English and Home Languages

English Language A and Language Acquisition Program Chart

IB DP

  • Group 1 Studies in Language & Literature

  • Group 2 Language B

High School

  • English
  • English B

The English Program helps students become effective communicators in an ever-changing world where literacy takes many forms. Students are exposed to a diverse range of texts taken from different national and cultural contexts, ranging from traditional literary forms to media and film texts. Texts are from a range of cultures to reflect the cultural diversity of WAB’s student body.

Grade 9 & 10 English A Language & Literature (IB MYP)

IB MYP English A Language & Literature exposes students to a range of texts (literary and non-literary) of increasing complexity and sophistication. It strives to support reading for pleasure and purpose and to equip students with the skills to communicate effectively in various genres. IB MYP English A Language & Literature prepares students for the IB DP Language A HL/SL and HS English programs in Grades 11 and 12.

Participating in IB MYP English A Language & Literature in Grades 9 and 10 reflects the IB MYP’s fundamental concepts of Holistic Learning, Intercultural Awareness, and Communication. It facilitates links between course groups by helping students develop core communication skills and a depth of knowledge and understanding about different genres of writing and speaking. Studying work from various contexts and language in context helps develop intercultural awareness. The development of Communication Skills in IB MYP English A Language & Literature encompasses the six strands of Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Viewing, and Presenting. IB MYP English A Language & Literature also supports students’ personal and ethical development by studying a diverse range of texts from many cultures. Study and discussion encourage students to become critical and compassionate thinkers as they analyze and evaluate how writers and readers create and communicate meaning.

Content

In studying the topics in IB MYP English A Language & Literature, students will be exposed to a range of literary forms (poetry, short stories, novels, plays) and media genres (film, documentaries, advertising, print media, television) in both years of the program.

Grade 9

  • Reader’s Autobiography: Who am I in relation to what I read?
  • Counter-Narratives: How can literature be used to change the narratives of power, privilege, and social progress?
  • Novel Study – What defines a genre?
  • Performance Literature: What effect does a performance have on the experience of literature?

Grade 10

  • Persuasive Rhetoric – How can we argue more logically and ethically?
  • Intertextuality (Poetry) – How do changes in time and place transform texts?
  • Literary Analysis (Prose) – How can issues of scientific ethics be better understood through narrative science fiction?
  • Film Study – How do creators of texts make deliberate decisions in form to convey meaning?
  • Media Analysis – How does media coverage of figures and events follow predictable narrative arcs?

Assessment

A diverse range of assessment tasks of increasing complexity will be used in IB MYP English A Language & Literature classes across Grades 9 and 10, including the following methods:

  • In Class Tests (Short Answer and Essay)

  • Homework Assignments

  • Analytical and Expository Writing

  • Creative Responses

  • Reader Response Journals

  • Print Media genres

  • Electronic Media genres

  • Oral Presentations

Grade 9 & 10 English Language Acquisition (IB MYP)

IB MYP English Language Acquisition is for students whose primary language is not English. The main aim of English Language Acquisition in the MYP is to provide students with the opportunity to develop insights and skills in a modern language (English) other than their primary language.

The study of IB MYP English Language Acquisition aims to encourage in the student a respect for and understanding of other languages and cultures and to provide a skills base to facilitate further language learning.

The English Language Acquisition subject group is organized into three levels of proficiency. Each level focuses on two phases. In total there are six phases.

  • Emergent – Phases 1 and 2

  • Capable – Phases 3 and 4

  • Proficient – Phases 5 and 6

At WAB, High School students may commence their English Language Acquisition course in the HS starting at the Capable level. They will be placed on a phase between 3 and 5 relating to their level of proficiency in English. The phases are not necessarily aligned with the ELA program’s grade or number of years, as second language development varies significantly from student to student. When reaching Phase 6, students complete the ELA program and move to the Language and Literature course.

Content

Units are planned to ensure ample opportunities to practice and develop the skills of language: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing.

