2 questions for IB teachers (Langauge B)

[danidano]

Hi,

I am a prospective teacher, still relatively new to the IB World.

I just finished reading the IB Language B Guide and 2 questions now came up for which I am unable to find an answer:

 

1.) On p. 6 of the Guide it says: "Many factors determine the group 2 course that a student should take: the student's best language[my emphasis], the language(s) spoken at home and at school, and any previous knowledge of the language of study."

I don't quite understand why it should be "the student's best language" because then it should be group 1 and not group 2 since then it wouldn't really be much of a typical language acquisition course anymore but rather a course similar to that in group 1. And it certainly wouldn't be "a challenging educational experience" as proposed in the Guide.

 

2.) For HL students, 2 works of literature must be read. Now the IB gives some guidelines for teachers as to what kind of books may be suitable. But what is not stated explicitly anywhere is whether those 2 books should be (have to be?) class readers (i.e. all students read the same book) or whether students can choose their own book individually.
So my question here is: Do I as a teacher have to choose 2 books for EVERYONE or can they also choose their own books?
Also, what (amount of) other stimulus/materials should I as a teacher provide then? All this seems very unclear to me.

 

Thanks for anyone who can or is willing to help. I appreciate it.

 

[ellie]

Hi! I'm not a teacher, but I'm pretty certain that (1) is about the best language to take at level B -- so, for example:

• I've studied Estonian, English, Russian, Norwegian, French and German
• I can't take Estonian B because it's my native language (also the course doesn't exist)
• I can't take English B because I'm taking English A
• Norwegian is the obvious choice, but only Russian, French and German B are offered in my school
• I shouldn't take German because I did it 4 years ago for 2 months
• Nor French, because I've studied it for a year only
• I've studied Russian the longest, yet am nowhere near fluent, so I should take that

(2) can go either way, our Russian HL takes separate books (students chose), French HL takes the same books (teacher chose). It's easier to discuss books with the whole class if they are the same books, though.

Good luck!