IGCSE Thai First Language

The Cambridge IGCSE First Language Thai curriculum develops learners' ability to communicate clearly, accurately and effectively. Students learn how to employ a wide-ranging vocabulary, use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation, and develop a personal style and an awareness of the audience being addressed. Students are also encouraged to read widely, for their own enjoyment and to develop an appreciation of how writers achieve their effects. 

Teachers will be able to guide students in deciding whether Thai First Language is an appropriate subject to study. Students who are registered as Thai national, must study Thai as a subject during Year 10 and 11. 

Course Content

IGCSE First Language Thai offers students the opportunity to respond knowledgeably to a rich array of reading passages. Candidates will use some of these passages to inform and inspire their own writing, and write in a range of text types for different audiences.

In preparation for assessment, students engage with a range of genres and types of texts, including fiction and non-fiction, essays, reviews and articles. This study includes a focus on writers’ use of language and style and the ways in which writers achieve effects and influence readers. Students also study how influence may include facts, ideas, perspectives, opinions and bias. 

As developing writers themselves, students will be introduced to a range of skills – including the ability to compare, summarise and change perspective. Students will develop the skills of summarising within the context of the following text types: letter, report, newspaper report, magazine article, journal, words of a speech. They should also learn to create a discursive/argumentative letter or article and a descriptive or narrative composition.

Assessment

There is no differentiation for the IGCSE First Language Thai course in terms of a core or extended curriculum. All students study the same content and focus on the same topics.

Students complete two compulsory exams at the end of Year 11. These exams focus on two areas:

• Reading and Directed Writing.

• Composition. This includes argumentative and discursive writing, as well as descriptive and narrative writing.

Both exam papers are externally assessed and are each worth 50% of the overall IGCSE Grade that a student achieves.