Canadian Language Benchmarks

listen

Listening

Global Performance Descriptor

• Learner can follow very broadly and with some effort the gist of oral discourse in moderately demanding contexts of language use (e.g., face to face formal and informal conversations, audio tapes and radio broadcasts) on everyday personally relevant topics and at a slower to normal rate of speech.
• Can understand simple exchanges: conceptualized short sets of common daily instructions and directions; direct questions about personal experience and familiar topics; routine (simple, repetitive, predictable) media announcements.
• Can understand a range of common vocabulary and a very limited number of idioms.
• Often requests repetitions.
• Can follow simple short predictable phone messages, but has limited ability to understand on the phone.

Performance Conditions

• Listening texts are moderately short monologues/ presentations and dialogues (five to eight exchange turns, each turn three to five sentences long; or two to five minutes in length) on familiar everyday topics.
• Speech is clear at a slow to normal rate.
• Communication is face to face, or video-and audio-mediated (e.g., tape).
• Instructions are clear and explicit, used with some visual clues and presented step by step.
• Learner is adequately briefed for focused listening.
• Some tasks require oral or physical response. Some tasks are in a guided writing format (e.g., circle or match items, fill in blanks, complete a chart, answer questions, etc.).
• Learner may need one to two repetitions.

Competency Outcomes and Standards

I. Social Interaction

What the person can do

• Identify factual details and inferred meanings in dialogues containing compliments, invitations and offers; discussion of interests, likes/dislikes and preferences.
• Identify situation and relationship between speakers.

Examples of tasks and tests

• Community, Study, Workplace: Watch videotaped casual dialogues or listen to audiotaped and phone conversations.
• Identify specific factual details and inferred meanings.
• Respond to comprehension questions, circle or check items, write in appropriate blanks or as required in the task.

Performance Indicators

• Identifies specific factual details and inferred meanings in video- and audiomediated listening texts/discourse as required.
• Identifies the emotional state of speaker from tone and intonation.
• Identifies situation and relationship between speakers.

II. Instructions

What the person can do

• Understand a range of spoken everyday instructions on step by step procedures.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community, Study, Workplace: Take a simple phone message (e.g., Bob will call Monday, Feb. 19, at 11 p.m.).
• Follow oral instructions on how to use a computer (e.g., open or close a program).

Performance Indicators

• Responds with action to directions and instructions.
• Completes the task.

III. Suasion (getting things done)

What the person can do

• Demonstrate comprehension of factual details and some inferred meanings in simple advice and suggestions, announcements and commercials.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community, Study, Workplace: Identify specific factual details and inferred meanings in simple advice and suggestions, announcements and commercials.
• Circle or check answers, or write in appropriate blanks, etc., as required in the task.

Performance Indicators

• Identifies main intent, main idea, factual details, words and expressions and inferred meanings in persuasive oral texts as required.

IV. Information

What the person can do

• Demonstrate comprehension of the gist, factual details and some inferred meanings by listening to a descriptive or narrative text.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Study : Listen to a TV/radio news item or report. Respond to a number of questions.
• Community: Complete a theatre/TV schedule with required details by listening to a prerecorded message.

Performance Indicators

• Gets the gist, factual details and some inferred meanings in a listening text.
• Identifies key words and phrases.
• Responds to requests for facts and opinions relating to text.

speak

Speaking

Global Performance Descriptor

• Learner can participate with some effort in routine social conversations and can talk about needs and familiar topics of personal relevance.
• Can use a variety of simple structures and some complex ones, with occasional reductions. Grammar and pronunciation errors are frequent and sometimes impede communication.
• Can demonstrate a range of common everyday vocabulary and a limited number of idioms. May avoid topics with unfamiliar vocabulary.
• Can demonstrate discourse that is connected (and, but, first, next, then, because) and reasonably fluent, but hesitations and pauses are frequent.
• Can use the phone to communicate simple personal information; communication without the visual support is still very difficult.

Performance Conditions

• Interaction is face to face, or on the phone.
• Rate of speech is slow to normal.
• Context is mostly familiar, or clear and predictable, but also moderately demanding (e.g., real world environment; limited support from interlocutors).
• Circumstances range from informal to more formal occasions.
• Instructions have five to six steps, and are given one-on-one, one step at a time, with visual clues.
• Length of presentation is three to five minutes.
• Topics are of immediate everyday relevance.
• Audience is a small familiar group.
• Setting is familiar.
• Topic is concrete and familiar.
• Presentation is informal or semiformal.
• Uses pictures or other visuals.

Interaction one-on-one

• Interaction is face to face or on the phone.

Interaction in a group

• Group of three to five people is familiar.
• Topics are familiar, non-personal, concrete.
• Interaction is informal or semi-formal.
• Leader or moderator is encouraging.

