IB Diploma Programme Language B Guide Notes

Purpose and Scope of the Language B Guide

• This publication serves as the definitive guide for planning, teaching, and assessing Language B within the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme.

• The primary audience consists of subject teachers, though it is intended to inform students and parents about the subject's requirements and structure.

• Additional supporting resources found on the programme resource centre include specimen papers, markschemes, teacher support materials (TSM), subject reports, and grade descriptors.

The Diploma Programme Framework

• The Diploma Programme (DP) is a rigorous pre-university course for students aged 16 to 19.

• It is a broad-based, two-year course promoting intercultural understanding, open-mindedness, and the ability to evaluate multiple perspectives.

• The DP model features six academic areas surrounding a central core:

  • Two modern languages (or one modern and one classical).

  • A humanities or social science subject.

  • An experimental science.

  • Mathematics.

  • One of the creative arts.

• Instead of an arts subject, students may choose two subjects from another academic area.

• Subjects are offered at Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL).

  • The IB recommends $150$ teaching hours for SL subjects.

  • The IB recommends $240$ teaching hours for HL subjects.

• HL subjects are characterized by greater depth and breadth compared to SL.

The Diploma Programme Core

• Theory of Knowledge (TOK): A course focused on the process of knowing and critical thinking. It encourages students to analyze knowledge claims and explore the construction of knowledge across shared and personal domains.

• Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS): The heart of the DP, focusing on identity development through ethical principles.

  • Creativity: Arts and experiences involving creative thinking.

  • Activity: Physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle.

  • Service: Unpaid, voluntary exchange with a learning benefit.

• Extended Essay (EE): A $4,000$-word piece of independent research on a topic of special interest. It develops high-level research and writing skills expected at the university level.

Nature of Language B

• Language B is a language acquisition course designed for students with some previous experience in the target language.

• The course develops linguistic abilities through receptive, productive, and interactive skills.

• Language B SL Characteristics:

  • Receptive Skills: Understanding authentic personal, professional, and mass media texts; deducing meaning from context.

  • Productive Skills: Writing for various purposes (descriptive, personal correspondence); making oral presentations on abstract or cultural topics.

  • Interactive Skills: Initiating and maintaining conversations; negotiating meaning using diversas strategies.

• Language B HL Characteristics:

  • Includes all SL skills but requires higher complexity and range.

  • Required study of two literary works originally written in the target language.

  • Receptive Skills: Evaluating wide varieties of texts; understanding literary elements like theme, plot, and character.

  • Productive Skills: Constructing and supporting arguments with examples; speaking and writing at length for persuasion and evaluation.

  • Interactive Skills: Adept at adjusting style or emphasis in oral exchanges; closing exchanges effectively.

Curricular Themes and Topics

• Identities: Exploring the self and what it means to be human. Topics include lifestyles, health and well-being, beliefs and values, subcultures, and language/identity.

• Experiences: Exploring stories of events and journeys. Topics include leisure activities, holidays/travel, life stories, rites of passage, customs/traditions, and migration.

• Human Ingenuity: Exploring how creativity and innovation affect the world. Topics include entertainment, artistic expressions, communication/media, technology, and scientific innovation.

• Social Organization: Exploring how groups organize through common systems. Topics include social relationships, community, social engagement, education, the working world, and law and order.

• Sharing the Planet: Exploring modern challenges and opportunities. Topics include the environment, human rights, peace/conflict, equality, globalization, and ethics.

Text Types in Language Acquisition

• Personal Texts: Aimed at family, friends, or oneself. Examples: Blogs, diaries, emails, personal letters, social media postings.

• Professional Texts: Created for an audience where no personal relationship exists; focused on information transfer. Examples: Essays, formal letters, proposals, questionnaires, reports, instructions, surveys.

• Mass Media Texts: Created for large, targeted audiences using specific technologies. Examples: Advertisements, articles, brochures, films, interviews, podcasts, reviews, speeches, web pages.

Conceptual Understanding

• Audience: Adapting language to the perceived needs and interests of the recipients.

• Context: Adjusting language based on the situation, setting, and relationship between the producer and recipient.

• Purpose: Planning messages to achieve specific intentions, goals, or results.

• Meaning: Understanding how literal and figurative language create effects and how to clarify or obscure messages.

• Variation: Recognizing how language changes over time, across geography, or between social groups.