Proficient Level students (Phases 5 and 6) in Grades 9 and 10, follow the Language and Literature content but are assessed on the English Language Acquisition Criteria. This provides students with the opportunity

to grapple with some challenges of the content and context of the Language and Literature course and increase their language learning efficiency.

Content

Units are planned to ensure ample opportunities to practice and develop the skills of language: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing.

Proficient Level students (Phases 5 and 6) in Grades 9 and 10, follow the Language and Literature content but are assessed on the English Language Acquisition Criteria. This provides students with the opportunity

to grapple with some challenges of the content and context of the Language and Literature course and increase their language learning efficiency.

Grade 9

  • Reading Autobiography
  • Short Stories
  • Happiness and Fulfillment
  • Novel Study
  • Personal Narratives

Grade 10

  • You Belong Here
  • Short Stories
  • The Kite Runner novel study
  • The Fault in Our Stars novel and film study

Assessment

Four criteria (A, B, C, D) have been established in two skill areas to measure a student’s progress and achievement in each phase.

  1. Receptive skills: Identify explicit information and analyze conventions and connections.
    Criteria A: Listening
    Criteria B: Reading
  2. Productive skills: Use a wide range of vocabulary and grammatical structures, clear pronunciation and intonation, and communicate required information clearly and effectively.

    Criteria C: Speaking
    Criteria D: Writing

English A: Literature SL & HL (IB DP)

English A: Literature is designed to encourage a life- long appreciation of literature as well as to reveal to students how authors create texts. Students will analyze a wide range of texts in English as well as works translated from other languages. The course includes reflection on how a writer uses language to manipulate readers.

Students completing this course will:

  • Possess a thorough knowledge of a range of texts
  • Effectively develop skills of analysis
  • Develop the ability to turn use their analyses to support arguments in clearly expressed writing of significant length.
  • Be able to succeed in various university courses, including literature-based ones.

*One English class must be completed in Grade 12

Content

Students will study 9 literary works at standard level and 13 at high level. The course is organized around three overlapping areas of exploration.

  • Readers, writers, and texts – an examination of the nature of literature and its study as well as the ways in which literary texts generate meaning.
  • Time and space – an analysis of the contexts of literary texts and how they both shape and reflect society at large.
  • Intertextuality – a study of the complex relationships among literary texts.

Assessment

  • One individual oral presentation – 30% SL / 20% HL
  • Two examination papers – 35% each SL / 35% & 25% HL
  • One 1000-1500 word essay – 20% HL only


As such, 70% of the Diploma grade is external and 30% internal at standard level. 80% of the Diploma grade is external and 20% is internal at high level.

English A: Language and Literature SL & HL (IB DP)

English A: Language and Literature is designed for students who read well but are interested in how language is constructed in a variety of contexts and types of texts. Students will analyze a wide range of texts in English as well as in translation. The course aims to promote awareness and understanding of the way meaning is constructed rather than natural, and to investigate this in both literary and non-literary texts.

Students completing this course will:

  • Reflect on and assess the role of context in shaping meaning
  • Write analytically at some length and also discuss the ways in which other influences shape and modify meaning
  • Effectively develop skills of analysis
  • Understand that the meaning of texts may alter according to the time and circumstances in which they are produced and received
  • Be able to succeed in a wide range of university courses, including literatures.

Content

Students will study 4 literary works at the standard level and 6 at the high level in addition to a wide variety of informational and media texts. The course is organized around three overlapping areas of exploration.

  • Readers, writers, and texts – an examination of the nature of literature and its study as well as the ways in which literary texts generate meaning.
  • Time and space – an analysis of the contexts of literary texts and how they both shape and reflect society at large.
  • Intertextuality – a study of the complex relationships among literary texts.

Assessment

  • One individual oral presentation – 30% SL / 20% HL
  • Two examination papers – 35% each SL / 35% & 25% HL
  • One 1000-1500 word essay – 20% HL only

As such, 70% of the Diploma grade is external and 30% internal at standard level. 80% of the Diploma grade is external and 20% is internal at a high level.