Competency Outcomes and Standards

I. Social Interaction

What the person can do

Interpersonal competencies

• Respond to small talk comments.
• Extend, accept or decline an invitation or offer.
• Express and respond to compliments.
• Express and respond to congratulations.

Conversation management

• Indicate non-comprehension.
• Take turns.
• Encourage others in a conversation by showing interest.

Phone competencies

• Answer the phone briefly according to the situation.

Examples of tasks and tests

Interpersonal competencies

• Community, Study, Workplace: Respond to small talk comments.
• Express and respond to compliments and congratulations.
• Community: Extend an invitation for a coffee, dinner, party.
• Accept or decline an invitation for a coffee, dinner, party.

Conversation management

• Sorry, what did you say? I didn’t catch what you said about X. Could you repeat that? What does X mean? Excuse me. May I ask a question?

Phone competencies

• Hello, lunchroom, Bob speaking... Just a moment, please. I’ll get Tom...Tom, a phone call for you, line 1... .

Performance Indicators

Interpersonal competencies

• Responds to small talk comments. Extends, accepts or declines an invitation or offer.
• Expresses and responds to compliments.
• Expresses and responds to congratulations.

Conversation management

• Indicates incomprehension.
• Takes turns by giving non-verbal and verbal signals (signalling to speak).
• Encourages conversation (e.g., eye contact, smiling, nodding and short phrases).

Phone competencies

• Answers the phone.
• Provides needed information.
• Refers the call to another person.

II. Instructions

What the person can do

• Give an extended set of sequentially presented simple clause instructions/directions on daily routine actions.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community, Workplace: Direct a person to a place with or without maps, diagrams, sketches (e.g., give clear directions to one’s home; the washrooms).

Performance Indicators

• Gives spoken directions. (Listener can follow the directions.)

III. Suasion (getting things done)

What the person can do

• Give and get permission.
• Give simple informal advice.
• Call for emergency assistance.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Please, would you mind, could you, would you?
• Work: Request permission to leave work early or take a day off.
• Community: Call 911, report a problem in some detail, and request help.

Performance Indicators

• Gives and gets permission.
• Uses polite expressions with requests.
• Gives simple advice.
• Gives address.
• States the reason.
• Requests help.
• Provides details clearly, intelligibly.

IV. Information

What the person can do

Presentations

• Relate a sequence of events in the present, past or future.
• Tell a detailed story/report an incident.
• Describe a scene or picture.
• Describe a daily routine.

Interaction one-on-one

• Ask for and provide information related to routine daily activities (e.g., personal, family, others, work).

Interaction in a group

• Participate in a small group discussion.
• Express necessity, worry, or concern.

Examples of tasks and texts

Presentations

• Study: Tell a detailed story (e.g., historical, biographical), or report an incident
  based on a series of pictures.
  Describe a routine based on a series of pictures.
  Give a detailed description of a scene or a picture.
• Work: Report a few routine activities of the day; include explanations and examples.

Interaction one-on-one

• Community: Obtain information at a pharmacy to get the best product for a specific situation.

Interaction in a group

• Study: Plan a trip from point A to point B.
• Discuss a familiar current issue.

Performance Indicators

Presentations

• Presents information in a coherent connected discourse.
• Uses an introduction, development and conclusion.
• Uses explicit markers/logical connectors (first, next, finally, but).
• Uses simple grammar structures, with clear present, past and future time reference; and personal and textual reference (only some errors).
• Uses vocabulary adequately.
• Provides accurate, detailed descriptions.
• Speaks with appropriate eye contact, body language, voice volume, rate, fluency and intelligibility.

Interaction one-on-one

• Explains the nature of inquiry, provides necessary details.
• Asks relevant questions.
• Summarizes and repeats back.
• Gives thanks for the help and information.
• Speaks intelligibly; listener can follow all details.

Interaction in a group

• Expresses opinion.
• Agrees and disagrees.
• Expresses necessity and reason (must/because).
• Expresses worry/concern.

read

Reading

Global Performance Descriptor

• Learner can understand the purpose, main ideas and some detail in some authentic two- or three-paragraph texts in moderately demanding contexts of language use.
• Can find specific, detailed information in prose texts, and in charts and schedules (e.g., transit timetables).
• Can get specific details from everyday routine texts, such as a set of instructions, plain language news items, a notice from the gas company.
• Language of the text is mostly concrete and factual, with some abstract, conceptual and technical vocabulary items, and may require low-level inference to comprehend it.
• Learner often requires rereading and clarification.
• Occasionally, learner can guess successfully the meaning of an unknown word, phrase or idiom from the context without a dictionary.
• Generally, still uses a bilingual dictionary regularly; begins to use a concise unilingual ESL/EFL dictionary.

