School Supported Languages (SSL)

Literature and Language - in all its diversity - unites us. It is how we understand, express and share our experience of the world. Learning about literature and language promotes cultural literacy: the ability to understand cultures beyond our own and to interact with people from diverse backgrounds. The study of literature and language cultivates the skills of analysis and evaluation needed to be critical consumers, and the communicative competencies required to be creative producers, of texts - both written and oral - in their many shapes and forms.

This course is intended for students who can demonstrate proficiency in their family language and/or a language in which they were educated prior to joining UWCSEA.

Emphasis is placed on reading and writing, as well as on understanding the conventions, cultural content and language of a wide range of texts - drama, prose, poetry and non-literary works - from the culture of the language concerned.

 In this course, students will:

• Gain linguistic proficiency, fluency and range in order to become effective communicators.

• Develop empathy, compassion and respect for others by experiencing the stories of different times and places. 

• Explore different text types to develop critical literacy in a digital age.

• Foster creativity to express thought, feelings and imagination.

• Explore the connections between languages, identities and cultures.

• Cultivate effective reading habits and inspire a lifelong love of reading.

• Develop the cultural and linguistic knowledge needed to understand and critically appreciate literature and language.

By developing confidence and competence in both language and analytical skills, the course prepares the students for the "Self-taught School Supported" literature course in the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP). Completion of this course in the IBDP allows students to graduate with an IB Bilingual Diploma.

This course is intended for students who are already literate in the target language and/or have been educated in this language before entering the course. This is because the main focus of the course is literature and culture, not language acquisition. Students willing to take this course will be tested by the head of department. The test will consist in writing a text for an hour. The students will also need to fill in a questionnaire about their background, motivation and previous learning experience in the requested language.

SSL students are part of a multilingual class. For each language, group sizes vary from 1 to 7 students. 

So far, UWCSEA students have studied over 50 different languages as School Supported Language courses, including the following:

- Asian languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Korean, Mongolian, Thai, Khmer, Filipino, Dzongkha, Urdu, Bengali, Burmese, Vietnamese, Lao, Marathi, Sinhalese, Telugu, Tamil, Divehi, Kazahk 

- European languages: Russian, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Hungarian, Serbian, Croatian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Slovenian, Ukrainian, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Greek, Bosnian, Estonian, Danish, Belarusian

- African languages: Swahili, Siswati, Zulu, Shona, Bemba, Kinyarwanda, Amharic 

- Middle Eastern languages: Hebrew, Arabic, Tajik, Persian 

Other languages are available upon request. However, students should be aware that the IB reserves the right to decide, on an annual basis, if some languages are available in Diploma Programme exams. Moreover, UWCSEA East requires parents to hire a qualified tutor of the language concerned, and the tutor needs to be vetted by the school. If a tutor cannot be identified, then the course will not be authorised by the school.

Grade 9

Students will engage in units focused on understanding and analysing prose, film, drama, poetry and songs:

• Unit 1: Storytelling- The Art and Craft of Fiction
  This unit leads students to understand critical elements of narratives focused on global issues such as identity, language and culture, and to build their own narrative.

• Unit 2: From Page to Stage- The Art of Adaptation to Film
  Students study a short novel focusing on beliefs, values and education, as well as its film adaptation. This leads them to compare and contrast a variety of techniques used by authors and film makers.

• Unit 3: The Transformative Impact of Drama
  Students study a theatre play in which the author addresses issues related to privilege, power and justice. They develop an oral presentation based on a specific aspect of the play, and establish how the playwright is able to make an impact on their audience.

• Unit 4: What's in a Song?
  As students study song lyrics and poems on art, creativity and the imagination, they become aware of the differences and similarities between these genres. They develop critical thinking by responding to open questions on form and content of poetic texts.

Grade 10 

Students will engage in units focused on understanding and analysing prose, mass media texts, poetry, drama and autobiography:

• Unit 1: On a Firm Foundation: Foundational Stories and Classic Literature
  Students develop their understanding of popular stories as distinct from literary classics. They do so by engaging in an enquiry into foundational stories, as well as in a class discussion centred on a classic novel.

• Unit 2: Sharing Voices through Mass Media
  Students study mass media texts dealing with global issues such as science, technology and the environment. After developing their understanding of the conventions of a range of media texts, they produce their own editorial on the issue they have engaged with in the unit.

• Unit 3: Words of War and Peace
  Students examine poems in which authors produce a response to conflict and stand up for peace and justice. Particular attention is given to the historical context of the poems studied.

