Language Acquisition
Language Acquisition in DP (Group 2) two different language acquisition classes. Ab initio classes are for beginners and is the only IB course that is only be offered as SL (standard level). Language B is offered as SL and HL courses and is for more advanced, non-native language learners.
The following aims are common to both language B and language ab initio:
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.
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
• experiences
• human ingenuity
• social organization
• sharing the planet.
The study of two literary works originally written in the target language is required only at language B HL. The distinction between language B SL and HL can also be seen in the level of competency the student is expected to develop in the receptive, productive and interactive skills described.
CAIS can offer the following Language Acquisition subjects: Chinese, English and Spanish.