DP Language B
Sandia con aji
Early commencement
Our Year 10 students participated in the Early Commencement Program this week, part of which was their introduction to Language B for the IB Diploma Programme.
Spanish ab initio
Spanish is a language that is offered only in the Diploma Programme, as such we began with an overview of the course structure and developed an understanding of the growth that will take place over the next two years. In later classes, students experienced the kinds of activities they will encounter in the early part of the course, which focuses on the acquisition of vocabulary through games and online platforms.
Students began their project-based learning task, designed to engage their individual interests and mix Spanish language and culture into this. Students chose to mix Spanish language into their workplaces, food, sporting and artistic pursuits among other things. We finished off the week tasting a fun Mexican dish: Sandia con aji - chili watermelon!
French B
For Early Commencement, the French students delved straight into DP content, starting with an exploration of the five prescribed themes: social organisation, sharing the planet, human ingenuity, experiences and identities. To gain a better understanding of each theme, students completed a range of activities, such as browsing through French magazines to glean relevant articles. To conclude Early Commencement, students worked towards producing a modified version of the Language B Internal Assessment, which requires students to describe a photo and link it back to one of the prescribed themes.
With support from our language assistant, Théo, students acquired a bank of words and phrases to help them contextualise a photo with detail and accuracy. I’d like to thank the 2020 Year 11 French class for their enthusiasm and hard work during Early Commencement; je vous souhaite de bonnes vacances d’été!
Language Matters
Although we offer French and Spanish for our students in the DP course, there are a few who may have good reasons for studying another language. This is usually due to family heritage. We are very fortunate to be able to draw on the services of Language Matters, which is a school of languages very efficiently managed by Sigrid Schweiger.
Students who undertake Language Matters courses need to be able to demonstrate excellent commitment and independent study skills in order to be successful. The tutors come to the school to work with individuals or small groups.
In 2020, students will be studying Italian and German ab initio, as well as German B. Students who take ab initio classes in Italian and German must be prepared to complete the course by May 2021, as it is not offered for the Southern Hemisphere exams in November. So, whilst studying languages outside of the Preshil system is an option, it is important to understand the challenges!
This year Sigrid met prospective students and parents during the Early Commencement week and was able to give details of the course outlines and clarify any issues related to this course option. Language Matters students have already begun their 2020 language learning, and will be able to consolidate this during the holidays.
Kat Girbau, Phuong Tran & Linda Kay
Language B teachers
katherine.girbau@preshil.vic.edu.au