Detailed Sample Task: EAL Literacy

CLB FL-Speaking
Interacting with Others

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Real-World Task

Introduce yourself with your pronouns.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Basic greetings

Context:

People identify themselves with a gender and each gender has associated pronouns.
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:

man
woman
boy
girl
personal pronouns: he, she, they
greeting words: hello, hi, good morning, good afternoon, my name is, how are you?

Sample Grammar:

Present simple used in context only: is, are

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Pronouns represent a person and stand in place of a name or noun.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Everyone identifies with a gender and uses pronouns.
Introductions usually include a greeting, your name, and a response to the other person. Introductions can also include pronouns.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Teach learners the words man and woman. Show pictures of men and women and repeat the words. Do the same with pictures for girl and boy. Once learners are starting to understand, show a picture and ask, man or woman? If you are willing, point to yourself and ask, man or woman? If learners are willing, do the same for the class. Note: this activity is focused on cisgender because of the level of the learners. If any learners indicate they identify in a way other than what you have assumed, respect that and use the appropriate term (man/woman) for them as they identify.
Learn a short, very simple pattern for introducing yourself: Hi, my name is _________. Introduce yourself to each learner. Have them introduce themselves in turn.
Practice introductions at the start of each class. Over a few classes, add other greeting words, such as hello, good morning, or good afternoon.
Read a very simple instructor-made story to the class with an introduction. Read to the learners, and then echo read and choral read the story.
Learn a longer dialogue: Hi, my name is ________. It’s nice to meet you; my name is __________. Hello, _________, how are you? I’m fine, thanks. Learn through rote repetition and focus on the rhythm and intonation of the sentences. Build on the dialogue over a few days until learners can do the entire dialogue.
Sit in a circle. Each learner speaks in turn. The first learner says their own name, e.g. My name is Farhad. The next learner introduces the first learner to this class: e.g. This is Farhad. He is a man. My name is Miriam. The following learner introduces both learners: e.g. This is Farhad. He is a man. This is Miriam. She is a woman. My name is Miki. Continue for the entire class.
Copy your own name and either man or woman.
Look at a picture of a man with “man” written below. Circle he or she. Repeat with a picture of a woman and “woman” written below.
Sing The Subject Pronoun Song. Note the images are cartoonish and may be difficult for learners to follow. As you sing the song, indicate real people in the class if they are willing to participate.
Practice introductions with pronouns. Line up in two lines facing each other. Greet your partner, say your name, and say your pronoun. Then one line shifts down one person to the left, and repeat.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Introduce your partner and say their pronoun. Note that one pronoun is fine for this task (e.g. she and not she, her). E.g. Hello. This is Miriam. She uses she. Single words are also fine; e.g. Hello. This is Miram. She.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Introduce yourself and say your pronoun. Note that one pronoun is fine for this task (e.g. she and not she, her). E.g. Hello. My name is Tekle. I use he. Single words are also fine; e.g. Hello. My name is Tekle. He.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

In many countries, women (all women, including transwomen) do not have the same rights as men. Try to explain equality in Canada to learners so that they really understand what their rights are. Give concrete examples, such as women can do any job, women can drive, women can vote, women can have a bank account, and so on. Also if appropriate include gender-based violence: it is illegal to hit anyone in Canada, including for a husband to hit a wife or for parents to hit children.
Laws about rights may be different in Canada than in other countries. For some learners, this may be a welcome change, but for others, it may be difficult. Learners may have different opinions about equality. Respect their right to an opinion while gently teaching them about rights and laws in Canada.

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:

Teach learners that all people in Canada have the same rights. With this level, you may need to teach this simply, with actions, and more than once. Use the word same and show your hands at the same level when discussing men and women, people of different countries, people of different religions, and so on.
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 been victims of gender-based violence, forced marriage, and child marriage may be triggered by discussions of pronouns. It may also be helpful and empowering to them to understand their rights in Canada. Be very sensitive to how learners are feeling and watch for anyone who needs support.
Learners who are 2SLGBTQIA+, whether or not they openly acknowledge this, may be triggered by any discussion of pronouns. In many countries it is illegal to be 2SLGBTQIA+ and/or anyone who is thought to be so may face persecution, discrimination, violence, or death. Never force learners to identify their gender or sexuality if they don’t want to. Always respect their right to choose what information they use for themselves.
This topic can be highly triggering, and learners may disclose experiences of violence or sexual violence. When a learner discloses an experience, it is enough to acknowledge and respond, “I am so sorry that happened to you.” You may need to gently redirect the class during or following a disclosure, and be aware that one disclosure may trigger other learners who have also experienced trauma.
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:

If any learner shows any reluctance to talk about their gender, have them introduce a fictional person instead. Use a photograph of a person and tell the learner their name and preferred pronoun.
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:

Create a book about the class. Make a page for each learner. With permission, add the learner’s photograph. Have them copy their name, “he” or “she,” and if able, a word about themselves. Read the book together as a class.

Realia:

Photos of people
Photos of learners

Units and Modules:

Tutela (CCLB): Greetings and Introductions: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Numeric Focus: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela (Archway): Personal Information: Alphabetic Focus: CLB 1L/2L (Not the right level but can be adapted)
Tutela: Norquest LINC Phonics Curriculum: CLB FL
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Adults Learn to Print
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Reading Skills Stories
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

The Subject Pronoun Song