Detailed Sample Task: Stage I
CLB 3 - Listening
Comprehending Instructions
Education and Learning
Real-World Task
Follow 2 to 4 instructions from an instructor to fill out an inventory sheet to record an assessment task.
Planning Context
Helpful Knowledge:
- Vocabulary related to LINC, PBLA
and language learning. - Knowledge of PBLA and inventory sheets / PBLA assessment records.
Context:
- PBLA, or Portfolio-Based Language Assessment, is an ongoing assessment approach used in LINC programs to measure learners’ real-world language ability. Instructors collect multiple samples of learner’s successful assessments in a portfolio across all four skills.
- Inventory sheets are the organizational and tracking tools in PBLA. They are used to record each assessment task, including the skill, CLB level, date, and result, so both the instructor and learner can see what evidence is in the portfolio. Inventory sheets help ensure balance across skills and competencies and show progress over time.
Vocabulary and Grammar
Sample Vocabulary:
- write
- check
- put
- binder
- skill: listening / speaking / reading / writing
- date / name
Sample Grammar:
- Adverbs of sequence: first, second, third, next, then
- Imperative verb forms for 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:
- You can soften an instruction by using please or by using a modal such as
You can…
Activities and Tasks
Sample Skill-Building Activities:
- Discuss as a class: Who has done a PBLA assessment before? Why do we do these assessments? Which assessments do you enjoy the most? Do you ever look back at earlier assessments to see how much your English has improved? What challenges have you faced in doing PBLA tasks?
- Introduce subjects that involve following simple instructions. Practice two to 3 step instructions such as making tea or a sandwich or making a bed.
- Create a word wall or flashcards of key vocabulary terms and match them to corresponding images, such as check, binder, date, and so on.
- Each learner reads a simple instruction about how to use the language companion part of the binder. Repeat the instruction to the classmate sitting to your right and listen to the instruction from the classmate on your left. Continue the activity until you have repeated each instruction at least once.
- Listen to three simple instructions about how to be a better language learner. For each instruction, underline the verb on a handout. Match the verb to an image of someone doing this action.
- Review the grammar rules for how to use imperative verbs and correct the errors on a handout with imperative sentences that give instructions for how to use your PBLA binder.
- Read five simple sentences with classroom instructions and match the instruction to an image of a person following the instruction.
- Read a short instructor-made story about
a new LINC learner and their PBLA binder. Discuss as a class. Match vocabulary
to the words in the instructions. Complete comprehension activities such as sequencing the steps and answering comprehension questions. - Role play asking wh-questions about your classmate’s language learning habits, such as “What time of day is best for you to study vocabulary words?” “How do you study at home when your children are home?” Your partner will respond and ask you some questions.
- Practice listening to instructions,
LINC-related or not, on the computer.
Answer true / false questions about the listening.
Sample Skill-Using Tasks:
- Listen to your instructor read a set of instructions about your LINC class aloud and put a set of sentence strips into the correct order.
- Play short, simple audio recordings of individual instructions, such as,“Call this number and ask to register for a LINC class.” Learners answer simple true / false questions about each instruction.
Sample Assessment Tasks:
- Follow 2 to 4 instructions from an instructor to fill out an inventory sheet to record an assessment task.
Teaching Considerations
Cultural Considerations:
- Some learners may come from educational systems where assessment is instructor-controlled and test-based, so the idea of tracking their own learning in a portfolio may feel unfamiliar or unnecessary.
- The use of forms, checklists, and self-recording may also be new, and learners may not immediately see why accuracy matters. It helps to explicitly explain the purpose of inventory sheets, model the task, and reassure learners that PBLA is about learning progress, not failure.
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.
- 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.
- Teach reading strategies such as skimming and scanning to find information on websites.
- Introduce tools and apps that can aid learners in coping with communication. barriers, such as translation, pronunciation, text to speech, speech to text tools and so on.
- Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
- Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.
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. 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.
- Filling in forms and dealing with authority can be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma, especially for learners who have been in unsafe situations or have been in a political regime.
- Refugee learners may not have had a choice in leaving their countries and coming to Canada; recognize that some learners may have mixed feelings about being in Canada. Allow learners to have their own opinions and feelings about Canada.
Strategies:
- Make sure that learners are always aware of the purpose of the assessments and forms and be ready to provide support if needed.
- Allow learners to have their own opinions and feelings about LINC and Canada.
- 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
- Allow learners choice:
- 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:
- Role play being a LINC administrator and new LINC learner discussing the different parts of the LINC program at your
school / college. - Invite your PBLA lead instructor to the class to talk about PBLA
in simple terms. - Invite a former LINC learner to talk about how PBLA helped their language learning.
Realia:
- PBLA binders
- Simple instructions from different aspects of life
- Tutela: The PBLA Classroom Poster
Units and Modules:
Lessons and Activities:
- Tutela: PBLA Setting Goals CLB 3/4
- Tutela: Speaking CLB 3-III Making a Request in the Classroom Assessment Tool
- Tutela: Reading Comprehending Information-Classroom Rules CLB 3/4 Assessment
- Tutela: OCDSB Assessment Task: Getting to Know a New Student (CLB 3)
- Tutela: OCDSB Assessment Task: Filling Out a School Registration Form (CLB 3)
- Tutela: OCDSB Assessment Task: Following School Rules (CLB 3)
- A search of NLCG (nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.
Multimedia:
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.
