Real-World Task Guidelines:
Stage I
CLB 4
Banking and Numeracy
Possible Topics
This theme may include these topic areas:
And so on
Planning Context
Learners may require the following:
- Slow to normal rates of speech
- Face-to- face or digital interactions (that are usually one-on-one or in small groups)
- Topics related to personal relevance
- Non-demanding contexts
- Relatively short texts
Instructors may need to:
- Create simplified versions of online financial websites
- Create navigation guides for banking websites
Comprehending Information
Understand short descriptive or narrative communication on topics of personal relevance.
- Responds with appropriate actions to instructions.
- Recognizes and identifies the correct sequence of steps.
Comprehending Information
Understand short, descriptive or narrative communication on topics of personal relevance.
- Identifies factual details (who, what, where and when).
- Identifies some implied meanings, key words, and expressions.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to a range of requests and offers.
- Asks questions and makes requests politely and appropriately.
- Facilitates the listener’s comprehension by repeating and explaining.
Giving Instructions
Give a set of simple, common, routine instructions and directions to a familiar person.
- Uses appropriate courtesy formulas and structures.
- Expresses movement and location.
Getting Things Done
Make and respond to a range of requests and offers.
- Asks questions and makes requests politely and appropriately.
- Facilitates the listener’s comprehension by repeating and explaining.
Comprehending Information
Understand the purpose, main idea, key information and specific details in simple, short texts related to everyday familiar and personally relevant situations and topics.
- Gets the overall meaning.
- Identifies type and purpose of the text.
- Finds key information and specific details.
Getting Things Done
Get information from simple formatted texts.
- Identifies the type and purpose of the document.
- Compares information to make choices.
Interacting with Others
Understand simple personal social messages within predictable contexts of daily experience.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies specific important details (such as sender, date and response required).
Reproducing Information
Copy or record an expanded range of information from short texts for personal use.
- Accurately copies elements of formatting from template.
- Copies information with no major omissions.
Reproducing Information
Copy or record an expanded range of information from short texts for personal use.
- Accurately copies elements of formatting from template.
- Copies information with no major omissions.
Getting Things Done
Complete simple forms that require basic personal or familiar information and some responses to simple questions.
- Follows appropriate conventions for addresses, telephone numbers, etc.
- Follows most spelling conventions.
Getting Things Done
Write simple business or service messages
- Conveys main ideas and supports them with some detail in a basic paragraph structure.
- Uses language and content that are appropriate to the purpose, intent and social context.
Additional Sample Real-World Tasks and Competency Areas
Listen to a conversation between a bank teller and customer about how to book an appointment with a financial planner. (Comprehending Information)
Ask a bank teller to check on the status of a cheque deposited online. (Getting Things Done)
Read a short paragraph comparing the benefits of opening a regular savings account and a tax-free savings account. (Comprehending Information)
Write a message to your bank representative to ask to meet because there are suspicious withdrawals on your account. (Getting Things Done)
Additional Resources
Digital Literacy Strategies
Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline digital knowledge and skills.
Learners may need to:
- Have keyboarding and typing skills.
- Have an email address and be able to navigate email proficiently.
- Locate, navigate and use websites for online banking.
- Navigate and use online learning management systems (LMS) such as Avenue.
- Use videoconferencing technology for online meetings.
Instructors can:
- Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s)
- Support learners in finding, navigating and using 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.
- Teach reading strategies such as skimming and scanning to find information on websites.
- Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 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.
- Use gender neutral titles when addressing people.
- Recognize that people who identify as women may not have had independent access to financial professionals and banking services. Make sure these learners are aware of their rights in Canada and the resources that are available to them.
Trauma-Informed Strategies
Triggers:
- Learners who have experienced trauma can be triggered by people in positions of authority.
- Discussions of scams, fraud, and theft may be triggering for learners who have experienced trauma, especially those who have lost their homes, possessions, and/or money.
Strategies:
- Give learners advanced warning of discussions of this topic.
- Allow learners the choice:
- to work on a different topic
- to share or not share their own experiences
- to work alone or to work with others
- to take care of themselves
- to step out of the learning environment
- Learners have the right to choose if, when and what they share about themselves.
- Make space for learners to feel safe and recover from the experience of sharing their experiences.
- Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.
Sample Real World Tasks
This information is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and is designed to help guide you in the planning process. You can use these sample real-world tasks to guide and inform your selection or creation of skill-building activities, skill-using tasks and assessment tasks.
These sample real-world tasks include the following: skill, real-world task, competency area, one competency statement and two sample indicators of ability. This is not an exhaustive list: there are more indicators of ability and information about this CLB level in Canadian Language Benchmarks English as a Second Language for Adults. Consult this resource for more information and to select your own competencies or indicators of ability. Remember, you can use more learner-friendly language in your materials and assessments.
This is NOT a lesson plan, module plan or curriculum.
