelings related to everyday activities.
- Asks and answers simple, factual questions.
- Expresses, feelings, needs, preferences, satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to a range of requests and offers.
- Asks questions and makes requests politely and appropriately.
- Facilitates the listener’s comprehension by repeating and explaining.
Getting Things Done
Get information from simple formatted texts.
- Identifies the type and purpose of the document.
- Compares information to make choices.
Interacting with Others
Understand simple personal social messages within predictable contexts of daily experience.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies specific important details. (such as sender, date and response required).
Reproducing Information
Copy or record an expanded range of information from short texts for personal use.
- Accurately copies elements of formatting from template.
- Copies information with no major omissions.
Getting Things Done
Complete simple forms that require basic personal or familiar information and some responses to simple questions.
- Follows appropriate conventions for addresses, telephone numbers, etc.
- Follows most spelling conventions.
Getting Things Done
Write simple business or service messages
- Conveys main ideas and supports them with some detail in a basic paragraph structure
- Uses language and content that are appropriate to the purpose, intent and social context.
Literacy Learner Considerations
Listening and Speaking
4L learners are meeting the requirements of CLB 4 in listening and speaking. It is important for 4L learners to develop all new language orally first so that it is familiar to them when they read it and use 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 an increasingly broad vocabulary for basic communication and a wider range of grammatical structures that are familiar through rhythm and repeated patterns.
Reading
To be successful in 4L reading tasks, 4L 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
- applying onset-rime knowledge to decode unfamiliar words in context
- attempting to break unfamiliar multisyllabic words into syllables while reading in context
- beginning to recognize common but irregular spelling patterns (height, although)
- identifying contractions and their connection to long forms
Writing
To be successful in 4L writing tasks, 4L 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 letters and numbers with automaticity
- varying writing size and line spacing depending on context
- using root words to attempt to write new words independently (happy, happiness)
- applying spelling rules for inflectional endings with accuracy
Additional Sample Real-World Tasks and Competency Areas
Listen to a short information session on fundraising at your child’s school. (Interacting with Others)
Call the bank and leave a voicemail requesting an appointment to meet to discuss a student loan. (Getting Things Done)
Read a short paragraph comparing the benefits of opening a regular savings account vs. a tax-free savings account. (Comprehending Information)
Complete up to 20 items on an application for a loan. (Getting Things Done)
Additional Resources
- Avenue
- CCLB
- Tutela
- ABC Life Literacy Canada. (2021). ABC internet matters.
- NorQuest College. (2021). Digital literacy.
- Settlement Calgary.com. (2020). How to identify and avoid scams and fraud [Video]
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.
- Have keyboarding and typing skills.
- Send and receive text messages.
- Fill in forms online.
- Have an email address and be able to navigate email proficiently.
Instructors can:
- Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
- Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites.
- 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.
- Teach reading strategies such as skimming and scanning to find information on websites.
- Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
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.
- Use gender neutral titles when addressing people.
Recognize that people who identify as women may not have had independent access to financial professionals and banking services. Make sure these learners are aware of their rights in Canada and the resources that are available to them.
Trauma-Informed Strategies
Triggers:
- Learners who have experienced trauma can be triggered by people in positions of authority.
- Filling in forms can be a trigger for learners who have experienced trauma.
- Discussions of scams, fraud, and theft may be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma, especially those who have lost their homes, possessions, and/ or money.
Strategies:
- Give learners advanced warning of discussions of this topic.
- Allow learners the choice:
- to work on a different topic.
- to share or not share their own experiences.
- to work alone or to work with others.
- to take care of themselves.
- to step out of the learning environment.
- Learners have the right to choose if, when and what they share about themselves.
- Make space for learners to feel safe and recover from the experience of sharing their experiences.
- Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.
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.
