Stage II: Problem Solving
This theme focuses on the communication skills needed to recognize, assess, resolve and make decisions. Find out more about this theme 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
Listen to a recorded message to get information about accessible transit
options in your community.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand information about familiar or relevant topics.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies factual details and some implied meanings.
Give advice to a colleague about a workplace disagreement.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade (such as suggestions, advice, encouragements and requests) in everyday, personally relevant situations.
- Identifies main intent, main ideas, factual details, words and expressions.
- Identifies implied meanings.
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.
Call an immigrant support organization to get information about peer support programs for 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomers.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade (such as suggestions, advice, encouragements and requests) in everyday, personally relevant situations.
- Identifies main intent, main ideas, factual details, words and expressions.
- Identifies implied meanings.
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
Listen to a recorded message to get information about a mental health clinic hours and services.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand short group interactions and discussions on familiar topics.
- Identifies topic-specific words, phrases and expressions.
- Identifies factual details, main ideas, supporting details and implied meaning.
Give advice to colleagues about a workplace conflict between them.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade (such as suggestions, advice, encouragements and requests) in everyday, personally relevant situations.
- Identifies main intent, main ideas, factual details, words and expressions.
- Interprets facts, advice, suggestions and opinions.
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.
Call an immigrant support organization to get information about job search and mentorship programs for BIPOC job seekers.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade (such as suggestions, advice, encouragements and requests) in everyday, personally relevant situations.
- Identifies main intent, main ideas, factual details, words and expressions.
- Identifies implied meanings.
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
Watch a video to get information about employee rights and protections from discrimination in the workplace.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand descriptive or narrative monologues or presentations on generally familiar and relevant topics
- Identifies topic-specific words, phrases and expressions.
- Identifies factual details, main ideas, supporting details and implied meanings.
Use conflict resolution skills to manage a conflict between employees and suggest possible solutions.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade in situations related to personal or general experiences.
- Identifies the purpose, main ideas, factual details.
- Identifies implied meanings.
Getting Things Done
Give extended warnings, suggestions, recommendations or advice.
- Uses appropriate persuasive arguments.
- Uses modals with the appropriate level of politeness.
Call 211 to ask for information about community rent banks or other housing support programs for newcomers.
Comprehending Information
Understand descriptive or narrative monologues or presentations on generally familiar and relevant topics.
- Identifies topic-specific words, phrases and expressions.
- Identifies factual details, main ideas, supporting details and implied meanings.
Getting Things Done
Give extended warnings, suggestions, recommendations or advice.
- Uses appropriate persuasive arguments.
- Uses modals with the appropriate level of politeness.
CLB 8
Watch a video to get information about applying for a government program such as disability benefits.
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.
Use conflict resolution strategies to manage a conflict between an employee and a customer, and suggest possible solutions.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade in situations related to personal or general experiences.
- Identifies the purpose, main ideas, factual details.
- Identifies implied meanings.
Getting Things Done
Give extended warnings, suggestions, recommendations or advice.
- Uses appropriate persuasive arguments.
Uses modals with the appropriate level of politeness.
Call 211 to ask for information about free or low cost legal programs, victim services or other family law supports.
Comprehending Information
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.
Getting Things Done
Propose or recommend solutions to problems in a familiar area.
- Describes problems and clarifies details.
- Indicates possible solutions, recommends the best ones, and gives reasons.
Speaking
CLB 5
Give advice to a colleague about a workplace disagreement.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade (such as suggestions, advice, encouragements and requests) in everyday, personally relevant situations.
- Identifies main intent, main ideas, factual details, words and expressions.
- Identifies implied meanings.
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.
Call an immigrant support organization to get information about peer support programs for 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomers.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade (such as suggestions, advice, encouragements and requests) in everyday, personally relevant situations.
- Identifies main intent, main ideas, factual details, words and expressions.
- Identifies implied meanings.
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
Give advice to colleagues about a workplace conflict between them.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade (such as suggestions, advice, encouragements and requests) in everyday, personally relevant situations.
