Jump to content

English HL A2


r.h.a

Recommended Posts

Hello :)

So I think I need major advice and help, and I'd greatly appreciate it <3 !!

Ok, so the situation is the following:

I am doing the full IB Diploma, however a Non-regular diploma. I am doing English A2, Biology, and Chemistry as HL and Math, Physics and Arabic A2 as SL. I am not a native English speaker, but I have been studying English for 10 years so I consider it as a first language as well. My mother-tongue language is Arabic. Although I love my language, I am doing English as HL instead because I am planning to study abroad (hopefully) and I think it will help me greatly and improve my English. The problem is that my teacher is very bad. She does nothing with us in terms of work. We are currently doing 1984 by George Orwell. She explains the book well, but she goes off topic so much and she does not work with us. We haven't done any essays or questions or anything at all. She didn't even discuss the layout of the IB examinations or the criterion with us, and I think I am failing. I cannot change the level now for two reasons. First, I cannot change any of the sciences or math, because the school does not offer math or physics at HL level. So, this leaves me with the choice of switching it with Arabic. Since we are already half way through the year, if I switch I would have to catch up with so much work in addition to the usual work we get. This means I would end up dying of sleep deprivation and utter exhaustion! So shall I switch levels or?

The other thing is that even if I end up switching that would be after my midterms that start on January the 12th. This means I am stuck with English for now. The midterms' papers will be similar to the IB's, this is the school's way of helping us get ready. I really do not want to give up on English HL. I am willing to work and all only if someone guides me to which how I should study and what should I do? I don't mind putting in the extra effort. I am really determined. If anyone is doing English A2 HL regardless of the book etc.. can you please help me with some guidelines your teacher told you. For example, how to answer paper 1, what to mention in your paper 2 essay.. I would be very grateful :')

It would be awesome if you are willing to become my study buddy or something like that, we can help each other and stuff :)

Thank you so much in advance!

Edited by r.h.a
Link to post
Share on other sites

Firstly, I think that after 2013 there is no longer a distinction between Languages A1 and A2, they are all A languages. Also, as a point of clarification - are you doing Language + Literature, or just Literature? Anyway, if you are thinking of studying abroad perhaps doing English HL would be useful, particularly if you enjoy it. However, it is by no means necessary to do English A at HL to be considered 'qualified' in English.

Personally, I feel that you could go with either English or Arabic, depending on which you enjoy more. With regards to the teacher, have you tried talking to him/her about their teaching style? Maybe they are just unaware of their own teaching style, and need to be told about it. If you have to take exams soon, make sure you do study for them as best as you can. There are various threads about the format of Paper 1 and Paper 2, and the syllabus is uploaded here so you can look at that for more information on exam structure.

If nothing happens to improve your English class, then I guess you are left in a bit of a difficult situation. The way that English is taught at our school means that SL and HL learn together and if you switch from SL to HL (which almost 10/50 people did) you haven't missed anything. Even if your classes are structured differently, there shouldn't be that much difference between Arabic SL and HL - you might have to read 1 or 2 extra texts, but it should be manageable.

So I guess the decision comes down to whether you feel you can read up and train yourself on IB-style examination questions in English by yourself, or would rather switch to Arabic HL at this stage. Some people find it easy, but others find it harder. As I like structure, I would personally prefer to have a teacher who knows a lot about IB examinations. :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...