Performance Conditions

• Text is two or three paragraphs long and related to personal experience or familiar context.
• Text is legible, easy to read; is in print or neat handwriting.
• Tasks are in a standard format: with items to circle, match, fill in a blank, complete a chart, answer questions, etc.
• Learner is adequately briefed for focused reading (has at least minimal knowledge to activate knowledge schemata for top-down processing).
• Instructions are clear and explicit, for everyday situations, used with some visual clues, presented step by step. Pictures occasionally accompany text.
• Text has clear organization.
• Text is two or three paragraphs long, printed or electronic.
• Language is mostly concrete and literal, with some abstract words.
• Context and topic are often familiar and partly predictable for learner.
• Content is relevant and can be related to personal experience.
• Text types: newspaper articles, educational/content materials, stories, encyclopedia entries, short reports.

Competency Outcomes and Standards

I. Social Interaction Texts

What the person can do

• Identify factual details and inferred meanings in moderately complex notes, e-mail messages and letters (personal and public) containing compliments, invitations, likes, dislikes, preferences.

Examples of tasks and tests

• Community, Study, Workplace: Read authentic notes, e-mail messages and letters containing compliments, invitations and offers; discussion of interests, likes, dislikes and preferences. Answer comprehension questions as required in the task.

Performance Indicators

• Identifies specific factual details and inferred meanings in the texts.
• Identifies purpose of text.
• Identifies reader-writer relationship, attitude of writer, context.

II. Instructions

What the person can do

• Understand and follow moderately complex written instructions for seven to 10-step procedures.
• Understand/follow moderately complex everyday texts

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community: Sequence correctly seven to 10 steps in instructions on how to unplug the sink using commercial bottled liquid or environmentally friendly means, based on written texts.
• Explain a three-paragraph instructional text on prevention and treatment of burns.

Performance Indicators

• Follows common authentic instructional texts with pictures.
• Follows/responds with action to directions and instructions.

III. Business/service texts

What the person can do

• Identify factual details and some inferred meanings in moderately complex business/service texts, including formatted texts.
• Read public announcements, commercials, business notices, letters, etc.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community: Use two bus route maps/schedules: locate a time of departure; coordinate with a transfer to reach destination.
• Community, Study, Workplace: Use the White Pages to locate a business address.

Performance Indicators

• Identifies type and purpose of text; gets the gist.
• Identifies key information and locates specific details in verbal text and graphics, including extensive directories, charts and schedules.

IV. Informational texts

What the person can do

• Demonstrate comprehension of a two or three-paragraph moderately complex descriptive or narrative text on a familiar topic.
• Demonstrate comprehension of standard maps, basic diagrams, basic graphs.

Information literacy/reference and study skills competencies

• Access and locate two pieces of information in CD-ROM ESL educational software.
• Access and locate information through tables of content, indexes and glossaries.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Study: Read a short newspaper article or an adapted literary text for main ideas and supporting details.
• Answer seven to 10 questions.
• Explain an educational system or a government system by reading and interpreting a simple chart.
• Compare information in two pie or bar graphs.
• Access, locate and compare/contrast two pieces of information in CD-ROM ESL educational software texts for reading development, if available.
• Access, locate information through tables of content, indexes or glossaries.

Performance Indicators

• Identifies factual details and inferred meanings in text as required (70-80%).
• Identifies main idea and key details.
• Identifies organization of text and links between paragraphs.
• Compares facts to make choices.
• Predicts, guesses meaning of words and expressions from textual clues.
• Predicts what will happen next in a narration by selecting an outcome.
• Demonstrates understanding of standard maps, basic diagrams, basic pie or bar graphs.
• Accesses and locates two pieces of information in CD-ROM ESL educational software texts.
• Accesses and locates information through tables of content, indexes and glossaries (by alphabetical order).

write

Writing

Global Performance Descriptor

• Learner demonstrates initial ability in performing moderately complex writing tasks.
• Can effectively convey an idea, opinion, feeling or experience in a simple paragraph.
• Can write short letters and notes on a familiar topic.
• Can fill out extended application forms.
• Can take simple dictation with occasional repetitions at a slow to normal rate of speech.
• Can reproduce in writing simple information received orally or visually.
• Demonstrates better control over writing when reproducing information (e.g., writing down notes, messages and paraphrasing).
• When creating own text, learner’s linguistic means of expression remain simple, with frequent difficulty with complex structures and awkward sounding phrases (word combinations).
• Can write down everyday phone messages.
• Can complete a short routine report (usually on a form) on a familiar topic.

Performance Conditions

• Circumstances range from informal to more formal occasions.
• Addressees are familiar.
• Topics are of immediate everyday relevance.
• Letter is one paragraph long.
• Note is short (four to six clauses).
• Texts may be short oral texts on concrete factual matters with five to seven details.
• Information to reproduce is up to one page long, with easy layout; is in legible handwriting or print.
• Forms are moderately complex in format, 20 to 30 items long.
• Messages are three to five sentences long.