- Identifies main intent, main ideas, factual details, words and expressions.
- Interprets facts, advice, suggestions and opinions.
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.
Call an immigrant support organization to get information about job search and mentorship programs for BIPOC job seekers.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade (such as suggestions, advice, encouragements and requests) in everyday, personally relevant situations.
- Identifies main intent, main ideas, factual details, words and expressions.
- Identifies implied meanings.
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
Use conflict resolution skills to manage a conflict between employees and suggest possible solutions.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade in situations related to personal or general experiences.
- Identifies the purpose, main ideas, factual details.
- Identifies implied meanings.
Getting Things Done
Give extended warnings, suggestions, recommendations or advice.
- Uses appropriate persuasive arguments.
- Uses modals with the appropriate level of politeness.
Call 211 to ask for information about community rent banks or other housing support programs for newcomers.
Comprehending Information
Understand descriptive or narrative monologues or presentations on generally familiar and relevant topics.
- Identifies topic-specific words, phrases and expressions.
- Identifies factual details, main ideas, supporting details and implied meanings.
Getting Things Done
Give extended warnings, suggestions, recommendations or advice.
- Uses appropriate persuasive arguments.
- Uses modals with the appropriate level of politeness.
CLB 8
Use conflict resolution strategies to manage a conflict between an employee and a customer, and suggest possible solutions.
Getting Things Done
Understand moderately complex communication intended to influence or persuade in situations related to personal or general experiences.
- Identifies the purpose, main ideas, factual details.
- Identifies implied meanings.
Getting Things Done
Give extended warnings, suggestions, recommendations or advice.
- Uses appropriate persuasive arguments.
- Uses modals with the appropriate level of politeness.
Call 211 to ask for information about free or low cost legal programs, victim services or other family law supports.
Comprehending Information
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.
Getting Things Done
Propose or recommend solutions to problems in a familiar area.
- Describes problems and clarifies details.
- Indicates possible solutions, recommends the best ones, and gives reasons.
Reading
CLB 5
Follow workplace safety instructions to clean up a spill or broken glass and dispose of it safely.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand simple to moderately complex, step-by-step instructions and instructional texts for multi step procedures related to everyday situations.
- Interprets sequence and location signals (such as first, next and before).
- Follows instructions and directions by responding with actions as required to complete task.
Read an email that informs you of a scheduling conflict between two cultural events and provides a solution to the problem so that both events can take place on different dates.
Comprehending Information
Get information from simple to moderately complex business or service texts.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies key information and finds specific details.
Read a short news article about a consumer food recall and the list of recalled items.
Comprehending Information
Understand information about familiar or relevant topics.
- Gets the gist.
- Identifies factual details and some implied meanings.
CLB 6
Follow workplace safety instructions to help a colleague use an eyewash station.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand moderately complex instructions and instructional texts for multi step procedures related to everyday situations, where the sequence must be inferred.
- 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 extortion threats against South Asian businesses and what the police are doing to address the threat.
Comprehending Information
Understand moderately complex descriptive or narrative texts on familiar topics.
- Distinguishes facts from opinions.
- Retells or summarizes.
Read a news article that describes a consumer product recall, the list of items and general reason for the recall.
Comprehending Information
Understand moderately complex descriptive or narrative texts on familiar topics.
- Distinguishes facts from opinions.
- Retells or summarizes.
CLB 7
Follow instructions in a workplace safety plan to lead an emergency evacuation drill.
Comprehending Information
Understand moderately complex instructions and instructional texts for multi step procedures related to everyday situations, where the sequence must be inferred.
- Interprets sequence and location signals and implied meanings to infer the correct sequence.
- Follows instructions as required to complete the task.
Read a municipal accessibility policy to identify gaps and how they affect disabled BIPOC individuals, so they can be remedied to make your community more inclusive.
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.
- Scans text and makes inferences to select relevant information.
Read information in a multi-item consumer product recall notice from a government website, including the items, where they were sold and detailed reasons for recall.