English B HL (IB DP)

English B is a language-learning course designed for students with some previous learning of English. The main focus of the course is on language acquisition and the development of language skills. This course also includes literature study. Please note that WAB only offers the DP English B course at the Higher Level. Also, note that Grade 11 students taking this course are required to attend regularly scheduled Academic Reading and Writing classes.
At the end of the English B HL course, students are expected to:

  • Communicate clearly and effectively in a range of situations, demonstrating linguistic competence and intercultural understanding
  • Use language appropriate to a range of interpersonal and/or cultural contexts
  • Understand and use language to express and respond to a range of ideas with accuracy and fluency
  • Organize ideas on a range of topics, in a clear, coherent and convincing manner
  • Understand, analyze and respond to a range of written and spoken texts
  • Understand and use works of literature written in the target language, English

Content

This two-year course is organized in broad topic groups:

  • Identities
  • Social Organization
  • Experiences
  • Human Ingenuity
  • Sharing the Planet

Assessment

External 75%

  • Paper 1 (Writing) 25%
  • Paper 2 (Reading and Listening) 50%


Internal 25%

  • Literature Individual Oral (IA) 25%

The focus of English Language B HL is on language acquisition and intercultural understanding. Students are continually assessed throughout the course on receptive (reading and listening), productive (writing and presenting), and interactive skills (listening, speaking, and intercultural communication). Assessment tasks include reading comprehension, listening exercises, oral presentations, and written work of different types for different communicative purposes.

High School English B

English B is a language-learning course designed for students with some previous learning of English. This course is for English language learners who do not wish to take the IB Diploma course. The students will study in the diploma class, but will not take the final IB DP examination. The grade is based on internal assessment and an examination set by the teacher. The main focus of the course is on language acquisition and the development of language skills. This course includes literature study.

At the end of the High School English B course, students are expected to:

  • Communicate clearly and effectively in a range of situations, demonstrating linguistic competence and intercultural understanding
  • Use language appropriate to a range of interpersonal and/or cultural contexts
  • Understand and use language to express and respond to a range of ideas with accuracy and fluency
  • Express ideas and opinions in a range of text types and contexts
  • Organize ideas on a range of topics, in a clear, coherent and convincing manner
  • Understand, analyze and respond to a range of written and spoken texts
  • Understand and use works of literature written in English

Content

This course follows the same as the IBO English B HL, as students for both courses take the class together.

Assessment

Students are continually assessed throughout the year on receptive (reading and listening), productive (writing and presenting) and interactive skills (listening, speaking and intercultural communication). Assessment tasks include reading comprehension, listening exercises, oral presentations, and written work that carry out different communicative purposes. The assessment tasks are the same as the English B HL course, but they are not submitted to the IB and the students to do not take the external examinations. All tasks and assessments are graded internally by the teacher and count toward their final course grade.

IB DP School-Supported Self-Taught Language A: Literature SL (Group 1)

IB DP School-supported Self-taught Languag A: Literature SL is designed to encourage a life-long appreciation of literature as well as to reveal to students how authors create texts. Students will analyze a wide range of texts in English as well as works translated from other languages. The course includes reflection on how a writer uses language to manipulate readers.

Students completing this course will:

  • Possess a thorough knowledge of a range of texts
  • Effectively develop skills of analysis
  • Develop the ability to use their analyses to support arguments in clearly expressed writing of significant length.
  • Be able to succeed in a wide range of university courses, including literature-based ones.

Content

Students will study 9 literary works. The course is organized around three overlapping areas of exploration.

  • Readers, writers, and texts – an examination of the nature of literature and its study, as well as the ways in which literary texts generate meaning.
  • Time and space – an analysis of the contexts of literary texts and how they both shape and reflect society at large.
  • Intertextuality – a study of the complex relationships among literary texts.

Assessment

  • One individual oral presentation – 30%
  • Two examination papers – 35% each
    As such, 70% of the Diploma grade is external and 30% internal at standard level.