Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 2 - Speaking
Sharing Information

Health and Wellness

Real-World Task

Give a basic, short description of your symptoms when you visit the emergency department.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Some basic vocabulary related to parts of the body, illness, making requests,
and so on.
A little background knowledge of Canadian healthcare system basics
and community resources available
for health concerns.

Context:

Learners should be aware that emergency departments of hospitals
are for true emergencies and the class should explore options in their local area in detail. The wait time to see a doctor
in an emergency department can be extremely long when the health concern is not an emergency. What is an emergency and what are more common ailments can be discussed at length.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

body parts
I don’t feel well.
I have a bad headache and a fever.
I feel tired / dizzy / sick.
I have a headache/toothache/backache/
stomachache ( symptoms with ache)
My throat / head / stomach/ tooth hurts.
I have a cough.
I started feeling sick yesterday / last week / today.
Can I see a doctor, please?

Sample Grammar:

Word order of statements
Simple present
Simple past

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Beginning ability to convey the intended purpose of an utterance through intonation and body language.
Beginning ability to use common expressions for specific purposes.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Culturally appropriate non-verbal communication strategies.
Culturally appropriate strategies to convey politeness and respect.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: When do you go to your family doctor and when do you go to the emergency department or call 911? Make a list on the board of reasons to go to the emergency department and another list for more common concerns that you visit a family doctor or walk-in clinic for, Do you have a family doctor in Canada? Is it hard to get an appointment with your family doctor? Have you ever visited a walk-in clinic? Is a doctor’s visit in Canada different to doctors’ visits in previous countries you have lived in?
Match picture flashcards to words from the vocabulary list. Now match images of different parts of the body such as teeth, eyes, stomach, to the appropriate health care provider such as dentist, eye doctor, family doctor and so on.
Listen to a short, simple audio of a conversation between two family members; one person is describing their symptoms. The other person says to go to an ER. Answer simple true / false questions about the listening. Now, in pairs use the transcript of the audio to practice this as a role play. Focus on improving pronunciation, intonation and fluency.
Look at a simple formatted table (most likely instructor created) which lists different symptoms and which healthcare provider the person should visit for this symptom.. Answer simple questions about the table, such as, Who should you visit for a toothache?
Incorporate phonics activities based on vocabulary words and other vocabulary related to the topic.
Review some basic phrases to describe symptoms using the vocabulary list. Using an instructor created handout, in pairs role play asking questions and answering, such as What is the problem today? I have a very bad cough. I have a headache. My throat hurts.
With a simple instructor created handout, complete sentences with missing vocabulary list items. In pairs learners find the correct missing word from a list provided to make sentences such as, I feel sick. I felt sick all night. I felt sick last week. Compare the use of the simple present to talk about your current symptoms and simple past to talk about symptoms in the past or that started in the past. Learners take turns reading symptoms in the present and simple forms aloud to the whole class.
Read a few simple sentences about the symptoms of the flu. Answer 1-2 simple multiple choice questions about the reading.
Copy the completed sentences from the activity above into a notebook or a digital document. Practice reading the sentences aloud.
In a small group, using a guided dialogue, take turns to role play with a partner about what their symptoms are, such as I feel dizzy, I have a fever, and so on.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Role play giving a short description
of your symptoms to the family doctor.
Role play giving a short description
of your tooth problems to the dentist.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Role play giving a basic, short description of your symptoms when you visit the emergency department to your instructor.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

While it is generally a good idea to teach learners only to go to emergency for medical emergencies, not every community in Canada has enough family doctors or walk-in clinics, and many people in Canada don’t have a family doctor.
Respect for healthcare staff and understanding it is important to expect some delays and to wait patiently are part of Canadian norms for healthcare.

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.
Read information from a screen.

Instructors can:

Make and/ or adapt digital materials.
Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Recognize that women may not have had independent access to healthcare. Make sure these learners are aware of their rights in Canada and the resources that are available to them.
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:

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 had bad experiences with medical care or with lack of medical care, or learners who have been through serious illness or the serious illness of a loved one, may find this topic triggering.

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 local community health centre or public health unit. Tour the clinic and learn about walk-in services.
Visit a local pharmacy and learn about how a pharmacist can help with certain health problems.
Invite a guest speaker from a settlement agency that has health navigation services. If you are in a larger urban area, a speaker from a multicultural health brokers agency to talk about which health services to go to for different ailments.
Role play calling a clinic to make an appointment using
a guided text.

Realia:

Images of different healthcare providers
Sample health care cards
Sample prescription labels
Simplified or multilingual health brochures / infographics

Units and Modules:

Lessons and Activities:

Tutela: Visiting your doctor CLB 1-4
Tutela: Going to the dentist CLB 1-4
Tutela: Visiting a Doctor CLB 2
Tutela: Getting help from various health professionals
A search of NLCG ( nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks
that can be adapted.

Multimedia: