Spanish B SL Handbook 

Table of Contents

1. Develop international-mindedness through the study of languages, cultures, and ideas and issues of global significance.

2. Enable students to communicate in the language they have studied in a range of contexts and for a variety of purposes.

3. Encourage, through the study of texts and through social interaction, an awareness and appreciation of a variety of perspectives of people from diverse cultures.

4. Develop students’ understanding of the relationship between the languages and cultures with which they are familiar.

5. Develop students’ awareness of the importance of language in relation to other areas of knowledge.

6. Provide students, through language learning and the process of inquiry, with opportunities for intellectual engagement and the development of critical- and creative-thinking skills.

7. Provide students with a basis for further study, work and leisure through the use of an additional language.

8. Foster curiosity, creativity and a lifelong enjoyment of language learning.

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 and/or 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, analyse and reflect upon a range of written, audio, visual and audio-visual texts.

In the language B course, students develop the ability to communicate in the target language through the  study of language, themes and texts. In doing so, they also develop conceptual understandings of how  language works. Communication is evidenced through receptive, productive and interactive skills across a  range of contexts and purposes that are appropriate to the level of the course. 

The study of language requires careful attention to forms, structures, functions and conceptual  understandings of language. Knowledge of vocabulary and grammar—the what of language—is reinforced  and extended by understanding the why and how of language: audience, context, purpose, meaning. 

Students expand the range of their communication skills by understanding and producing a wide variety of  oral and written texts for audiences, contexts and purposes associated with academic and personal interests.  

Five prescribed themes provide relevant contexts for study, and opportunities for  students to communicate about matters of personal, local or national, and global interest. 

The five prescribed themes are: 

• identities 

• experiences 

• human ingenuity 

• social organization 

• sharing the planet. 

The themes allow students to compare the target language and culture(s) to other languages and cultures  with which they are familiar. The themes also provide opportunities for students to make connections to  other disciplinary areas in the DP.  The themes are inspired by the transdisciplinary themes  of the PYP and the global contexts of the MYP. 

Recommended topics 

The five prescribed themes must all be addressed equally in the language B course; beyond that, teachers  are free to work with the themes in a way that best helps them to organize a course plan and build upon  students’ interests in the target language and its cultures, and that best helps students to meet the  expectations of the syllabus with regard to language and texts. 

The following lists of recommended topics for each theme are appropriate for students to achieve the  aims and objectives of the course. The recommended topics are to be considered indicative content, not  prescribed content, for the language B course. The themes are prescribed, but the recommended topics  and possible questions for each theme are not prescribed.

Texts 

For the purposes of teaching and learning in a language acquisition course, the language B syllabus organizes written, visual, audio and audio-visual texts into three broad categories:  personal, professional and mass media texts. The guiding principle for using texts is to develop students’ receptive, productive and interactive skills in the target language  by focusing their attention on the ways in which good communicators consider the audience, context and  purpose of what they want to say or write in the process of choosing and developing an appropriate text  type to convey a message. 

The categories are described below, and  the table that follows provides examples of text types for each category. The examples shown are neither  prescriptive nor exhaustive. 

Personal texts 

Personal texts are shared by the person creating the message and an audience who may be family members,  friends or groups with a common interest; a personal text may also be directed to oneself. Personal texts  tend to be characterized by attention to the everyday interests or the affective needs of individuals rather  than the analysis of information. Personal texts have a variety of functions including, but not limited to,  describing, narrating, entertaining, recommending and persuading. The level of formality in the register of  these texts will vary according to the linguistic and sociocultural norms of the target language. 

Professional texts 

Professional texts are created for an intended audience in contexts where no personal relationship is  assumed between the producer of the text and the recipient(s); however, the producer of the text can  assume that the recipient(s) will have an interest in receiving and understanding the message. Professional  texts tend to be characterized by attention to the cognitive needs of individuals, the transfer of knowledge  and the logical presentation of information; these texts employ clear, factual language and a formal register.  Professional texts have a variety of functions including, but not limited to, informing, instructing, explaining,  analysing, convincing, interpreting and evaluating. 

Mass media texts 

Mass media texts are created for distribution to a large audience that is targeted because of an interest that,  at least initially, lies primarily with the producer of the text, since the person or entity responsible for a mass  media text has no way of knowing exactly who will take the time and interest to understand the message  or who will ignore it. Mass media texts tend to be characterized by the need of the producer of the text to  project authority, desirability or exclusivity, and the conscious choice of a particular medium or technology  that is appropriate to reach the targeted audience. The level of formality in the register of these texts will  vary according to the linguistic and sociocultural norms of the target language.

Interactive skills: Individual oral assessment 

Duration: 12–15 minutes (plus 15 minutes for preparation) 

Weighting: 25% 

The individual oral assessment is based on the course themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity,  social organization, sharing the planet. 

The aim of this assessment is to measure the student’s ability to understand and produce communication in  the target language, and to use it for successful interaction. 

The language B SL individual oral assessment is divided into three parts, preceded by a timed period of  supervised preparation.

Sample: Paper 1

Sample: Paper 2 Listening comprehension 

Sample: Paper 2 Listening comprehension: audio clip

Sample: Paper 2 Reading comprehension

Text Booklet:

Question and Answer Booklet:

Sample: Internal Assessment - Individual Oral Assessment (IOA)