Competency Outcomes and Standards

I. Social interaction

What the person can do

• Convey a personal message in a formal short letter or note, or through e-mail, expressing or responding to invitations, quick updates, feelings.

Examples of tasks and tests

• Community, Study, Workplace: Write a formal invitation for a special group function (club picnic, BBQ, potluck, etc.). Include clear directions to the location.
• Community, Study: In a 100- to 150-word letter to your friend, describe how you feel about your new home town (province, country).

Performance Indicators

• Conveys the message; reader can follow the text.
• Uses language and content that are appropriate and relevant to the occasion.
• Uses simple grammar structures, punctuation and spelling; makes only a few errors.
• Conveys main ideas and supports them with detail in a basic paragraph structure.

II. Reproducing information

What the person can do

• Take live phone messages, voice mail messages or pre-recorded information with five to seven details.
• Reduce a page of information to a list of seven to 10 important points.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Bob will call Monday, February 1st at 11 p.m.. Bus #47 to University; walk two blocks north; turn left to get to 112 Avenue to Mary’s.
• Community, Study, Workplace: Take a message over the phone clearly and accurately.
• Take clear notes from a short prerecorded company message about job openings and application procedures, including minimum requirements.

Performance Indicators

• Writes down messages or reduces written information to important points with accurate details.
• Conveys clear message to recipient.
• Records names, addresses, numbers, dates, times, directions and other details with correct spelling and in legible handwriting or print.

III. Business/service messages

What the person can do

• Convey business messages as written notes.
• Fill out forms.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community: Fill out application form for power, water or telephone service.
• Workplace: Fill out a worker’s accident report form.

Performance Indicators

• Conveys a clear message to the recipient.
• Conveys a sense of audience in language and format.
• Demonstrates good use and control of simple structures, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation (few errors).
• Fills out form with required information.
• Spells and follows punctuation conventions.

IV. Presenting information and ideas

• Write a paragraph to relate/narrate a sequence of events; to describe a person, object, scene, picture, procedure or routine; or to explain reasons.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Study, Workplace: Write a paragraph describing an event/incident, or telling a story from your experience.
• Study: Write a paragraph to report the historical trek of an explorer, based on a map or a diagram.
• Community, Study: Write a paragraph for a school newsletter to describe a new community or a newly developed facility that you consider very attractive.
• Community, Study, Workplace: Word-process, revise, edit, format and print texts using a computer, if available.

Performance Indicators

• Addresses the purpose of the task.
• Expresses main idea and supports it with details.
• Demonstrates good control of simple grammatical structures. May have difficulty with complex structures.
• Demonstrates adequate vocabulary for the topic.
• Provides accurate descriptions, explanations or account of events in the report/story sequence.
• Provides an introduction, development and conclusion, and an adequate paragraph structure in the text.
• Uses appropriate logical connectors (next).
• Uses accurate spelling and punctuation.
• Writes legibly or prints.

listen

Listening

Global Performance Descriptor

• Learner can comprehend main points and most important details in oral discourse in moderately demanding contexts of language.
• Can follow most formal and informal conversations on familiar topics at a descriptive level, at a normal rate of speech, especially as a participant.
• Can understand an expanded inventory of concrete and idiomatic language.
• Can understand more complex indirect questions about personal experience, familiar topics and general knowledge.
• Sometimes requires slower speech, repetitions and rewording.
• Can understand routine work-related conversation.
• Can follow short predictable phone messages on familiar matters; has problems following unknown details on unfamiliar matters.
• Has difficulty following a faster conversation between native speakers.

Performance Conditions

• Learner is adequately briefed for focused listening.
• Communication is live, or video- and audio-mediated (e.g., tape).
• Speech is clear and at a slow to normal rate.
• Instructions are clear and explicit, used with some visual clues, but not always presented in a step by step
• format.
• Listening texts are dialogues on familiar general topics.
• Length of discourse: eight to 12 exchange turns, each turn three to five sentences long; or five minutes.
• Learner may need one or two repetitions.
• Topics are familiar.
• Presentation is informal with the use of pictures/visuals; 10 to 15 minutes long.
• Learner is adequately briefed for focused listening.
• Discourse is live, or video- and audiomediated (e.g., tape).
• Speech is clear, at a normal rate.

Competency Outcomes and Standards

I. Social Interaction

What the person can do

• Identify stated and unspecified details, facts and opinions about situation and relationship of participants containing expression of and response to gratitude and appreciation, complaint, hope, disappointment, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, approval and disapproval.

Examples of tasks and tests

• Community, Study, Workplace: Listen to conversations between individuals. Identify stated and unspecified details about the situation, relationships, intent and mood of participants.
• Answer questions.

