Language B: Ab Initio

Group 2 subject

The ab initio SL courses offer students the chance to take up a new language at IBDP and to reach a reasonable level of communication in only two years. This is a good course for students who are interested in learning how to communicate effectively in everyday situations and for students who have little or no previous experience of learning a foreign language.

Course content

Ab initio languages available: French, Mandarin, Spanish

Ab initio SL course is designed for complete beginners who have not studied a foreign language in the past. The emphasis is on practical utility and communication. Over the two years, students acquire the vocabulary and grammatical structures they need to use in everyday social interaction and situations. The course develops a variety of linguistic skills and basic awareness of culture.

Students study the five themes of:

• Identities

• Experiences

• Human Ingenuity

• Social Organisation

• Sharing the Planet

Groups of text types

• personal

• professional

• mass media

• two literary

With five conceptual understandings

• audience

• context

• purpose

• meaning

• variation

For ab Initio SL syllabus, click here.

Skills developed

The ab initio course aims to develop the following skills:

• listening: understanding straightforward conversations and the overall idea of a presentation

• reading: understanding straightforward information and skimming to extract key points and ideas in text

• writing: conveying information clearly, organising ideas, giving details and opinions and using language appropriate to purpose and audience

• speaking: participating in spontaneous conversations, giving information and opinions clearly in brief structured presentations

Assessment

Four components of listening, speaking, reading, writing, each worth 25%.

• paper 1: writing (1 hour)

two tasks: 70–150 words

• paper 2: receptive (1 hour 45 minutes)

  • reading: three exercises

  • listening: three authentic passages

• oral individual (7–10 minutes plus 20 minutes preparation)

University courses and careers

After two years, students possess the skills and knowledge to be able to carry on learning the language independently. Whilst not high enough to study languages at university, the level achieved allows students to take intermediate or combined language courses at university. The linguistic competence offered by the ab initio course will help candidates in the competitive world of a job application.