Stage II: Creativity, Innovation and Adaptability
This theme focuses on the communication skills needed to create, share, and use ideas in new ways, and the ability to adjust when changes occur. Find out more about these skills at Language for Success and Skills for Success.
Choose a CLB level by clicking below to access information about Real-World Tasks and Detailed Sample Tasks for this theme.
CLB 5
CLB 6
CLB 7
CLB 8
Listening
CLB 5
Follow instructions to complete a task at work from a conversation with your supervisor.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand simple to moderately complex directions and instructions for generally familiar and relevant procedures.
- Follows a range of basic cohesive devices indicating order and sequence.
- Seeks clarification and confirmation, if required.
Listen to a colleague’s explanation of how to make the workplace more inclusive for disabled people.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand information about familiar or relevant topics.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies opinions.
Participate in a brief “water cooler” conversation at work with one colleague.
Interacting With Others
Understand the gist and some details in moderately complex common and predictable social exchanges.
- Identifies specific factual details and implied meanings.
- Interprets feelings such as interest, likes/ dislikes, preferences.
Interacting with Others
Participate in basic social conversations for some everyday purposes.
- Opens and maintains a conversation.
- Responds to small talk.
CLB 6
Follow instructions to start a project at work from a conversation with your supervisor.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand moderately complex directions and instructions for technical or non-technical tasks.
- Follows sequence markers or other linguistic clues to infer order of steps.
- Responds with actions to directions and instructions.
Listen to a colleague’s opinion on how to make the workplace more inclusive for disabled people.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand short group interactions and discussions on familiar topics.
- Identifies topic-specific words, phrases and expressions.
- Interprets factual information, explanations and opinions.
Participate in a “water cooler” conversation at work with 2-3 colleagues.
Interacting With Others
Understand common social exchanges.
- Identifies specific factual details and implied meanings.
- Identifies mood, attitude and emotional states from tone and intonation.
Interacting With Others
Participate in routine social conversations for some everyday purposes.
- Uses and responds to small talk.
- Encourages conversation by adding supportive comments.
CLB 7
Listen to a workplace presentation on how
to make the workplace more inclusive for
neurodivergent people.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand extended descriptive or narrative monologues or presentations about personal experiences, general knowledge or familiar work-related topics, even when some information is presented out of sequence.
- Identifies factual details, main ideas and supporting details.
- Interprets factual information, explanations and opinions.
Participate in a “water cooler” conversation at work with a small group.
Interacting With Others
Understand moderately complex social exchanges.
- Identifies emotional state, mood and attitude from tone and intonation.
- Interprets feelings such as gratitude, hope and appreciation.
Interacting with Others
Participate in less routine social conversations for many everyday purposes.
- Opens and maintains a short formal conversation, closing with 3 customary steps (pre-closing, closing, leave-taking).
- Introduces a person formally to a group in a way that is appropriate to the situation and audience.
CLB 8
Actively listen to a workplace presentation on how to make the workplace more inclusive for neurodivergent people and understand the benefits for all.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand extended monologues or presentations on topics that are generally familiar and related to general knowledge or technical/ work-related issues in own field.
- Identifies the main idea (which is not explicitly stated) and detailed information.
- Identifies rhetorical discourse markers and patterns of chronological order and sequence, comparison and contrast, and cause and effect.
Participate in a “water cooler” conversation at work and politely request that a colleague stop asking about a personal subject.
Interacting With Others
Understand moderately complex social exchanges.
- Interprets feelings such as gratitude, hope, appreciation, disappointment, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, approval and disapproval.
- Identifies some nuances in attitude, emotional tone and register.
Interacting with Others
Participate in less routine social conversations for most everyday purposes.
- Asks follow-up questions to keep conversations going.
- Responds to minor conflicts or complaints, or comforts others in distress.
Speaking
CLB 5
Explain to a colleague how to use the photocopier for a basic task.
Giving Instructions
Give instructions and directions for everyday activities and processes.
- Uses appropriate courtesy forms and structures.
- Uses appropriate expressions to sequence instructions.
Negotiate with a vendor about a quoted price for a product.
Getting Things Done
Give and respond to informal requests, permission, suggestions and advice.
- Provides details and gives reasons.
- Uses modals with the appropriate level of politeness.
CLB 6
Explain to a colleague how to use the photocopier for a specific, advanced job.
Giving Instructions
Give sequential instructions and directions for everyday activities and processes.
- Uses correct sequence of steps.
- Checks to confirm understanding.
Negotiate with a vendor about a quoted price for a product, giving persuasive arguments why you should not pay full price.
Getting Things Done
Give and respond to informal and somewhat formal suggestions and indirect requests.
- Gives reasons and predicts consequences of not following through.
- Uses modals with the appropriate level of politeness.
CLB 7
Explain to a colleague how to connect the photocopier to a computer.
Giving Instructions
Give instructions and directions for technical and non-technical tasks, procedures and processes.
- Uses correct sequence of steps.
- Uses clear references and provides necessary details.
Brainstorm ideas with a small informal group for a project to improve employee mental health.
Sharing Information
Give detailed information; express and qualify opinions and feelings; express reservations, approval, disapproval, possibilities and probabilities one-on-one and in small group discussions or meetings.
- Provides necessary information.
- Summarizes information and ideas to clarify and confirm understanding.
