The Language B French course is a modern language course offered to students with some previous experience of the target language. It focuses on language acquisition and usage through the development of the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. It aims to develop the student’s ability to communicate effectively in speech and in writing in a range of contexts and to offer insights into the culture of the countries in which the language is spoken. Through the study of selected topics the students will develop higher communicative competence in the French language and a greater appreciation of Francophone cultures.
Paper 1: Receptive Skills
(1½ hours) 30%
The paper consists of understanding four written texts based on the core.
Paper 2: Productive Skills
(1½ hour) 25%
One writing exercise of 250-400 words from a choice of five, based on the options.
This is a 300 – 400 word piece of writing in the target language. Additionally, students are required to write a 100 word rationale, based on the core.
This assessment is marked externally by the IBO.
Two oral activities take place which are assessed by the teacher internally and moderated by the IBO.
Individual Oral
(8 – 10 minutes) 20%
Based on the options aspect of the course: 15 minutes preparation time and a 10 minute (maximum) presentation and discussion with the teacher.
Interactive Oral Activity
10%
Based on the core component of the course. It is comprised of three classroom activities assessed by the teacher.
Students wishing to prepare for undertaking the French B course in IB should consider undertaking the following Levels A to E pathway:
The IB Japanese B Standard Level course enables the students to reach a high level of competency in the four skills of language learning, listening, speaking, reading and writing. The emphasis on kanji recognition and production not only develops the students’ knowledge of essential Japanese, it also enhances their memorisation and retention skills.
The students develop the accuracy and variety of their language use through studying a range of different text types. They also deepen their cultural understanding of Japan through the study of current issues, thereby undertaking reflexive comparison of their own cultural assumptions.
The students undertake numerous internal oral/aural tests and written examinations. The course culminates in the oral/ aural examination, an internal exam which is moderated externally, and a Written Assignment and two external written examinations on Text Handling and Text Production.
The College offers Standard Level IB Japanese. It is similar to the VCE Japanese course, with two marked differences. The Standard Level course requires students to be able to read and write a minimum of 400 kanji (this includes the 200 kanji required for VCE). The use of a dictionary is not permitted in Papers 1 and 2, but is allowed for the Written Assignment.
This subject covers the following topics:
Paper 1: Reading and Comprehension
(1½ hours) 30%
The paper consists of understanding four written texts based on the core.
Paper 2: Written Production
(1½ hour) 25%
One writing exercise of 250-400 words from a choice of five, based on the options.
This is a 300 – 400 word piece of writing in the target language. Additionally, students are required to write a 100 word rationale, based on the core.
This assessment is marked externally by the IBO.
Two oral activities take place which are assessed by the teacher internally and moderated by the IBO.
Individual Oral
(8 – 10 minutes) 20%
Based on the options aspect of the course: 15 minutes preparation time and a 10 minute (maximum) presentation and discussion with the teacher.
Interactive Oral Activity
10%
Based on the core component of the course. It is comprised of three classroom activities assessed by the teacher.
The ab initio Spanish course is a modern language course for beginners, designed to be followed over two years by students who have limited or no previous experience of learning Spanish. By the end of the course, students should have acquired enough language to be able to cope in a variety of everyday situations. The aim of the course is to develop a range of language skills and an awareness of the cultures of countries where Spanish is spoken. Intercultural understanding underpins the three central areas of language, themes and texts. Beginning language courses such as this one are not offered as part of the VCE. All ab initio languages are only ever offered at Standard Level.
The 3 themes covered over the two years will be:
Paper 1: Receptive Skills
(1½ hours) 30%
The paper consists of understanding four written texts.
Paper 2: Productive Skills
(1 hour) 25%
The paper consists of 2 writing exercises, one short and one extended.
This is a 200-300 word piece of writing in the target language. This assessment takes place over a number of weeks.
The Written Assignment is externally assessed by the IBO.
This section of the assessment consists of a three part oral initially assessed by the teacher and then moderated by the IB towards the end of the course.
This task consists of a description of an unseen visual stimulus, followed by questions and then a general conversation. All responses written and oral, must be in the target language.
The ab initio French course is a modern language course for beginners, designed to be followed over two years by students who have limited or no previous experience of learning French. By the end of the course, students should have acquired enough language to be able to cope in a variety of everyday situations. The aim of the course is to develop a range of language skills and an awareness of the cultures of countries where French is spoken. Intercultural understanding underpins the three central areas of language, themes and texts. Beginning language courses such as this one are not offered as part of the VCE. All ab initio languages are only ever offered at Standard Level.
The 3 themes covered over the two years will be:
Paper 1: Receptive Skills
(1½ hours) 30%
The paper consists of understanding four written texts.
Paper 2: Productive Skills
(1 hour) 25%
The paper consists of 2 writing exercises, one short and one extended.
This is a 200-300 word piece of writing in the target language. This assessment takes place over a number of weeks.
The Written Assignment is externally assessed by the IBO.
This section of the assessment consists of a three part oral initially assessed by the teacher and then moderated by the IB towards the end of the course.
This task consists of a description of an unseen visual stimulus, followed by questions and then a general conversation. All responses written and oral, must be in the target language.