Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB FL-Listening
Comprehending Information

Employment: Finding a Job

Real-World Task

Listen to a job title and the hourly wage.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Numbers 0-20

Context:

Many jobs are paid an hourly wage.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Present simple with be: is

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Spoken numbers refer to amounts, in this case, of money.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Many jobs are paid an hourly wage, but you usually get your paycheque every two weeks.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What is a job? Do any of the learners have jobs? Did any of the learners have jobs before they came to Canada?
Sing along to Count by 1s to 10.
Practice counting up to 20 objects (e.g. stones, bingo chips, marker lids, popsicle sticks, and so on.) and saying how many there are.
Listen to the instructor call out a number from 1-10 and count out that many objects.
Use play money to do a variety of counting activities such as counting how much money there is (whole dollar amounts up to $20) or counting out play money to match a target amount.
Discuss as a class: When you have a job, who pays you? When do you get paid? How much do you get paid?
Look at clear photographs of people doing different jobs: cleaner, kitchen helper, security guard, cook, housekeeper. Elicit any names the learners may already know. Practice the vocabulary as a class.
Give each learner a set of vocabulary cards with clear photographs. Use TPR (Total Physical Response). Call out a job and have learners point to the correct card or use a motion to respond, such as holding a flashlight for a security guard.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Practice the vocabulary through various activities such as matching pictures, pictures with words, copying, go fish and so on.
Use physical objects to represent jobs, such as a cleaning cloth for a cleaner, a spatula for a kitchen helper, and so on. Practice “hiring” learners for a job by telling them the job and giving them an object. Discuss as a class how much money they will get for one hour, and have a learner (“the boss”) count out the amount and pay them with play money.
Listen to the instructor call out various money amounts and/or jobs and circle the amounts/words you hear from a list on a worksheet.
Listen to a very simple dialogue between a boss and a worker about getting paid: I worked 4 hours. Okay, here is your money. Thank you! You’re welcome!

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Listen to a job title and the hourly wage. Show understanding by circling the photograph of the correct job (out of two) and counting out the correct amount of money. (Very similar to assessment task; only one of the two may be used in the portfolio.)

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Listen to a job title and the hourly wage. Show understanding by answering 2 very simple questions or by circling the photograph of the correct job (out of two) and counting out the correct amount of money.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Learners may not be familiar with their rights as workers and may not be familiar with Canadian employment conventions, such as being paid every two weeks. Some learners may have or have had jobs for which they’re being paid “under the table.” Teach learners that workers have rights.

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.
Type information to appear on screen.
Complete formatted texts online, such as simple forms.

Instructors can:

Dedicate time to improve digital literacy for learners.
Make and/ or adapt digital materials.
Introduce websites or apps that are relevant to the task(s).
Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites or apps.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

When discussing jobs, include many jobs that are common for learners at this level to have, as well as jobs of people they may come into contact with, like cleaners, babysitters, gardeners, labourers, security guards, store clerks, teachers, doctors, or nurses.
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 or who are experiencing poverty may find discussions of wages triggering.
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 nearby employment centre.
Visit a job fair.
Look at pictures of people doing different jobs. Have learners identify jobs they have done and would like to do.
Bring in items associated with different jobs, like a doctor’s coat, a hammer, a spatula, and so on. Have learners role play different jobs.

Realia:

Items associated with different jobs: cloth, flashlight, spatula, and so on.
Play money

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Safety at Work: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela (Archway): Warehouse Worker Module: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

LINC 1 Classroom Activities: Job Application Forms (p. 295) (Not literacy or the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB FL
Tutela: Foundation L-CLB 2L Phonics Curriculum
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: People in Different Jobs
YouTube: Count by 1s to 10