Performance Indicators

• Identifies specific factual details and inferred meanings in video- and audiomediated listening texts/discourse as required.
• Identifies functional value of utterances (e.g., thanking, complaining, hoping, etc.).
• Identifies situation, relationship, mood/attitude of participants.

II. Instructions

What the person can do

• Understand sets of instructions related to simple technical and non-technical tasks.
• Understand simple directions on the phone.
• Understand simple messages left on voice-mail (with five to seven details).

Examples of tasks and texts

• Take pre-recorded phone messages with five to seven details.
• Evaluate the factual accuracy of oral directions/instructions by checking details on a map.

Performance Indicators

• Follows clear spoken instructions as required.
• Follows sequence markers and other linguistic clues in the text to comprehend the order of steps.
• Seeks clarification and confirmation where possible.
• Completes instruction/direction task.

III. Suasion (getting things done)

What the person can do

• Demonstrate comprehension of details and speaker’s purpose in directive requests, reminders, orders and pleas.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community, Study, Workplace: Listen to interactions in a court of law or between law enforcement officials (e.g., police, by-law and customs officers) and civilians. Respond to questions according to task format (e.g., true/false, circle the correct answer, etc.).

Performance Indicators

• Identifies main idea, factual details, words and expressions, and inferred meanings in suasion oral texts as required.
• Identifies functional value of utterances as directive requests/reminders, orders or pleas.
• Predicts consequences and outcomes.

IV. Information

What the person can do

• Demonstrate comprehension of mostly factual details and some inferred meanings in an extended description, report or narration when events (or stages) are reported out of sequence.
• Identify rhetorical signals of chronological order, comparison and contrast, and cause and effect in the discourse.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community, Study: Listen to a presentation on gardening conditions, procedures and regional plants in two different regions of Canada. Complete a related task (e.g., retell, respond to questions, complete a chart, table or diagram).
• Listen to information about services (e.g., transit, library, travel reservations, renting accommodation, entertainment schedules). Complete a related task (e.g., retell, respond to questions, complete a chart, table or diagram).

Performance Indicators

• Identifies factual details and inferred meanings in a listening text as required.
• Identifies rhetorical discourse markers and patterns of chronological order/sequence, comparison and contrast, and cause and effect.
• Responds to requests for facts, opinions and attitudes relating to the text.

speak

Speaking

Global Performance Descriptor

• Learner can communicate comfortably in most common daily situations.
• Can participate in formal and informal conversations, involving problem solving and decision making.
• Can speak on familiar concrete topics at a descriptive level (five to 10 minutes).
• Can present a detailed analysis or comparison.
• Can use a variety of sentence structures (including compound and complex sentences) and an expanded inventory of concrete and common idiomatic language.
• Grammar and pronunciation errors are still frequent but rarely impede communication.
• Discourse is reasonably fluent, with frequent self-corrections and/or rephrasing.
• Uses phone on familiar and routine matters; clarifying unknown details may still present communication problems.

Performance Conditions

• Interaction is face to face, or on the phone, with familiar individuals and small informal groups.
• Rate of speech is slow to normal.
• Context is mostly familiar and clear.
• Context is moderately demanding (e.g., real world environment).
• The steps in instructions are not always presented in sequence.
• Length of presentation is 10 minutes.
• Audience is a small, familiar or unfamiliar group.
• Setting is familiar.
• Topic is concrete and familiar.
• Presentation is informal or semiformal.
• Pictures or other visuals are used.

Interaction one-on-one

• Interaction is face to face or on the phone.
• Interaction is formal or semi-formal.
• Learner can partially prepare the exchange.

Interaction in a group

• Interaction is in a familiar group of three to five people.
• Topic is familiar, non-personal, mostly concrete but also abstract.
• Interaction is formal or semi-formal.

Competency Outcomes and Standards

I. Social Interaction

What the person can do

Interpersonal competencies

• Introduce a guest, speaker formally to a large familiar group.
• Express and respond to gratitude, appreciation, complaint, disappointment, dissatisfaction, satisfaction and hope.

Conversation management

• Confirm own comprehension.
• Use a number of strategies to keep the conversation going.
• Hold the floor.
• Resume after interruption.
• Change topic.

Phone competencies

• Take live phone messages with five to seven details.

Examples of tasks and tests

Interpersonal competencies

• Community, Study, Workplace: Introduce a person (e.g., guest, speaker) formally to a large familiar group.
• Express and respond to gratitude and appreciation.
• Make and respond to a complaint.
• Express and respond to disappointment, dissatisfaction, satisfaction and hope.

Conversation management

• So what you’re saying is.... You did? Did you really? You didn’t! And what happened then? Excuse me, I’d like to finish my point. I’m just about to finish. As I was saying.... Anyway, going back to what you said.... This reminds me of....

