Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 2 - Listening
Getting Things Done

Getting Around and Transportation

Real-World Task

Follow 1 to 2 simple directions to get to a local Francophone settlement organization like “Take bus number 2” or “Get off on Orchard Road.”

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Modes of transportation
Simple present
Numbers to 60
Precise times, such as 6:37 pm.
Expressions of time such as 15 minutes, half an hour, an hour (if “time” skills are not developed, do task with on the hour and half hour times only)

Context:

More than 22% of the population of Canada is Francophone.
Settlement organizations and cultural centres often provide services and programming especially to people of that culture. Many workshops and events are also open to the general public.
Many people in Canada, especially in urban areas, use public transportation.
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:

Francophone
French
settlement organization
Forms of transportation such as bus, train, and so on
bus number
address
road/street/avenue

Sample Grammar:

Imperative for directions
Numbers to identify buses and trains
Prepositions of place such as on, at, near and so on
Format of addresses

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Directions for transportation are short and on the imperative
Directions use numbers and place names

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Settlement agencies can help with language, employment and settlement.
One should listen carefully to directions
You can check your understanding by asking for repetition or repeating the information

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What is public transportation? Elicit names of public transportation, including vocabulary words. Identify which forms of public transportation are in your local area. What forms of public transportation have you used in Canada? What forms of public transportation did you use in other countries?.

Use vocabulary cards with images of your local public transportation when possible and practice vocabulary using a variety of games and activities such as Memory, Bingo, and TPR (Total Physical Response).

Poll the class on who uses which form of public transportation and record the numbers on a tally chart. As a class, transfer this information to a simple bar graph.
Look at websites or apps for public transportation in your area. Practice finding the routes the learners in the class take and identifying the schedule.
Teach the phrases There is/there are and complete a worksheet.
Practice and review directions: “Take bus number 4. Get off at Main Avenue”. Have learners give a single simple direction to their homes.
Practice the imperative for directions and instructions.
Practice a dialogue in which one passenger tells another passenger about the directions to a place in the community. Practice as a class and then in partners. “Where is the library? There is a library downtown on First Street. How do I get there? Take bus number 6. Get off at First Street. The library is next to the supermarket. Practice the dialogue several times over the course of several lessons to practice pronunciation, intonation and fluency.
Review prepositions of place. Practice giving the information for different places in the community using a simplified map. The library is on First Street. The supermarket is next to the hotel.. The school is near the park and so on.
Listen to a series of sentences with directions to different places, using different modes of transportation. Circle the mode of transportation, the numbers and the street names on a worksheet.
Read a series of short, simple directions to different community places on public transportation. Circle the important information about the transportation, the numbers and the locations. Highlight any prepositions of place.
In pairs, using directions written on cards, one learner reads the directions and the other learner follows the directions on a map. Reverse roles.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Listen to the directions to a local community centre. Circle the mode of transportation, the number and the location on a worksheet.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Follow 1 to 2 simple directions to get to a local Francophone settlement organization like “Take bus number 2” or “Get off on Orchard Road.” Complete a simple worksheet, circling the correct information.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

There are Francophone settlement organizations in many communities in Canada. About 22% of the population of Canada
are Francophone, and many Newcomers to Canada speak French.
Some learners may not come from cultures with public transportation that follows strict routes and schedules.

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, for example, finding a specific route.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

When discussing Francophones in Canada, include Newcomers to Canada who speak French as a first language, and deliberately include people of many cultural backgrounds in the images of Francophone Canadians.
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.
Show learners where to find information about subsidized transit passes in your area.
Recognize that some learners may not feel safe on public transportation, possibly including those who identify as women or who are 2SLGBTQIA+. Help learners identify some strategies for safety, such as avoiding public transportation after dark, riding with a friend, staying in well-lit areas, or staying alert. Avoid assuming that everyone takes public transportation or feels comfortable doing so.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

Learners who have experienced trauma may not feel safe using public transportation. Help learners identify strategies for safer use, but also recognize that public transportation does not feel safe for everyone.
Be aware that learners who have experienced trauma may be triggered by changes to their predictable routine, such as delays or route changes. Recognize that for some learners, a delay or change may feel like more than an inconvenience.
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 Francophone cultural centre.
Try a traditional Francophone food in Canada, such as tortiere or poutine.
Listen to a French Canadian song.
Visit other cultural centres in your community. Create an LEA story about the outing.
In a Show and Tell formal, learners make short presentations about their culture and present it to the class.
Walk to a nearby train or subway station as a class and look at the route maps, layout, and ticket machines. Practice the route numbers and destinations
Take a short field trip as a class using public transportation and create an LEA (Language Experience Approach) story about it.

Realia:

Google Maps or another mapping app
Paper maps
Websites of cultural centres in your community
Websites and apps for public transportation in your area
Route maps

Units and Modules:

Tutela: Travel and Transportation CLB 2
LINC 3 Classroom Activities: Travel and Transportation (p. 471) (Not the correct level but can be adapted)
Tutela (CCLB): Getting Around the City: CLB 3/4(Not the correct level but can be adapted)
Tutela (CCLB): Socializing with Others: CLB 3/4(Not the correct level but can be adapted)

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Taking the Bus
Tutela: CLB 3 Module Plan: Transportation (Not the correct level but can be adapted)
Tutela: Listening for Appointment Times at the Dentist’s Office CLB 2
Tutela: LINC 3 Classroom Activities Community and Government Services (p. 273-310) (Not the correct level but can be adapted)
Tutela (OCDSB): Greeting a Friend at a Community Event: CLB 3 (Not the correct level but can be adapted)
Tutela (OCDSB): Assessment Task: Finding Information about the Train or Bus or Subway: CLB 3 (Not the correct level but can be adapted)
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Types of Transportation
Google Maps