21 replies to this topic

[Ib_slave]

Is there a big difference between English A1 HL and SL in terms of IA and how high your grades are?

[__inthemaking]

Yes, HL is a lot harder (from what I've heard). All I know for sure is that HL has to read 4-5 more works than SL is required to.

And for the world lits (which are the IAs), HL is required to write 2 papers while SL only has to write 1.

In terms of grades..my english A1 HL class' grades range from level 3 to a 6. I'm currently getting a 6 in HL, but my teacher has told me that if I was in SL, I would be getting a 7 ( wish I could've taken SL lol).

[Kristen]

Yes there are quite a few differences between high level and standard level English.

First of all higher level english must study one or two extra texts in each topic area. I know that in the "school's choice" and "world literature" sections the people doing standard level had to do one less text than the higher level people. Also different marking guides are used for the higher level and standard level students when world literature essays, oral presentaions and oral commentaries are marked. The standard level people also have to write one less essay for IA.

Like all higher level subjects, yes Higher level english is harder. However there is not an extrodinary step between the two. The markers just expect a higher quality of work fromh higher level and will not tolerate as many mistakes.

Good luck.
Kristen

Edited by Kristen, Jun 29, 2008 - 03:26.

[CodeRed15]

In our school, we HAVE to take HL English. We don't get a choice. I wish we had SL so the students could score better.

[Victor L]

if you are naturally talented in english, sl and hl wont make much of a difference.

[Wanda(Not Alvin)]

At our school HL and SL read all the same books, it's just that SLs only have to write one World Literature essay.

[catatouille]

Yeah, like everyone mentioned before, in HL you read a few extra books and have some extra papers to write, but I am currently taking English HL at my school and I find it a lot more beneficial than SL. In HL our teacher gives us a lot more information that could also apply to our SL classes, and we go into more depth on subjects. I don't know how the SL students understand everything if they don't get the same lessons we do...at least, that's how it is in my school. It could just be our teacher. You can tell he favors the HL class, too. It might help to ask other students at your school how the English teacher treats his classes.

And also, English HL is my favorite class! English SL is actually one of my least favorite classes...so maybe that might help you too lol.

[hamani]

I never knew that there were differences between the two however, when the question came up during choosing HL and SL time, our English A1 teacher showed us that yes that there are some differences but in my opinion, I agree with what was said earlier and that its just that HL are graded more strictly.

[Kingfast]

In my school we are forced to take english, but it doesnt really matter whether English A1, A2 SL or HL. For now I take EngA1SL, that already is a hard subject.

[irenesme]

I don't know if this is the right place to put this post, but does anyone know the difference between A1, A2, and B languages?

Is B the foreign language and A your native language?

[rrswong]

I don't know if this is the right place to put this post, but does anyone know the difference between A1, A2, and B languages?

Is B the foreign language and A your native language?

A1 is native language I think.. A2 is part of group 2, and is a foreign language, but you do about the same things you do in it that you do in A1, and yes, B is the foreign language.

From what I know about HL/SL English - the grade boundaries are a little different, you have to read extra books in HL and the criteria is generally harder.

[Vvi]

I don't know if this is the right place to put this post, but does anyone know the difference between A1, A2, and B languages?

Is B the foreign language and A your native language?

The Group Two of IB Diploma Programme subjects, subtitled second language, refers to the one or more foreign languages that each Diploma candidate is required to study. The second language can be studied at one of five levels (in order of decreasing difficulty): A2 higher level, A2 standard level, B higher level, B standard level, or ab initio standard level. The Group Two courses focus on written and spoken communication in the foreign language. A student may opt to take a second Group 1 subject in place of a Group 2.

The language A2 corresponds to a near-native level of fluency in the foreign language, and as such concentrates less on studying the actual language and more on the literature and culture of the countries where the language is spoken.

Internal Assessment for language A2 consists of two oral components, in the same way as for language A1. The final exams have two papers: Paper 1 is called Comparative Commentary, and it asks to write a commentary that compares the two previously unseen texts that appear in the exam. Paper 2 is an essay on either a Cultural or a Literary Option. In addition, students produce two Written Tasks of 1000-1500 words total to be assessed externally by the IBO.

Language B is intended for students who have a previous background of a few years in the language, and focuses more on learning to communicate in the language in a written and spoken form. There are no specific syllabi for languages B (unlike most other IB subjects), and the teacher has great freedom in deciding how their students should go about in studying a language B.

(all of the above is from Wikipedia)

As you can see, B is a lot less difficult than A2. A2 assumes that you are almost fluent. The syllabus is changing though, I believe for the 2010 candidates. A2 will be incorporated into Language B completely, so that Language B HL and A2 SL are the same. I was told this today.

[deissi]

As you can see, B is a lot less difficult than A2. A2 assumes that you are almost fluent. The syllabus is changing though, I believe for the 2010 candidates. A2 will be incorporated into Language B completely, so that Language B HL and A2 SL are the same. I was told this today.