CLB 8
Explain to a colleague how to install and set up a new photocopier.
Giving Instructions
Give instructions and directions for a broad range of technical and non-technical tasks, procedures and processes.
- Uses clear references and provides necessary details.
- Uses appropriate intonation so that listener can follow.
Brainstorm with a group for a project to improve employee mental health and express opinions and or concerns about others’ ideas.
Sharing Information
Give detailed information; express and qualify opinions or concerns; present solutions and options; indicate opposition or support for a stand in one-on-one interactions and small group discussions or meetings.
- Provides detailed information and presents options as needed.
- Expresses and qualifies opinions, feelings, doubts and concerns.
Reading
CLB 5
Read feedback from an employer in a performance review.
Getting Things Done
Get information from simple to moderately complex business or service texts (such as public announcements, brochures, notices, business letters and flyers).
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies key information and finds specific details.
Read an article about how creativity can help improve mental health and understand the main idea and important details.
Comprehending Information
Understand simple to moderately complex descriptive or narrative texts on familiar topics.
- Identifies organization of text and links between paragraphs.
CLB 6
Read feedback from an employer in a performance review and understand how to set goals based on areas of improvement.
Getting Things Done
Get information from moderately complex business/ service texts containing advice, requests or detailed specifications.
- Identifies main ideas, factual details and some implied meanings.
- Identifies the writer’s purpose, intent, mood and attitude in sections of text.
Read an article about how creativity can help improve mental health and understand how to incorporate some creativity into everyday routines.
Comprehending Information
Understand moderately complex descriptive or narrative texts on familiar topics.
- Distinguishes facts from opinions.
- Identifies organization of text and links between paragraphs.
CLB 7
Read a list of changes to a job description
and understand the expected changes.
Comprehending Information
Understand moderately complex instructions and instructional texts for multi step procedures related to familiar tasks, which may be specialized or technical.
- Interprets sequence and location signals and implied meanings to infer the correct sequence.
- Follows instructions as required to complete the task.
Read an article about the importance of
professional development and setting goals
at work.
Getting Things Done
Get information from moderately complex business/ service texts containing assessments, evaluations and advice.
- Identifies main ideas, key details and some implied meanings.
- Identifies the writer’s purpose, intent, mood and attitude in sections of text.
Read an article about how creativity can improve mental health with examples of how creative art therapy has been used to help improve mental health in the BIPOC community.
Comprehending Information
Understand moderately complex extended descriptions, reports and narrations on familiar topics.
- Distinguishes facts from opinions.
- Evaluates ideas in text to draw conclusions.
CLB 8
Read a list outlining significant changes to a job description and understand how to adapt to the changes.
Comprehending Information
Understand extended, moderately complex, multi step instructions and instructional texts for established (set) procedures related to specialized tasks.
- Interprets sequence and location signals and implied meanings.
- Follows instructions as required to complete a task.
Read an article about how to support
employees with goal setting during the
performance review process.
Getting Things Done
Get information from moderately complex business/ service texts containing proposals, recommendations and statements of rules, regulations or policies.
- Identifies main ideas, key details and implied meanings.
- Scans text and makes inferences to select the relevant information.
Read an article about how creative projects
have been used to help improve mental
health in the BIPOC community and how this can be beneficial in the community,
schools and workplace.
Comprehending Information
Understand moderately complex extended descriptions, feature articles, reports and narrations.
- Follows sequences of narrations or processes.
- Locates and integrates relevant information across paragraphs/ sections of the text.
Writing
CLB 5
Create a mind map when a colleague
explains a new workplace strategy to
improve employee mental health.
Reproducing Information
Reduce short, factual, oral discourse to notes or messages.
- Includes important points with accurate details.
- Conveys a clear message.
Write a note to a colleague with
recommendations to implement a plan.
Getting Things Done
Write short business or service correspondence for routine personal needs.
- Conveys a sense of audience in language and format.
- Conveys the message clearly.
CLB 6
Create a mind map when brainstorming
ideas in a group for a new project to improve
employee mental health.
Reproducing Information
Reduce short, factual oral discourse to notes or messages.
- Takes notes and reduces written or oral information to important points with accurate details.
- Uses common conventions such as point form.
Create a flow chart (or other formatted text)
of recommendations to implement a plan..
Getting Things Done
Write short business or service correspondence for routine purposes.
- Conveys a sense of audience in language and format.
- Conveys the intended message.
CLB 7
Negotiate the price of a service with a vendor.
Getting Things Done
Write business or service correspondence for a range of routine and less routine purposes.
- Conveys a clear message.
- Conveys a sense of audience in language and format.
Make a slideshow with accessibility features
to outline recommendations to implement
a plan.
Getting Things Done
Write business or service correspondence for a range of routine and less routine purposes.
- Conveys a clear message.
- Conveys a sense of audience in language and format.
CLB 8
Negotiate the price and features of a service with a vendor.
Getting Things Done
Write business or service correspondence for an expanding range of purposes.
- Conveys a clear message to the reader.
- Conveys a sense of audience in language and format.
Make a slideshow with accessibility
features to give detailed recommendations
to implement a plan.
Getting Things Done
Write business or service correspondence for an expanding range of purposes.
- Conveys a clear message to the reader.
- Conveys a sense of audience in language and format.
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.
