Alexzianna Posted August 12, 2013 Report Share Posted August 12, 2013 Our school doesn't offer SL English so we're all forced to take HL English, I was wondering at its difficulty level? Should I do some summer prep before going into the class? and what novels do we read? My first language is Russian... would that make English HL harder?Thanks Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjy Posted August 12, 2013 Report Share Posted August 12, 2013 To be honest, from what I've heard it's only marginally harder than SL. Your teacher chooses the texts so it varies hugely. Not at all, I know people whose second or third language is English and have achieved 7s in HL English Lit A. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MainRostand Posted August 12, 2013 Report Share Posted August 12, 2013 I've heard, from the voice of my own teachers, that the languages are some of the courses with the least effort and difficulty fluctuation from standard to higher level. For instance, English is my second language and I just got a 7 on my Further Oral Activity (29/30) and I got a (28/30) for my Individual Oral Presentation in Spanish (my main language). Both of then in higher level. And my favorite courses are actually the sciences Don't worry, you'll be fine.Your teacher selects the books from the Prescribed list of authors given by the IB. If you know the teacher, though, you can always send him/her an e-mail inquiring about the novels. Mine told me and I read one of the books beforehand. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophmx3211 Posted August 12, 2013 Report Share Posted August 12, 2013 Make sure you know your texts well and learn how to analyse texts properly. It's important to know how to structure an essay/commentary as well feel free to ask me about it anytime Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBKID4lyf Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 Hi, English HL is honestly quite a big harder than SL (As is the case with all IB subjects though). In regards to your questions about summer prep it just really depends on how confident you feel! 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Blackford Posted August 30, 2013 Report Share Posted August 30, 2013 I felt that English lit HL was too hard for me, so I dropped it to SL. It was a lot harder then the English in pre-IB (more lang&lit), which I did not really think about. Even SL is hard and you have to read a lot books/texts, especially if you are not a native speaker in English. So I would generally say: Yes, HL is difficult and you need a general interest in novels and discussion (about novels). The book list we got for HL English was:PersepolisTo liveA Doll's houseEmily Dickinson -20 poemsThe Bluest EyeOthelloOranges are not the only fruit (reading right now)The Great Gatsby1984The God of small thingsMaster Harold and the BoysDisgraceand You Can't get lost in cape town. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
meenaa Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Hi,I am in the same boat as you, i have to take HL for English language and literature and iam really struggling with it. i am in year 11 and do my finals in NOV 2014. I am just hoping to improve as the year goes. My difficulty is iwith writing essay sentence structure and understanding deeper meaning of the story. If you any can help me i am willing to learn. We have covered these books Fly away peter, The great Gatsby and Street car named desire. SOPHMX3211 - You said you can help - Can you please let me know what i should be concentrating on. Thanksmeena Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackcurrant Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 So, it is safe to say from all the previous posts that it is an entirely subjective experience. It is. " hard" or "easy" relative to your previous experience (in pre-IB, for instance, or in MYP), abilities, motivation, etc.There is no objective way to establish how hard or easy the course will be. It is obvious though that there will be more demands at HL than at SL , and if you don't enjoy reading or writing or thinking about literature, then these will feel more than just marginal differences. 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Bird Lockheed Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 In English Hl You have to study 4 works instead of 3 works in SL.You will have 2 poems instead of 1 in SLYou will have additional essaysIOC will be of 20 minutes (10 minutes for analyzing drama and another 10 minutes for analyzing essays. SL will have only 10 minutes of IOC.Difficulty of the external papers will be almost same. You will just get half an hour extra.Overall easily manageable. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackcurrant Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 (edited) Yes, the differences may look inconsequential, (one book more here and there), certainly compared to the old A1 and A2 programmes, but do take note of the differences in the marking criteria. More is expected of you at HL.If you are studying English HL Language A: Lit. then ...-Writing a comparative commentary for Part 1 is often considered much more challenging than writing a commentary on a single text. -Consider what is required for the IOC, both in terms of demands and works. If you are comfortable with poetry, then that will be an advantage.It's all in the details...If Lang-Lit, then perhaps the differences are a little less obvious--at first, anyway. Edited October 24, 2013 by Blackcurrant Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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