Phone competencies

• This is Ben Smith calling from Alpha Books. Two of the books that you ordered have arrived. I’m still trying to get more information from Ocean Publishers. Please call me after 3:30 p.m. to discuss the details if you want. My phone number is 555-2030. Thanks. Bye.
• Take and pass on a message with specific details for someone else.

Performance Indicators

Interpersonal competencies

• Introduces a person (e.g., guest, speaker) formally to a small familiar group.
• Expresses and responds to gratitude and appreciation.
• Makes and responds to a complaint.
• Expresses and responds to disappointment, dissatisfaction, satisfaction and hope.
• Uses appropriate non-verbal behaviour.

Conversation management

• Confirms own comprehension of details by repeating and paraphrasing.
• Maintains conversation by various strategies (e.g., asking follow-up information questions).
• Holds the floor, keeps the turn.
• Resumes after interruption.
• Changes topic.
• Uses appropriate non-verbal behaviour.

Phone competencies

• Answers the phone.
• Greets.
• Clarifies and confirms accuracy of information.
• Closes conversation.
• Gets all the details in the message right.

II. Instructions

What the person can do

• Give clear instructions and directions related to moderately complex familiar technical and non-technical tasks.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Work: Give clear directions and instructions in a workplace situation.
• Community: Explain how to avoid jet lag, stay on a budget or handle a household emergency.

Performance Indicators

• Gives spoken directions. (Conveys the sequence of steps, uses clear reference, precise vocabulary, correct stress and intonation: listener can follow the instructions).

III. Suasion (getting things done)

What the person can do

• Give and respond to a warning; discourage others.
  Request a word. Ask for and respond to recommendations or advice.
• Make an extended suggestion on how to solve an immediate problem or make an improvement.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Do you have a minute? Can I talk to you? Can I have a word? I’d like to ask for suggestions, feedback, advice… Can you suggest something? What would you suggest?
• Community: Discourage a person from drinking and driving, or other illegal or dangerous actions.
• Work: Ask an instructor/supervisor for feedback about performance; ask for advice.

Performance Indicators

• Gives and responds to a warning.
• Discourages others.
• Asks for and responds to recommendations or advice.

IV. Information

What the person can do

Presentations

• Give a summary/report of the main points of a presentation by someone else.
• Tell a story, including a future scenario.
• Describe, compare and contrast in detail two events, jobs or procedures.
• Describe a moderately complex process.

Interaction one-on-one

• Ask for and provide detailed information related to personal needs, varied daily activities and routine work requirements.

Interaction in a group

• Participate in a small group discussion/meeting: express opinions and feelings; qualify opinion, express reservations, approval and disapproval.
• Express or ask about possibility, probability.

Examples of tasks and texts

Presentations

• Study: Tell a story that includes future scenarios.
  Describe and compare the characteristics of two jobs (e.g., a hospitality host and waiter; an administrative assistant and receptionist).
• Based on research, make a 10-minute presentation or demonstration to describe a process (e.g., the process of photosynthesis, immigration or admission to a program). Respond to questions.

Interaction one-on-one

• Community, Study: Call to request information about very specific services or products, or to discuss a very specific need (e.g., planning an extended trip, planning a big investment; ask about new appliances or renovations or training for a new career).
• Ask questions. Ask for advice.

Interaction in a group

• How likely/probable is.... Would it be possible to ...Could it be X? It could have been X. Probably, possible, possibly, maybe, may, can, could.

Performance Indicators

Presentations

• Presents information in a coherent connected discourse.
• Uses an introduction, development and conclusion.
• Uses explicit markers and logical connectors (first, next, finally).
• Uses simple grammar structures, with clear present, past and future time reference; and spatial, personal and textual reference (only some errors).
• Uses vocabulary adequately for topic.
• Provides detailed descriptions.
• Speaks with appropriate eye contact, body language, voice volume, rate, etc.

Interaction one-on-one

• Explains the nature of inquiry.
• Initiates questions to gather, analyse and compare information needed.
• Responds to questions.
• Summarizes and repeats back.
• Gives thanks for the help and information.
• Speaks intelligibly: listener can follow.

Interaction in a group

• Participates in a small group discussion or meeting.
• Expresses opinions, feelings and reservations.
• Qualifies own opinion.
• Expresses approval and disapproval.
• Expresses and asks about possibility, probability.

read

Reading

Global Performance Descriptor

• Learner can follow main ideas, key words and important details in an authentic one or two-page text on a familiar topic within a predictable, practical and relevant context.
• Can locate and integrate, or compare/contrast two or three specific pieces of information in visually complex texts (e.g., tables, calendars, course schedules, phone directories, almanacs, cookbooks) or across paragraphs or sections of text.
• Language is concrete and abstract, conceptual and technical. Text contains facts and opinions; some  information is explicit and some is implied. Low-level inference is required in comprehending the text.
• Linguistic and stylistic means of expression in some texts can be complex in range and demanding to follow.
• Learner uses a unilingual dictionary when reading for confirmation of and precision in interpretation.
• Reads in English for information, to learn the language and to develop reading skills, but also begins to read very simple adult fiction for pleasure.