You're on the right track, but not quite. There will be no A2 starting from M12 examinations, so for Group 2 you'll have the choice of B or ab initio. However, Group 1 will be restructured completely. It'll be divided into A1 Literature and A1 Language & Literature. A1 Literature will basically be the same as the A1 we know and A1 Lang&Lit will resemble the A2 course. The difficulty level of Lang&Lit will likely be somewhat higher than that of A2, though. The biggest difference between the old system will be that you can choose to do the easier A1 Lang&Lit instead of the A1 Language we have to take now. In simple terms, this would mean that one could replace English A1 with English A2 as their Group 2 subject.

[Junos]

Yeah, like everyone mentioned before, in HL you read a few extra books and have some extra papers to write, but I am currently taking English HL at my school and I find it a lot more beneficial than SL. In HL our teacher gives us a lot more information that could also apply to our SL classes, and we go into more depth on subjects. I don't know how the SL students understand everything if they don't get the same lessons we do...at least, that's how it is in my school. It could just be our teacher. You can tell he favors the HL class, too. It might help to ask other students at your school how the English teacher treats his classes.

And also, English HL is my favorite class! English SL is actually one of my least favorite classes...so maybe that might help you too lol.

Heyy... But is it just because you're really good at english HL?..because at this point of my life I have to decide between english SL or HL. The thing is, I didn't take literature in Year 3 and Year 4, and I don't know why I chose not to even though I did well in it and liked it in Year 2. The reason why I'm even considering even taking HL is because I'm applying for a Humanitites Scholarship. To apply for this, I MUST take english HL.

I've always wanted this scholarship, so its hard to let it go. I'm willing to put in a lot of hard work, but I'm afraid i'll end up screwing up English HL...:/

So yeap, should I take English HL?

[Julie]

What would be your courses if you took English HL? Where do you plan on going to college? How good is your English?
English HL is not that much different from SL if you are a native speaker; it is easy to jump up to HL, but if you are not a native speaker and haven't been speaking for a long time, HL is NOT a good idea. I watched four of my friends (two being not native, and two being native speakers in English) drop down to SL this year. Basically, the difference is: a little bit less reading, one WL instead of two, and guiding questions on the IB exams. These guiding questions are what make the huge gap, in my personal opinion, between the difficulties of English SL and HL.

[Proletariat]

In my district, the World Lit choices overlapped with certain units in the Provincial English curriculum, so it worked out in that regard. HL is also more educational hours than SL, and at my school that took the form of an additional half-semester, every other day block specifically for World Lit. The funny thing is that that extra block was essentially a free period. I spent the first week of that semester actually working. The rest of the time I played games or simply skipped, since it was at the end of the day.

I suppose from my perspective, there doesn't seem like HL encompassed a whole bunch of extra stuff, although we do not have SL English for direct comparison either. The class never felt stressful though. Granted, it's likely because I enjoy English, but I know that even the most mathematical IB kid in the class, who constantly groans about how he sucks at English, is hitting in the 80s. And that brings me to marks: in my class of 15, most will be predicted 5 or 6. I feel there might be one or two 4s. No one will get lower than that (except the German exchange student.) Conversely though, it's very unlikely that more than one person will be predicted a 7. It's what I'm aiming for, but my teacher's basically told me that I currently fall smack dab between a 6 and a 7, and she wants to hear the IOC before finalizing ><

[wombat123]

I'm not the most informed on IB formal moderation, requirements, marking, etc. but so far I'm not sensing a great difficulty jump from English SL to HL. The way my school does it is that everyone will study together during the regular school hours for SL English, and then if you are in HL you are required to attend an extra class after school. During this English HL students-only class after school hours I don't feel like the marking is harder. Sometimes I think that my HL teacher is even more lenient in marking than my SL teacher. But then again, I am in chem HL, so maybe there is a difficulty jump but I just don't notice it that much because it is small in comparison to SL and HL jumps I see in my other courses. I don't think having to read a bit more is much of a challenge compared to all the extra things you have to deal with in other HL subjects, so if you're looking for an easier HL I would recommend English.

[Junos]

What would be your courses if you took English HL? Where do you plan on going to college? How good is your English?
English HL is not that much different from SL if you are a native speaker; it is easy to jump up to HL, but if you are not a native speaker and haven't been speaking for a long time, HL is NOT a good idea. I watched four of my friends (two being not native, and two being native speakers in English) drop down to SL this year. Basically, the difference is: a little bit less reading, one WL instead of two, and guiding questions on the IB exams. These guiding questions are what make the huge gap, in my personal opinion, between the difficulties of English SL and HL.

Well.. I'm a Chinese Singaporean, but my First Language has always been English. I got an A1 for my GCE "O" Levels english paper...but that's quite different from IB english, if not very different... I'm starting IB only this year..which is Grade 11 for the American System. I speak english every day and its the language I've used since I was born..haha.

But yeap, my worry is just the literature aspect. If I work really hard, is it something "learnable"? If it is, then I would love to try out HL english. I want to study in the UK or US, and hopefully do either law/political science/international relations. I am also considering economics for college, but i've heard you need Math HL for that? So I'm a bit in a fix, because its either HL english or HL math, but I need HL english for my scholarship; there's a chance I won't get it.

thanks for the advice though

[fan]

there is not much difference just you have to write another WL, you have a few extra books to read and your exam is longer. That's about it!