Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 2 - Listening Comprehending Instructions

Health and Wellness

Real-World Task

Follow instructions of 2 or 3 simple sentences for fasting before a hospital test.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Vocabulary related to medical tests and words for health care providers.
Words to describe periods of time, or sequence of events such as, for eight hours, the evening before, and so on.
Familiarity with the Canadian healthcare system and the role of diagnostic testing in managing health.

Context:

In Canada, your doctor may request you take tests if you are experiencing health symptoms or just on a routine check up basis.
Medical fasting is not the same as
fasting undertaken for religious reasons. When you have to fast in preparation for medical tests, it can help to ask clarifying questions about the restrictions, such as, “Can I drink water during the fast?”

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Imperative forms of verbs for instructions
Simple questions to clarify instructions

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Begin to recognize the main ideas of a listening text.
Begin to understand the specific purpose of certain language functions such as instructions.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Different registers, e.g., formal / informal.
Common social conventions and norms of politeness.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: What experiences have you had with the healthcare system in Canada? What experiences have you had with health care in other countries? How are they similar? How are they different? Have you had medical tests? Were there instructions about the test?
Match picture flashcards showing different vocabulary items with images. In pairs,
take turns to hold up one of the image flash cards and ask your partner what this
image is.
Compare two sentences with instructions, one which is a formal medical type of instruction and one which is a casual instruction to a friend. Look at the differences in the way the request is made to recognise the formality of the medical instruction.
Review the grammar rules for how to use imperative verbs and practice copying simple imperative sentences that give health instructions.
Read three simple sentences with medical instructions and match the instruction to an image of a person following the instruction.
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Listen to a simple instruction about a medical testing requirement. Ask one question about the instruction.
Put three images of a person following medical instructions in the correct time sequence. These images could include a person following these types of instructions: eat your last food at 7pm, go to bed, drink only water in the morning before the test,
go to your appointment at 7 am, and so on.
Have learners listen to short dialogues at doctors offices via websites. They may or not have instructions regarding medical testing but may have other instructions
to follow.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Listen to a short and simplified audio text describing two steps to take for a medical test. Learners answer two simple true / false questions about the audio.
Listen to a time sensitive instruction and move the hands of a clock to that time, or write down the time. Share your answer with a small group and compare the times you recorded.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Follow instructions of 2 or 3 simple sentences for fasting before a hospital test. Fill in the gaps on a handout which has simple sentences based on this information. The missing words represent the key ideas such as, Do not eat any food for 8 hours before your appointment.
Have pairs of learners work together. One learner reads a set of instructions for fasting before a medical test and the other puts sentences, supported with visuals, in the correct order. The pair can switch with another set of instructions as practiced in class such as drinking lots of water, avoiding certain foods or wearing loose clothing.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Some learners may have experience with religious fasting
(e.g., Ramadan, Lent, Yom Kippur) but may not understand the difference to medical fasting. Clarify both the purpose and the limitations of the fasting and be sensitive to learners who may confuse or conflate the two.
Learners from some countries may have limited access to
healthcare as well as different expectations or experiences
with medical instructions. Instructors can build understanding
of Canadian medical norms, such as following pre-test
instructions closely.

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.
Navigate camera and microphone
Adjust volume on device

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.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

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.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma Triggers:

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.
Learners who have experienced trauma may find discussions of health care triggering.
Learners who have experienced trauma can be triggered by people in positions of authority; make sure learners understand their rights in the healthcare system and give strategies for agreeing to and declining medical treatment.

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:

Take a field trip to a community health centre or clinic.
Visit a community pharmacy and hear about tips for fasting.
Create posters that are large appointment reminder cards including all important information for a medical test. Share the posters with another LINC class.

Realia:

Information about hospital tests in a variety of languages
Medical test requisition forms

Units and Modules:

Tutela: OCDSB’s Real World Task Bank – CLB 1 / 2: Health & Safety

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Comprehending Classroom Instructions CLB 2 Reading Assessment
A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

YouTube: Health Videos for ESL Beginners
Tutela: ESL Image Bank: Health