IB English B (Language)

Course Description

Grade(s): 11-12                        Level: IB SL or HL                        Credit(s): 2 in English

Prerequisite(s):  Teacher recommendation and successful completion of English 10

The International Baccalaureate Language B course is a foreign language learning program for students who have only studied English for between two and five years immediately prior to the beginning of their IB course.

The main focus of the program is on language acquisition and development.  The main aim of the program is to prepare students to use English in a range of situations and contexts and for a variety of purposes  Therefore, it is a communicative course in that it focuses principally on interaction between speakers and writers.  Equal emphasis is given to the development of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking skills.  The course objectives—social, academic, and cultural—are addressed through the three course themes:  Exploring Change; Exploring Groups; Exploring Leisure.  A variety of teaching materials and activities are used to focus on these themes and develop skills, including reading and analyzing novels, short stories, magazines, and articles, and listening to and watching audio and video tapes.  There are both oral and written assessments.  The oral assessment is based on class activities and is moderated externally by IB.  The IB examination at the end of the two year course is assessed externally.  Although SL and HL students will study a similar program, the HL level requires a more rapid rate of written and oral expression during the final assessment.