IB at WIS

Identities 

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

Lifestyles

• Health and wellbeing

• Beliefs and values

• Subcultures

• Language and

identity

Experiences

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

• Leisure activities

• Holidays and travel

• Life stories

• Rites of passage

• Customs and

traditions

• Migration

Human ingenuity

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

• Entertainment

• Artistic expressions

• Communication and

media

• Technology

• Scientific innovation

Social Organisations

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

• Social relationships

• Community

• Social engagement

• Education

• The working world

• Law and order

Sharing the planet: Explore the challenges and opportunitiesfaced by individualsand communities in themodern world.

Certain conceptual understandings of language are fundamental to successful communication and should be developed in all DP language acquisition courses

Audience: Students understand that language should be appropriate for the person(s) with whom one is communicating. 

Stimulus questions 

How can the perceived needs and interests, or previous knowledge, of the recipients of a text influence its production? 

How would the language used in a given text need to change if the same basic message needed to be communicated to a different audience? 

Context: Students understand that language should be appropriate to the situation in which one is communicating. 

Stimulus questions 

How does the situation or setting influence the production or reception of a text? 

How is the relationship between the producer and the recipient(s) of a text (or the relationship of interlocutors in a conversation) reflected in language use?

Purpose: Students understand that language should be appropriate to achieve a desired intention, goal or result when communicating. 

Stimulus questions

When I read or listen to a text, what helps me to understand the intention of the person who produced the text? 

When I need to communicate for a specific reason, how do I plan my message and language use in order to achieve my goal?

Meaning: Students understand that language is used in a range of ways to communicate a message. Stimulus questions 

How are literal and figurative (non-literal) language used by producers of texts to create desired effects?

What does the producer of a text do to make the message clear (or, on the contrary, to make it ambiguous) when there is no opportunity for the recipient(s) to reply to the text?

Variation: Students understand that differences exist within a given language, and that speakers of a given language are generally able to understand each other. 

Stimulus questions 

How or why does a language change over time, across geographical boundaries or from one social or cultural group to another? 

What does it mean to say that aspects of a text are “lost in translation” from one language to another? 

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.

• Blog

• Diary

• Email

• Personal letter

• Social media posting/chat room

Professional texts (no personal relationship is assumed between the producer of the text and the recipient(s)

• Blog

• Email

• Essay

• Formal letter

• Proposal

• Questionnaire

• Report

• Set of instructions

• Survey

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.

• Advertisement 

• Article (newspaper, magazine)

• Blog

• Brochure

• Film

• Interview

• Leaflet

• Literature*

• News report

• Opinion column/editorial

• Pamphlet

• Podcast

• Poster

• Public commentary (editorial/

• readers’ letters)

• Radio program

• Review

• Speech

• Travel guide

• Web page

Literary texts

the study of two literary works originally written in the target language is a requirement at HL in language B

STANDARD LEVEL

PAPER 1 1h15         30 pts         25%

Productive Skills

250-400 Words 

5 themes Experiences/ Human ingenuity/Sharing the Planet/Social Organisations

Choose 1 task out of 3 and for each, 1 text type out of 3. 

PAPER 2       1h45         65 pts         50%

LISTENING  45 min     25 pts         

READING     1h              40 pts

INDIVIDUAL ORAL       30pts         25%

Chose 1 out of 2 Pictures

(based on 2 of the 5 themes)

3-4 min description/analysis

4-5 min conversation on picture

5-6 min conversation about 1 other theme

HIGHER LEVEL

PAPER 1 1h30         30 pts         25%

Productive Skills

450-600 Words 

5 themes Experiences/ Human ingenuity/Sharing the Planet/Social Organisations

Choose 1 task out of 3 and for each, 1 text type out of 3. 

