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Language B Syllabus outline

In the language B course, students develop the ability to communicate in the target language through the study of language, themes and texts in the target language. In addition, the study of two literary works is required at HL.

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THEMES

Prescribed themes

Five prescribed themes are common to the syllabuses of language B and language ab initio; the themes

provide relevant contexts for study at all levels of language acquisition in the DP, and opportunities for

students to communicate about matters of personal, local or national, and global interest.

The five prescribed themes are:

• Identities-identidades

• Experiences-experiencias

• Human ingenuity-ingenio humano

• Social organization-organización social

• Sharing the planet-compartir el planeta

Recommended topics:

IDENTITIES

Explore the nature of the self and what it is to be human.

• Lifestyles (estilos de vida)

• Health and well-being (la salud y el bienestar)

• Beliefs and values (creencias y valores)

• Subcultures (subculturas)

• Language and identity (idiomas e identidades)

Posssible Questions

1. What constitutes an identity?

2. How do we express our identity?

3. What ideas and images do we associate with a healthy lifestyle?

4. How do language and culture contribute to form our identity?

EXPERIENCES

Explore and tell the stories of the events, experiences and journeys that shape

our lives.

• Leisure activities (los pasatiempos)

• Holidays and travel (el viajar y los dias festivos)

• Life stories ( historias de la vida)

• Rites of passage (rito de iniciación)

• Customs and traditions (tradiciones y costumbres)

• Migration (emigración)

Possible Questions

1. How does travel broaden our horizons?

2. How does our past shape our present and our future?

3. How and why do different cultures mark important moments in life?

4. How would living in another culture affect our world view?

HUMAN INGENUITY

Explore the ways in which human creativity and innovation affect our world.

• Entertainment (el entretenimiento)

• Artistic expressions (las expresiones artisticas)

• Communication and media (la comunicación y los medios)

• Technology (la tecnologia)

• Scientific innovation ( los avances cientificos y la innovación)

Possible questions

1. How do developments in science and technology influence our lives?

2. How do the arts help us understand the world?

3.What can we learn about a culture through its artistic expression?

4. How do the media change the way we relate to each other?

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

Explore the ways in which groups of people organize themselves, or are organized, through common systems or interests.

• Social relationships (las relaciones sociales)

• Community (la comunidad)

• Social engagement (compromiso social)

• Education (educación)

• The working world (el mundo del trabajo)

• Law and order (las normas y el orden)

Possible questions

1. What is the individual’s role in the community?

2. What role do rules and regulations play in the formation of a society?

3. What role does language play in a society?

4. What opportunities and challenges does the 21st-century workplace bring?

SHARING THE PLANET

Explore the challenges and opportunities faced by individuals

and communities in the modern world.

• The environment (medio ambiente)

• Human rights (los derechos humanos)

• Peace and conflict (el conflicto y la paz)

• Equality (igualdad)

• Globalization (globalización)

• Ethics (ética)

• Urban and rural environment

Possible questions

1. What environmental and social issues present challenges to the world, and how

can these challenges be overcome?

2. What ethical issues arise from living in the modern world, and how do we

resolve them?

3. What challenges and benefits does globalization bring?

4. What challenges and benefits result from changes in urban and rural

environments?

STANDARD LEVEL (SL)

Why Language Learning is Important

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