IB Instructions

The individual oral is based on the exploration the student has carried out in the learner portfolio. During this exploration process, the student will have investigated a series of non-literary bodies of work and literary works and a variety of global issues. In the lead up to the individual oral, the student must make a decision about which global issue and which body of work and work will be explored in the task. One work and one non-literary body of work must be selected. An extract of no more than 40 lines should be selected from each which is representative of the presence of the global issue in it. In forms or text types where the number of lines may not be applicable, teachers should be guided by the volume of text that can be discussed in sufficient depth in the time available.

The work and body of work selected must have a clear connection with the global issue. The individual oral should be a well-supported argument about the ways in which both represent and explore the global issue. Students must select two extracts, one from the body of work and one from the work, that clearly show significant moments when this global issue is being focused on. Normally these extracts should not exceed 40 lines or present an unmanageable amount of material to be analysed. The extracts must be continuous: there cannot be an interruption or an ellipsis in an extract. The source of the extracts must also be clearly stated including the names of the works chosen and the names of the authors. As the student brings unannotated copies of these extracts to the individual oral, extracts which are too lengthy may hinder their ability to effectively expand the discussion to the body of work or work as a whole. An extract may be a complete text in itself, for example a whole poem or an advertisement. An extract may not, however, include more than one text, even if each text is extremely short.

If the extract is from a literary text which is part of a larger work studied, such as a short story, or if it is a complete text which is part of a work studied, such as a poem, students should discuss relevant aspects of the broader work as a whole in their individual oral.

If the extract is a complete non-literary text, students should discuss relevant aspects of the broader body of work of the author of the text. In the case of a photograph, for example, the broader discussion should refer to other photographs by the same photographer. If identifying the single author of a non-literary text is not possible, students should use an ampler definition of authorship to broaden their discussion of the global issue. In the case of an advertisement, for example, students could refer to the other advertisements or commercials belonging to the same campaign, to other campaigns of the same brand or to other work produced by the advertising agency. In the case of an article, students could refer either to other articles by the same author, provided it had a byline, or to the general editorial line of the medium in which the article was published if it had no byline. In cases such as the latter two, students should make explicit what constitutes their definition of authorship.

The extracts are meant to help students focus their responses, remove the need to learn quotations and enable them to explore more precise issues, such as style, specific devices and other distinct techniques used by authors to present the global issue. The choice of extracts should show the student’s understanding of the relevance of the part to the whole and enable coverage of larger and smaller choices made by the writers to shape their perspectives on the global issue.

The distinction between the literary and the non-literary must be clearly established in the individual oral. Students should be reminded that texts written by authors on the Prescribed reading list or by authors widely recognized as literary authors must be considered literary. If neither of these conditions apply, and when the text type itself could be considered either literary or non-literary, teachers must make an informed decision about the nature of the text. They should teach it accordingly, bringing out either its literary or non-literary qualities.

An oral which:

• focuses on two literary text types, for example a graphic novel and a collection of song lyrics, or

• focuses on two non-literary text types, for example a collection of music videos and a screenplay, or

• treats a text by a writer on the Prescribed reading list, or by a literary writer, as non-literary

will not meet the requirements of the task.

A global issue incorporates the following three properties:

1. It has significance on a wide/large scale.

2. It is transnational.

3. Its impact is felt in everyday local contexts.

Students may look to one or more of the following fields of inquiry for guidance on how to decide on a global issue to focus their orals on. These topics are not exhaustive and are intended as helpful starting points for students to generate ideas and derive a more specific global issue on which to base their individual oral. It should also be noted that there is the potential for significant overlap between the areas.

In selecting the global issue for their oral, students must be careful not simply to select from the broad fields of inquiry above, but to determine a specific issue for discussion that can be reasonably explored in a 10 minute oral. The global issue chosen for consideration should be significant on a wide scale, be transnational in nature, and be an issue that has an impact felt in everyday local contexts. The issue should be clearly evidenced in the extracts chosen.

For example, within the field of culture, identity and community, the theme of gender in itself might be unsuitably broad for an individual oral. A student interested in this theme might explore instead how gender bias manifests itself in different contexts; how this can be evidenced in many ways in texts of different sorts; how different authorial choices will determine what is meant by gender bias; whether bias should be viewed positively or negatively, allowing the students to evaluate the writer’s choices and the impact they might have on the different readers’ or viewers’ understanding.

For further illustration of how to formulate a global issue from a field of inquiry please consult the “Incorporating global issues into learning and teaching” subsection of the “Delivering the courses” section of the Language A teacher support material.

The oral itself will only be concerned with the aspects of the global issue relevant to the two extracts chosen. The student should ensure the oral offers a balanced approach, giving approximately equal attention to both extracts and to the work and body of work they are extracted from. Thus, it is important that the student selects extracts and a work and a body of work that offer equally sufficient material for the discussion.

The learner portfolio is not specifically assessed but it is an important place for students to explore and reflect upon their works in relation to global issues.

In relation to the preparation of the individual oral, the learner portfolio provides an opportunity for students to:

• keep an ongoing record of the different global issues that could be related to each of the texts they read

• explore links that could be established between different texts on the basis of common global issues they address

• explore how key passages in the texts they have studied represent different or similar perspectives on one global issue through both form and content

• trace the evolution of their thinking and planning in connection with the global issue and how its cultural value, its definition and application to the texts they read have changed through their inquiry

• reflect on the challenges that the internal assessment poses for them as individual learners.

Students have the flexibility to use any of the texts from their course of study up until the time of the assessment. It should be remembered that texts chosen for the individual oral cannot then be used for any other assessment component. Students should select their own oral topics. Teachers should monitor and guide students in their selection of viable global issues, relevant texts and effective choice of extracts, but they should not suggest topics to students nor tell them what to do. Though teachers play a critical role in helping students prepare, this must be a student inspired and created oral.

The oral may be conducted at any time after a significant number of the texts have been studied in the course. All of the texts used for the oral need to be featured as part of the teaching of the course.  It is recommended that the oral takes place either in the last part of the first year or the first part of the second year.

The place and time of the oral is chosen by the teacher. Teachers may conduct all the orals on one day or over several days. Students must be given adequate notice of when the oral will take place. Schools will be provided with a form for students to create an outline of their oral. Students should prepare this in advance as it will provide them with a springboard for their oral. Students should not read the outline as a prepared script. The form gives students a maximum of 10 bullet points to help provide structure to their oral. Individual bullet points must not be excessively long. Schools will be required to keep all copies of the outline form until after the results are issued. In order to determine authenticity of student performance, schools may be required to submit these forms to IB.

Copies of the extracts chosen by the student must be provided to the teacher for approval at least one week before the individual oral assessment takes place. Teachers will have their own copies of the extracts during the assessment and these may help the teacher frame suitable questions for the student.

The extracts must be clean, unmarked copies; the student may only take the extracts and the outline into the room where the individual oral assessment will take place.

The individual oral takes place between the student and teacher. The teacher asks questions to probe further into the student’s knowledge and understanding of the extracts and the corresponding work and body of work, and their analysis of the choices made by the authors in relation to the global issue chosen. In the case of less confident students, teachers must encourage them to give them the opportunity to expand on unsubstantiated or inadequate statements.

The individual oral lasts 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of questions by the teacher.

The individual oral is internally assessed and externally moderated by the IB. Audio recordings of the oral, together with the relevant extracts, are required for the purpose of moderation. To this end, all materials and recordings must be clearly and accurately assembled and kept. Care must also be taken to provide a suitably quiet environment for the recordings.