This resource was developed by the Toronto Catholic District School Board and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (now IRCC) as a companion to Discover Canada, the federal government’s citizenship test study guide. It is intended for program planning and instructional use. The chapters are theme-based with a planning framework for CLB 1-8. It provides reproducible activities, recommended resources and teaching strategies. There are seven chapters covering:
- Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens
- Who We Are
- Canada’s History
- Canada’s Government
- Elections
- Canadian Symbols
- Canada’s Regions and Economy
There is an informative list of suggested resources, including books and online materials, including a virtual Charter of Rights and Freedoms, with translations in 23 languages.
The English Listening Lessons and Library Online (elllo) site offers audio and video lessons with some printable worksheets. There is a wide variety of topics, including job search, job offer, job ads, dream job. Non-CLB. Many Canadian references.
Free access:
English Central is a self-directed English learning platform intended for adults who wish to improve their spoken English. The platform has 20,000 captioned videos, organized into Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels. The platform provides different ways for learners to interact with the same video to reinforce their learning, such as clicking on a word in the caption to read a definition or filling in the blanks. There is also a live tutor option, but it is part of the subscription that must be purchased to access all the content. Signing up for a free trial will give learners access to a variety of videos on a diverse number of subjects.
Last reviewed June 2023
English Media Lab: ESL, English grammar exercises, video lessons, quizzes, vocabulary exercises.
An easy to navigate website is good for independent practice and can be used with children. Contains grammar, listening and reading activities from very easy to intermediate levels.
Healthy Eating is designed for CLB 1 but can be adapted to other levels. Created by Immigrate Manitoba, this curriculum offers classroom activities and a methodology guide: topics include food, nutrition, grocery shopping and budgeting.
Larry Ferlazzo is a well-known American high school English teacher-blogger whose website offers numerous resources and reference materials that are useful to teachers who work in adult settings. He offers: English themes for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners, bilingual exercises, and academic reading and writing.
Learn English with EF podEnglish, bite-sized 5 minute English lessons. Perfect for beginners, intermediate and advanced students, these video lessons are as good as having an English teacher in your pocket! Created by EF, the world's largest language school with over 400 schools in 50 countries worldwide.
An award-winning British Columbia resource, The Westcoast Reader is designed for beginning adult readers, both ESL and English literacy learners. National and local news stories are adapted from The Vancouver Sun and The Province newspapers, in addition to articles on health, safety, law and daily life. The paper is printed on a monthly basis for 10 months of the year, and provides a good orientation to Canadian culture and everyday life.
There are links to videos, photos and maps in the online paper. Each front page article has an audio file, allowing learners to read and listen to the story simultaneously. Teacher notes contain instructional strategies and answer keys.
The articles are not referenced to the CLBs. They are written with three levels of difficulty, suitable for CLB Stage 1 learners and higher level ESL Literacy learners.
The following groups can receive The Westcoast Reader free:
- Community Adult Literacy Programs (CALP)
- ESL, EAL and ABE programs provided by public post-secondary institutions
- Literacy Outreach Coordinators (LOC)
- Public libraries