PAPER 2       2h             65 pts         50%

LISTENING  1h             25 pts         

READING     1h              40 pts

INDIVIDUAL ORAL       30pts         25%

Chose 1 out of 2 extracts of 300 words of 2

literary texts studied in class

3-4 min description/analysis

4-5 min conversation on extract/book

5-6 min conversation about 1 other theme

Paper 2: RECEPTIVE SKILLS  50%           1h45 SL / 2h HL           65 points

A LISTENING  

3 audio extracts 45 min SL/ 1h HL 25pts

B Reading

3 texts 1h SL/HL

Audio extracts and texts on the 5 themes:

• Social Organisations

• Human ingenuity

• Experiences

• Sharing the planet

• Identities

Text types

• Article, column

• Blog

• Brochure, leaflet, flyer, pamphlet, advertisement

• Essay

• Interview in any form

• News report

• Report

• Review

• Set of instructions, guidelines

• Short story, novel, poem

• Written correspondence

Text-handling exercises

Questions assess a range of receptive skills such as understanding of overall meaning, scanning texts for particular details, understanding structural features (for example, cross references), functioning in context,and identifying communicative purposes. At HL the student’s understanding and interpretation (but not analysis) of literature are assessed.

• These are the types of questions that may appear in paper 2.

• Choosing which of a number of sentences are true according to the text

• Gap-filling exercises based on comprehension of the text

• Identifying clear inference from concepts (for example, “The text says that 60% of people think x.

• What does this mean with regards to the remaining 40%?”)

• Identifying precise references of key phrases or structures (for example, “In line x, to whom does theword ‘they’ refer?”)

• Identifying related ideas that are in different parts of the text

• Identifying specific content items

• Identifying whether an explanation or definition is true or false, and finding the evidence for this in the text

• Identifying who says what in a text or a series of short texts

• Justifying an interpretation by locating evidence or key phrases (for example, “Where does the authorsay xxx?”)Matching summary sentences with different paragraphs of the textMatching words or phrases from the text with definitionsMultiple-choice questionsShort-answer questions

Paper 1: Written productive skills

Duration: 1 h 15   SL

length: 250-400 words

Duration: 1 h 30 HL

Length450-600 words

Weighting: 30pts   25%

3 Tasks on the 5 topics

• Human ingenuity

• Social Organisations

• Experiences

• Identities

• Sharing the planet

3 possible TEXTE TYPES but YOU NEED TO SELECT THE MOST APPROPRIATE

• Article

• Blog/diary entry

• Brochure, leaflet, flyer, pamphlet, advertisement

• Essay

• Interview

• Introduction to debate, speech, talk, presentation

• News report

• Official report

• Review

Students should:

• use language accurately and appropriately

• develop and organize ideas relevant to the task

• produce the features of the required text type correctly.

• Paper  1 requires students to produce text types from the following list.

• TEXT TYPES  NEW!!!!

Marking Criteria

3 Assessment criteria are used to assess paper 1, which is worth 25% of the overall mark.

Criterion A Language                                         12 marks

Criterion B Message                                            12 marks

Criterion C Conceptual Understanding           6 marks

Total                                                                        30 marks

Overview

Internal assessment is worth 25% of the overall mark, 30 points.

Individual oral 12-15 min

3 assessment criteria are used to assess the individual oral

Criterion A Language                                  12 marks

Criterion B 1 Message on presentation    6 marks

Criterion B 2 Message on conversation    6 marks

Criterion C Communication                        6 marks

Total                                                                  30 marks

STANDARD LEVEL

2 visual stimulus (photo/poster/advertisement/cartoon) with one caption in the target language and 5 themes

• Social Organisation

• Sharing the Planet

• Human Ingenuity

• Experiences

• Identities

1 Preparation 15 min

2 Presentation 3/4/ min

3 Conversation on Presentation 4/5 min

4 General conversation (on at least 1 other theme) 5/6/min

HIGHER LEVEL

Chose 1 of 2 Extracts of 300 words based on 2 literary texts studied in class

1 Preparation 20 min

2 Presentation 3/4/ min

3 Conversation on Presentation 4/5 min

4 General conversation (on at least 1 other theme) 5/6/min