Performance Conditions

• Text is one page, five to 10 paragraphs long and related to personal experience or familiar context.
• Text is legible, easy to read; is in print or neat handwriting.
• Instructions are clear and explicit, but not always presented step by step.
• Context is relevant and usually familiar.
• Pictures may accompany text.
• Text has clear organization.
• Text content is relevant for learners (e.g., public notices, business letters, form letters).
• Text is one or two pages, five to 10 paragraphs long, with clear organization; is in printed or electronic form.
• Language is concrete and abstract, conceptual and technical.
• Context and topic are partly predictable for learner.
• Text types: newspaper articles, stories, encyclopedia entries and reports.

Competency Outcomes and Standards

I. Social Interaction Texts

What the person can do

• Identify factual details and inferred meanings in moderately complex notes, e-mail messages and letters expressing appreciation, complaint, hope, satisfaction, dissatisfaction.

Examples of tasks and tests

• Community, Study, Workplace: Read authentic notes, e-mail messages and letters expressing gratitude and appreciation, complaint, hope, disappointment, satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Answer comprehension questions as required in the task.

Performance Indicators

• Identifies specific factual details and inferred meanings in the texts.
• Identifies purpose of texts.
• Identifies reader-writer relationship, attitude of writer and context.

II. Instructions

What the person can do

• Follow a set of written instructions on 10- to-13-step everyday procedures related to simple technical and nontechnical tasks.
• Follow everyday instructional texts.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community: Follow written instructions, including diagrams, on how to apply the Heimlich manoeuvre.
• Community, Study: Based on information in a continuous (prose) text about cooking a meal, correctly sequence the recipe (10 to 13- steps).

Performance Indicators

• Follows instructions.
• Carries out task.

III. Business/service texts

What the person can do

• Identify factual details and some inferred meanings in moderately complex texts containing assessments, evaluations, advice.
• Locate three or four pieces of information in moderately complex formatted texts.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community: Obtain information from public health advisories, municipal notices, violation notices and penalty payment forms, community newsletters and bulletins. Decide on action.
• Community, Study: Find information in calendars from adult education institutions.
• Community, Study, Workplace: Read a performance evaluation. Answer comprehension questions as required in the task.

Performance Indicators

• Identifies main intent, main idea, factual details and some inferred meanings in the texts.
• Identifies writer’s purpose/intent/attitude.
• Identifies communicative value of text and its parts.
• Locates three or four pieces of specific information in extensive and visually complex directories.

IV. Informational texts

What the person can do

• Demonstrate comprehension of a one- or two-page moderately complex extended description, report or narration on a familiar topic.
• Demonstrate comprehension of moderately complex tables, graphs, diagrams, and flow charts.

Information literacy/reference and study skills competencies

• Access and locate three or four pieces of information in on-line electronic reference sources (e.g., World Wide Web, library databases), if available, or from print reference sources.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Study: Paraphrase main points of a story that includes a scenario.
• Correctly sequence all steps in a cycle or process described in a text.
• Predict how something (e.g., a machine, design, arrangement, law) would work based on information in text.
• Interpret/explain information in a moderately complex diagram in a basic science text.
• Access and locate three or four pieces of information in on-line electronic reference sources (e.g., World Wide Web, library databases), if available, or in print reference sources (e.g., World Almanac or a technical encyclopedia).

Performance Indicators

• Identifies factual details and inferred meanings in text (70-80%).
• Identifies main ideas and key details.
• Identifies organization of text and relationship links between paragraphs.
• Identifies rhetorical discourse markers of chronological order, comparison and contrast.
• Follows sequence of narration.
• Guesses meaning of words. Distinguishes facts from opinions.
• Classifies/categorizes/defines concepts based on information.
• Expresses information contained in a graph as text.
• Accesses/locates three or four pieces of information in a CD-ROM electronic reference source, if available.
• Accesses/locates three or four pieces of information in print reference sources.

write

Writing

Global Performance Descriptor

• Learner demonstrates adequate ability in performing moderately complex writing tasks.
• Can write personal letters and simple routine business letters.
• Can construct coherent paragraphs on familiar concrete topics, with clear main ideas and some supporting details, and with a developing sense of audience.
• Can join two or three paragraphs into a larger text.
• Demonstrates mostly satisfactory control over complex structures, spelling and mechanics.
• Learner often produces written presentations of text structure beyond a paragraph, which may sometimes seem “foreign” to an English-speaking reader.
• A more personal creative expression in writing may reveal the use of “overelaboration,” literal translation, false cognates, and circumlocution — strategies to express oneself more fully in view of limited language skills.
• Discourse patterns are typical for first language.
• Can take notes from clear pre-recorded phone messages.

