Detailed Sample Task: Stage I
CLB 2 - Listening
Comprehending Instructions
Home and Neighbourhood
Real-World Task
Follow short, simple instructions from a landlord on separating garbage and recycling.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- Different materials commonly found in household items, plastic, paper, metal.
- Some familiarity with the options for dealing with household waste.
Context:
- Rental units, including apartments and townhouses may have specific requirements and instructions for the disposal of waste, including recycling and composting.
- Different ways that waste is disposed of in Canada.
Vocabulary and Grammar
Sample Vocabulary:
- plastic
- metal
- paper
- throw out
- milk cartons
- glass jars
- metal cans
- cardboard
- waste
- recycle
- compost
- garbage
- blue / green / black bins (as applicable in different regions)
Sample Grammar:
- Adjective and noun combinations.
- Simple imperative forms.
- Prepositions related to disposing of waste, for example in, by, under, and so on.
Knowledge and Strategies
Textual and Functional Knowledge:
- Ask for repetition.
- Seek clarification as required.
- Express confirmation of understanding.
Sociolinguistic Knowledge:
- Begin to recognize different registers as it relates to requests.
- Begin to recognize common idiomatic expressions.
- Begin to recognize common social conventions and norms of politeness in speech.
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- Learners match a list of household waste items to images of the corresponding items.
- Elicit from learners if they know how to dispose of some common household waste items.
- Learners circle prepositions describing the location of items on a visual of a classroom.
- Review how we describe the material that an item is made from, metal + can, glass + jar, cardboard + box, and so on.
- Review a few simple imperative verb forms for where to put waste, including put, dump, drop, leave.
- Elicit and consider how instructions with 3 to 4 steps can be sequenced by using first, second, then, and so on.
- Learners work in pairs to put a jumbled set of simple, written instructions into the correct order.
- Learners listen to a simple set of instructions for a familiar everyday activity and circle key words as they are listening.
- Learners match pictures of waste items with the correct disposal method.
- Create a short, simple instructor-made story on the topic, and have learners listen as the instructor reads, following with their finger. Have learners repeat after the instructor to match intonation and fluency. Finally, have learners read the story as a group, and then individually. These activities practice vocabulary in context, show relevancy of the language and improve fluency.
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Learners listen to a short set of instructions about how to dispose of household waste, and circle images of each household waste item they hear in each instruction.
- Listen to a short set of instructions about how to dispose of household waste and answer questions about the instructions. Responses are copied into an answer template.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Listen to a short set of instructions about how to dispose of household waste and follow these instructions by demonstrating where a set of images representing household items would be disposed of on a visual diagram of an apartment complex.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- Learners may come to class with previously formed opinions about recycling, environmental stewardship and personal responsibility for actions like recycling. Encourage sharing of other norms around recycling while examining attitudes and approaches to recycling in Canada.
Digital Literacy Strategies:
Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline digital knowledge and skills.
Learners may need to:
- Scan online resources to find information
Instructors can:
- Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
- Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:
Instructors can:
- Use diverse representations of people in all your learning resources and images, including people who are 2SLGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Francophone and of other cultures, and people who have disabilities or who are neurodivergent.
- Recognize the importance of environmental responsibility as a part of global citizenship.
Trauma-informed Strategies:
Possible Trauma Triggers:
- Themes related to climate change and resulting devastation can be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma or oppression.
Strategies:
- Create a safe and supportive classroom environment by establishing familiar routines, repeated activities, and model friendly and non-evaluative interactions; learners who have experienced trauma often benefit from having routine.
- Recognize and respect learners’ right to choose if, when and what they share about themselves and their routines.
- Make space for learners to feel safe and recover from the experience of sharing their experiences.
Resources
Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:
- Create visuals to demonstrate appropriate recycling practices for the classroom.
- Share visuals / posters with other classes to encourage recycling.
- Visit a waste management centre in your community.
Realia:
- Visuals, paper and online, demonstrating recycling and waste disposal practices
- Household packaging items and waste bins with different recycling options
Units and Modules:
Detailed Sample Task
This exemplar is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and is designed to guide and inform your lesson and module planning. Consult the Canadian Language Benchmarks English as a Second Language for Adults for detailed performance descriptors at this benchmark and skill.
The information in this document is not exhaustive and can be expanded on. As well, you can use more learner-friendly language in your materials and assessments.
This is NOT a lesson or module plan.
