DP: 11 French

by Phuong Tran, teacher of French

As IB educators, we look to the ten attributes that make up the IB Learner Profile as reference points and inspiration for our curriculum. This term, the Year 11 French B unit on the Black Lives Matter movement is focused on guiding students to be Chercheurs (Inquirers), Communicatifs (Communicators) and Ouverts d’esprits (Open-minded).

Ouverts d’esprits (Open-minded)

In engaging with this unit on the Black Lives Matter movement, students are encouraged to come to each class with an open mind, bringing their own culture and personal histories to our discussions on global issues. Each week we explore an aspect of the movement from a different place in the world, using the French language as a vehicle to drive our inquiry and our communication. 

Communicatifs (Communicators)

The internal assessment for the Language B course is an individual oral assessment that is completed with the teacher in the second year of the Diploma Programme. Students studying Standard Level French are required to describe a visual stimulus; link it to one of the five prescribed themes; and engage in an unscripted discussion on the selected theme. At the start of the term, the Year 11s worked in groups of three to describe, analyse and discuss a photo taken from various Black Lives Matter protests and events from around the world. They worked together to describe every detail of the photo, from the clothing of the protestors to the signs they were holding. 

Chercheurs (Inquirers)

To encourage students to practise their productive skills, the Year 11s revised interrogative words such as Que (What), Pourquoi (Why), Comment (How) to delve further into their exploration and discussion of racialised violence in Paris and the power that rap music can bring to the city’s Muslim and Black communities. These questions went on to help them produce interview transcripts, one of the many text types that may appear in the French B written exam (Paper 1). 

These are only three of the ten attributes that make up the IB Learner Profile. The IB believes that such qualities “can help individuals and groups become responsible members of local, national and global communities” (IB French B Guide, 2018). The embedding of these values in our unit on the Black Lives Matter is aimed at equipping students with the critical tools to navigate complex global issues.