Performance Conditions

• Circumstances range from informal to more formal occasions.
• Addressees are familiar.
• Topics are familiar with immediate everyday relevance.
• Text is one to two short paragraphs.
• Text to reproduce is one to two pages in legible handwriting or print, or may be a short oral text (10 to 15 minutes).
• Texts are varied and may be of a specialized or technical nature.
• Learner may fill out a teacher-prepared summary grid to aid note taking or summarizing.
• Forms are about 40 items/pieces of information long.
• Messages are one or two paragraphs long.
• Learner texts: a memo, a letter of request, a work record log entry.
• Learner text is two or three paragraphs long, on non-personal, abstract but familiar topics and issues.
• Where necessary for the task, learners must include information presented to them from other sources (e.g., photographs).

Competency Outcomes and Standards

I. Social interaction

What the person can do

• Convey a personal message in a formal short letter or note, or through e-mail, expressing or responding to appreciation, complaint, disappointment, satisfaction, dissatisfaction and hope.

Examples of tasks and tests

• Community, Study, Workplace: Write an appropriate note or letter to respond to someone’s appreciation, complaint, disappointment, satisfaction, dissatisfaction or hope.
• Community: Write a note to a sick acquaintance to express regret and hope of quick recovery. Offer help.

Performance Indicators

• Addresses the purpose of the task.
• Expresses main ideas and supports them with details.
• Conveys a sense of audience: language, format and content are appropriate and relevant.
• Demonstrates good use of most complex structures, spelling and punctuation.
• Has occasional difficulty with some complex structures.
• Demonstrates adequate vocabulary for the topic.

II. Reproducing information

What the person can do

• Take notes from pre-recorded longer phone messages on public information lines or voice mail messages with seven to 10 details.
• Take notes in point form from an oral presentation.
• Write an outline or a summary of a longer text.

Examples of tasks and texts

• This is Ben Smith calling from Alpha Books. Two of the books that you ordered have arrived. I’m still trying to get more information from Ocean Publishers. Please call me after 3:30 p.m. to discuss the details if you want. My phone number is 555-2030. Thanks. Bye.
• Community, Study, Workplace: Write down messages with seven to 10 details.
• Listen to the recorded messages on the community information phone lines.
• Take notes and make a summary.

Performance Indicators

• Addresses the purpose of the task.
• Conveys essential information to the reader.
• Reduces information to main points, with accurate supporting details, with no major omissions.
• Fills all form sections with required information.
  Conveys a sense of audience in language format and content.
• Demonstrates good use of complex grammatical structures, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation (few errors).
• Presents text in legible handwriting or print.

III. Business/service messages

What the person can do

• Convey business messages as written notes to pass on routine information, make requests, or respond to recommendations and warnings.
• Fill out moderately complex forms.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community: Write an appropriate short letter of concern/complaint as a parent to the daycare/after-school care administrator.
• Study, Workplace: Write a formal letter/memo to your supervisor to request a week off work.
  Fill out an application for training.

Performance Indicators

• Addresses the purpose of the task.
• Expresses main ideas and supports them with details.
  Conveys a sense of audience: uses appropriate style.
• Demonstrates good use of complex structures.
• Demonstrates adequate vocabulary for topic.
• Provides accurate and detailed descriptions, explanations or account of events in the report/story sequence.
• Provides an introduction, development and conclusion, and an adequate paragraph structure in the text.
• Presents text as a coherent connected whole with good use of appropriate logical connectors (however, but).
• Demonstrates accurate spelling and punctuation; makes minor errors only.
• Presents text in legible handwriting or print.

IV. Presenting information and ideas

What the person can do

• Write two or three paragraphs to narrate a familiar sequence of events from the past; to tell a story; or to provide a detailed description, comparison.

Examples of tasks and texts

• Community, Study: Write a report comparing two education systems. Use a graph, table, chart
  or diagram as the basis for some of the information. Add a paragraph expressing your preference for one or the other. Give reasons.
• Study: Describe a process (e.g., the process of photosynthesis).
• Community, Study, Workplace: Word-process, revise, edit, format and print texts.

Performance Indicators

• Addresses the purpose of the task.
• Expresses main ideas and supports them with details.
• Conveys a sense of audience: uses appropriate style.
• Demonstrates good use of complex structures.
• Demonstrates adequate vocabulary for topic.
• Provides accurate and detailed descriptions, explanations or account of events in the report/story sequence.
• Provides an introduction, development and conclusion, and an adequate paragraph structure in the text.
• Presents text as a coherent connected whole with good use of appropriate logical connectors (however, but).
• Demonstrates accurate spelling and punctuation; makes minor errors only.
• Presents text in legible handwriting or print.