Welcome to the Language B Department
The German B Department offers
courses in French, German and Spanish and serves the needs of foreign language
learners, taking students from beginner’s level to proficiency.
Our philosophy
Learning additional languages greatly contributes to the
holistic development of students.
Proficiency in other languages gives students access to a broader range of
experiences and perspectives and is believed to enhance achievement in other
subject areas, as well as giving the student the enjoyment of being able to
communicate in languages other than the mother tongue. (ã IBO
MYP Language B Guide 2006)
Language is a key to global understanding, tolerance
and peace and enables a successful and responsible way of living together in a
society. The study of language B aims
to encourage in the student a respect for and understanding of other languages
and cultures, and to provide a skills base to facilitate further language
learning. Therefore, our focus is to promote students’
emotional, social and academic growth by developing competency in languages
other than their own.
In our courses we aim to
reflect the increasingly globalised world we live in, in which the nature,
context and uses of texts have changed. We explore language through various
sources of texts and media, which enable the students to gain a deeper
understanding of themselves, human nature and values and the world around them.
Our approach is interdisciplinary and intercultural in order to develop a
holistic and independent learner.
The integration of technology is an essential part of our teaching
practice and of the learning experience.
Our courses
The main focus of
our courses is on language acquisition and development in the four primary
language skills: listening,
speaking, reading and writing. These skills are developed through the study and
use of a range of written and spoken material. Such material will extend
from everyday oral exchanges to literary texts, and is related to the
culture(s) of the target languages.
The courses are topic based and material is chosen to enable students to
develop mastery of language skills.
Themes are selected to reflect the students’ level of experience with
the target language and are intended to be relevant to the students’ interests
as well as to current events in both the countries of the target language and
the rest of the world. Students
are also exposed to cultural aspects of the target language countries.
In Grades 6-10 we
align our curriculum with the philosophy of the Middle Years Program (MYP).
Students
are required to take German in addition to English and may take either French
or Spanish. At the end of Grade
10, students have the opportunity to take foreign language German, French and
Spanish in the IGCSE exam.
However, there is no IGCSE option for beginner or B2 level courses.
In our Diploma
Program (DP) courses in Grades 11 and 12, students are required to take English
and at least one other language.
Students may take French B, German B and Spanish B within the International
Baccalaureate (IB) as a
Language B or, in the case of German an Ab Initio course.
Grades 6, 7 and 8
Foreign Language for
Beginners - B1 German, B1 French/Spanish As study of
German is compulsory, students new to the school who have little or no German
will take this course in all grade levels. In 6th grade students also have the opportunity of beginning
either French or Spanish.
The aim is to
develop basic communicative competence across the areas of listening, writing,
reading and speaking. Language
structures and vocabulary are taught using a thematic approach.