Assessment Objectives (AOs)

1. Communicate clearly and effectively in a range of contexts and for a variety of purposes.

2. Understand and use language appropriate to a range of interpersonal/intercultural contexts and audiences.

3. Understand and use language to express and respond to a range of ideas with fluency and accuracy.

4. Identify, organize, and present ideas on a range of topics.

5. Understand, analyze, and reflect upon a range of written, audio, visual, and audio-visual texts.

Assessment Outline: Standard Level (SL)

• External Assessment ($75\%$ overall):

  • Paper 1: Productive Skills—Writing ($25\%$): Duration is $1$ hour $15$ minutes. One task of $250\text{--}400$ words from a choice of three themes.

  • Paper 2: Receptive Skills ($50\%$): Duration is $1$ hour $45$ minutes.

    • Listening comprehension ($25\%$): $45$ minutes; three audio passages.

    • Reading comprehension ($25\%$): $1$ hour; three written texts.

• Internal Assessment ($25\%$ overall):

  • Individual Oral Assessment: Duration is $12\text{--}15$ minutes plus $15$ minutes preparation. Based on a visual stimulus and a follow-up discussion on a separate theme.

Assessment Outline: Higher Level (HL)

• External Assessment ($75\%$ overall):

  • Paper 1: Productive Skills—Writing ($25\%$): Duration is $1$ hour $30$ minutes. One task of $450\text{--}600$ words from a choice of three themes. Requires higher-order thinking like analysis and evaluation.

  • Paper 2: Receptive Skills ($50\%$): Duration is $2$ hours.

    • Listening comprehension ($25\%$): $1$ hour; three audio passages.

    • Reading comprehension ($25\%$): $1$ hour; three written texts.

• Internal Assessment ($25\%$ overall):

  • Individual Oral Assessment: Duration is $12\text{--}15$ minutes plus $20$ minutes preparation. Based on an extract from one of the two literary works studied during the course.

External Assessment Criteria: Paper 1

• Criterion A: Language ($12$ marks): Evaluates command of written language, variety of vocabulary/grammar, and accuracy.

  • $10\text{--}12$ marks: Mostly accurate and very effective; includes idiomatic expressions; minor errors in complex structures do not interfere with communication.

• Criterion B: Message ($12$ marks): Evaluates relevance, development of ideas, clarity, and organization.

  • $10\text{--}12$ marks: Task fulfilled effectively; ideas fully developed with relevant examples; logical and coherent structure.

• Criterion C: Conceptual Understanding ($6$ marks): Evaluates appropriateness of text type, register, tone, and conventions.

  • $5\text{--}6$ marks: Conceptual understanding fully demonstrated; choice of text type and tone are fully appropriate.

Internal Assessment Detail: Oral Component

• SL Process:

  1. Preparation ($15$ minutes): Choose one of two visual stimuli; make up to $10$ bulleted notes.

  2. Part 1 ($3\text{--}4$ minutes): Presentation describing the stimulus and linking it to the target culture.

  3. Part 2 ($4\text{--}5$ minutes): Follow-up discussion on the theme of the stimulus.

  4. Part 3 ($5\text{--}6$ minutes): General discussion on at least one additional theme.

• HL Process:

1. Preparation ($20$ minutes): Choose one of two literary extracts (approx. $300$ words); make up to $10$ bulleted notes.

   2. Part 1 ($3\text{--}4$ minutes): Presentation focusing on the extract's events, characters, ideas, and messages.

   3. Part 2 ($4\text{--}5$ minutes): Follow-up discussion on the literary extract.

   4. Part 3 ($5\text{--}6$ minutes): General discussion using course themes as a starting point.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning (ATL)

• Approaches to Teaching:

  • Inquiry-based (experiential and problem-based learning).

  • Conceptually focused (identities, experiences, etc.).

  • Contextualized (local and global connections).

  • Collaborative (teamwork and effective feedback).

  • Differentiated (meeting diverse learner needs).

  • Informed by assessment (formative and summative practices).

• Approaches to Learning (Skills):

  • Thinking skills: Metacognition, reflection, critical thinking.

  • Research skills: Authenticity of sources, academic honesty.

  • Communication skills: Interpretation, negotiation of meaning.

  • Social skills: Collaboration and intercultural appreciation.

  • Self-management skills: Self-checking, managing deadlines, and perseverance.

Glossary of Command Terms

• Analyse: Break down in order to bring out essential elements or structure.

• Demonstrate: Make clear by reasoning or evidence, illustrating with examples.

• Describe: Give a detailed account.

• Discuss: Offer a considered and balanced review including a range of arguments.

• Evaluate: Make an appraisal by weighing up strengths and limitations.

• Examine: Consider an argument/concept to uncover assumptions and interrelationships.

• Explain: Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.

• Identify: Provide an answer from a number of possibilities.

• Outline: Give a brief account or summary.

• Present: Offer for display, observation, examination, or consideration.

• State: Give a specific name or brief answer without explanation.