Comprehending Information
Understand moderately complex extended descriptions, reports and narrations on familiar topics.
- Evaluates ideas in text to draw conclusions.
- Identifies organization of text and links between paragraphs.
CLB 8
Follow instructions for first aid certification such as AED or CPR skills.
Comprehending Instructions
Understand moderately complex instructions and instructional texts for multi step procedures related to everyday situations, where the sequence must be inferred.
- Interprets sequence and location signals and implied meanings to infer the correct sequence.
- Follows instructions as required to complete the task.
Read a letter addressed to the city council asking why they do not celebrate Black History Month, with recommendations about how they could resolve this, to identify next steps.
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.
- Identifies the writer’s purpose, intent, mood and attitude in sections of text.
Read information in a multi-item consumer product recall notice from a government website including the detailed reason for recall and understand next steps.
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.
Review emails or case studies from a variety of discriminatory perspectives to landlords and determine whose perspective and issue
is the focus.
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
Message an employer to cancel or reschedule an appointment, provide a reason and suggest an alternate time.
Interacting with Others
Convey personal messages in short, formal and informal correspondence for a range of everyday social purposes (such as expressing or responding to invitations and feelings, or providing quick updates).
- Conveys the intended meaning.
- Expresses main ideas and supports them in some detail.
Make a list of steps and information needed for a small repair claim with your insurance company.
Reproducing Information
Reduce a page of information to a list of important details.
- Includes important points with accurate details.
- Records details legibly, with correct spelling and other standard conventions of capitalization and punctuation.
Write a letter or email requesting treatment for a pest or mouse problem, and request action.
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
Message colleagues to ask to reschedule a
team meeting, apologize and provide a reason,
and suggest alternate times.
Interacting with Others
Convey personal messages in short, formal, and informal correspondence for an expanding range of everyday social purposes (such as expressing congratulations, thanks, apologies, or offering assistance).
- Conveys the intended meaning.
- Expresses main ideas and supports them with some detail.
Make a list of steps and information needed
for an accident and repair claim with your
insurance company.
Reproducing Information
Reduce a page of information to an outline or summary.
- Takes notes and reduces written or oral information to important points with accurate details.
- Uses common conventions such as point form.
Respond to a landlord’s refusal to return a
damage deposit with a letter or email
mentioning the provincial or territorial
housing laws that apply to this situation.
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
Message your colleagues expressing concerns about meeting an upcoming project deadline and the need to ask for an extension.
Interacting with Others
Convey personal messages in formal and informal correspondence for an expanding range of social purposes (such as expressing and responding to appreciation, complaints, disappointment, satisfaction, dissatisfaction or hope).
- Uses language, format and content appropriate and relevant to the situation and audience.
- Expresses main ideas and supports them with details.
Make a list of steps and information needed for a vehicle theft claim with your insurance company.
Reproducing Information
Reduce a text of up to about 2 pages to an outline or summary.
- Reduces information to important points with accurate details and no major omissions.
- Conveys the essential information.
Write a formal letter or email to a landlord about a discriminatory clause (no children or no overnight guests) in your rental agreement and mention the provincial or territorial housing laws that apply to this situation.
Getting Things Done
Write business or service correspondence for an expanding range of purposes (such as giving information in memoranda, documenting work done, indicating a problem, requesting a change, or requesting information).
- Conveys a clear message to the reader.
- Conveys a sense of audience in language and format.
CLB 8
Message a manager on behalf of your team to request more time for a project and explain the reasons why.
Interacting with Others
Convey personal messages in formal and informal correspondence for an expanded range of social purposes (such as expressing and responding to sympathy, clarifying a conflict, or giving reassurance).
- Uses language, format and content appropriate and relevant to the situation and audience.
- Expresses main ideas and supports them with details.
Make a list of steps and information needed for an accident and personal injury claim with your insurance company.
Reproducing Information
Reduce a text of up to about 2 pages to an outline or summary.
- Reduces information to main points with accurate supporting details and no major omissions.
- Conveys essential information.
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.
