Languages Language acquisition consists of two modern language courses— language ab initio and language B—designed to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural understanding to enable them to communicate successfully in an environment where the language studied is spoken. Offered at SL only, language ab initio is a language acquisition course designed for students with no previous experience in—or very little exposure to—the target language. Language ab initio students develop their receptive, productive and interactive skills while learning to communicate in the target language in familiar and unfamiliar contexts. Students develop the ability to communicate through the study of language, themes and texts. There are five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization and sharing the planet. While the themes are common to both language ab initio and language B, the language ab initio syllabus additionally prescribes four topics for each of the five themes, for a total of 20 topics that must be addressed over the two years of the course. The following language acquisition aims are common to both language ab initio and language B. Language Ab Initio SL (language studied is language of delivery) Language acquisition consists of two modern language courses— language ab initio and language B—designed to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural understanding to enable them to communicate successfully in an environment where the language studied is spoken. Language B is a language acquisition course designed for students with some previous experience of the target language. Students further develop their ability to communicate through the study of language, themes and texts. There are five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization and sharing the planet. Both language B SL and HL students learn to communicate in the target language in familiar and unfamiliar contexts. The distinction between language B SL and HL can be seen in the level of competency the student is expected to develop in receptive, productive and interactive skills. At HL the study of two literary works originally written in the target language is required and students are expected to extend the range and complexity of the language they use and understand in order to communicate. Students continue to develop their knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, as well as their conceptual understanding of how language works, in order to construct, analyse and evaluate arguments on a variety of topics relating to course content and the target language culture(s). Language B HL & SL (language studied is language of delivery) Updated September 17, 2020