• Unit 4: Union and Division in Drama
  Students study a play in which the playwright addresses issues related to identity, language and culture, and illustrate the human struggle for unity in the face of division.

• Unit 5: Recounting the Self
  Students study a short autobiography in which the writer looks back at their educational path, and enquire into the elements of prose non-fiction. The understanding they gain in the process helps them construct the story of their own lives and reflect on the beliefs and values they have developed throughout their educational journey.

• Gaining linguistic proficiency, fluency and range will develop students’ self-confidence in social and academic interactions, along with pride in their language and a sense of belonging to linguistic communities.

• Learning about the relationship between language and culture will allow students to critically examine and reflect upon their own roots and identities.

• Students will expand their capacity for critical reading and conceptual thinking, both vital to intellectual maturity.

• The study of literature will allow students to experience the stories of people in different times and places - to recognise what connects and divides us, and what ultimately makes us human - and to become more resilient and optimistic in an ever-changing world. 

• The study of texts will deepen students’ appreciation of literature in its many creative forms, whilst being given opportunities to read for pleasure will develop their autonomy as readers, helping them to develop strong reading habits and a lifelong love of reading. 

• Exploring challenging works will help students to confront complex topics and explore issues of local and global concern, whilst engaging with a wide range of media will increase critical literacy in a digital age defined by information, misinformation and disinformation.

Students will be assessed regularly, in the following ways:

• formative tests on vocabulary, spelling, grammar, reading comprehension, writing and oral skills (administered by the tutor). Students respond in the target language.

• common summative assessments administered by the SSL supervisor, at the end of each unit. These assessments may consist in creating a story, writing an analysis, delivering an oral presentation or taking part in a class discussion. Students respond in the target language.

SSL students have 2 lessons a week, in which they may interact with their tutor, their peers and/or work under the supervision of the SSL supervisor. At the beginning of every lesson, attendance is taken by the SSL supervisor.

As a multilingual class, SSL students receive the support of a UWCSEA course supervisor. In class time, the course supervisor discusses curriculum, tasks and progress with students, and addresses any challenges arising from the course. The supervisor also monitors the work set by tutors and makes sure that students actively work on their language-specific assignments in SSL class time. In addition, students receive instruction from a qualified literature tutor in the target language every week (possibly during the time scheduled for the subject), either online or at UWCSEA. Literature tutors are required to collaborate actively with the school on all aspects of the course, and they are paid directly by parents. If the language chosen is also a family language, parents should also support the development of home language skills. 

Students study texts which must have been originally written in the relevant language. If the selected books are not already available in the school library, students and their families will be asked to purchase the books in their home country and ship them to Singapore. The school will reimburse purchasing and shipping costs as soon as the books and receipts have been received and the books have been recorded in the library catalogue.

The College requires parents to hire a qualified literature tutor so that the students can benefit from specialist feedback in the areas of language skills, formal writing and cultural content. Tutors also play a vital role in providing feedback about students’ abilities and progress in the subject. Tutors are supported and trained by the head of department and the SSL supervisor. They work with the UWCSEA curriculum and assessment criteria. Literature lessons are privately funded by parents, and the school does not interfere in financial arrangements between parents and tutors.

In many cases, the head of department is able to recommend an experienced tutor to parents. However, parents are ultimately responsible for identifying a suitable literature tutor. After parents have identified a tutor, the head will contact them. The head will vet the tutor recommended by parents (on the basis of his/her qualifications and teaching experience), following which the tutor will start working with the student under her guidance. The head of department will provide the tutor with course documentation, deadlines, resources and advice. The tutor will provide the SSL supervisor with information regarding the student’s effort, progress and performance. The UWCSEA teacher will report the tutor’s comments to parents, and parents may also be directly in touch with the tutor.

The school recommends at least 80 minutes of tutoring in the target language per week. If the student has not had lessons in the target language for an extended period of time, more tuition time may be necessary. If both the tutor and the student(s) are available during the school day, then the school will provide a classroom for them to meet in person or online. 

It should be noted that SSL students need to demonstrate a great deal of autonomy and responsibility throughout the course, through completing work independently and maintaining a positive relationship with their tutor. 

Recap of Roles and Responsibilities

See what everyone involved does and is responsible for.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any other questions, please email Ms Laurie Kraaijeveld, head of high school languages, at lkr@uwcsea.edu.sg