IB Spanish

Group 2 Spanish

Spanish B Higher Level (HL) suits someone who has studied the language for 4-5 years. Spanish Standard Level (SL) is suited to someone who has 2-5 years experience. Beginners should opt for Spanish ab initio. Native or bilingual speakers, if already doing English or French in Group 1, should take Spanish A2 in Group 2. This wikibook focuses on Spanish B HL and SL.

Differences between HL and SL

The structure of the course should be similar whether studying HL or SL. However, HL students should have more allocated teaching time and more homework. In addition, HL students should be exposed to more complex language, be introduced to a variety of literary styles and explore more culture. While a SL student would be expected to communicate orally and in writing in a variety of common situations and with a certain degree of fluency, a HL student would be expected to communicate orally and in writing in a wide variety of situations with clarity and fluency. SL and HL are differentiated by the recommended number of teaching hours, the depth of syllabus coverage, the study of literature at HL, and the level of difficulty and demands of assessment and assessment criteria. The core—with topics common to both levels—is divided into three areas and is a required area of study. • Communication and media • Global issues • Social relationships In addition, at both SL and HL, teachers select two from the following five options. • Cultural diversity • Customs and traditions • Health 14 Language B guide Syllabus outline • Leisure • Science and technology Also, at HL, students read two works of literature.

Syllabus

There is one Language B Guide that covers all (30+) languages taught in Group 2. This means that it is the responsibility of the teacher to design a course suitable for the needs of the students. Despite this freedom, there are two main strands around which a teacher can base his own course: Text Type (or Communicative Purpose) and Topics. In addition, the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing should be interlinked throughout the course.

Types of Text

The IB Spanish course is intended to prepare students to be able to understand and write a variety of types of texts, including: brochures, diary entries, police statements, anecdotes or short stories, informal letters and emails, formal letters and emails, letters to a newspaper, news articles, opinion articles (editorials/columns), essays, reports, book reviews and film reviews. Students should also learn to write “spoken” texts such as interviews, speeches and conference presentations. The more complex texts should be reserved for HL students, for example: interviews, conference presentations, essays and creative writing.

Topics

Anything related to Hispanic culture, society and history can be studied, as well as issues relating to young people and the international community, for example:

El deporte, la salud, el ocio, la moda, el botellón, el papel de la mujer, el machismo, las relaciones personales, el amor, el turismo, el medio ambiente, la solidaridad, la globalización, la educación, la lectura, la tecnología, el internet, el espanglish, las comunidades indígenas, las fiestas, las tradiciones, la tauromáquia, el flamenco, los gauchos, el tango argentino, la gastronomía, el arte, el cine, el narcotráfico, la política, los conflictos internacionales, la inmigración.

Authentic Resources

It is very easy to find authentic resources in Spanish on the internet. For the news and current affairs use high quality websites such as http://www.rtve.es (Radio y televisión española), http://www.elpais.es, http://www.elmundo.es. Don’t limit yourself to articles; search in the archives for videos and podcasts too. http://www.youtube.com is fantastic for music videos (with lyrics), interviews with famous people, publicity, and is a lively source of background information on almost any topic. Films are a must for any student wanting to explore issues of culture and society. Films made in Spain and Latin America are becoming increasingly mainstream in the UK and are equally accessible to SL and HL students, for example: Volver, María llena eres de gracia, Amores Perros, Y tu mamá también, El orfanato, El laberinto del fauno, La lengua de las mariposas.

Literature

HL Students should read some authentic literature, including whole books or plays and a variety of extracts, as one of the texts in Paper 1 will be of a literary nature. The Individual Oral can also be based on a work of literature. Accessible authors to start with include Federico García Lorca (La casa de Bernarda Alba, Bodas de Sangre), Laura Esquivel (Como agua para chocolate), Carlos Fuentes (Aura). Extracts of lengthier works can be studied in order to gain an appreciation for different styles including Gabriel García Márquez (Cien años de soledad, Crónica de una muerte anunciada), Miguel Delibes (Cinco Horas con Mario), Fernando Fernán Gómez (Las bicicletas son para el verano), Jorge Luis Borges (Ficciones), Miguel de Cervantes (Novelas ejemplares), Juan Rulfo (Pedro Párramo), Pablo Neruda (Confieso que he vivido), Mario Vargas Llosa (La fiesta del chivo) Roberto Bolaño (Los detectives salvajes), Mario Benedetti (Aquí se respira bien), Luisa Castro (La segunda mujer).

Assessment and grading

Students sit two written exams: Paper 1 and Paper 2, each lasting 1hr30. Internal Assessment comprises Interactive Orals and an Individual Oral. Students are assessed throughout on their Language (vocabulary, grammar, syntax), Cultural Interaction (appropriate choice of register and style according to communicative purpose), and Message (quality and organisation of ideas).

The grade boundaries shift slightly in every exam sessions, as well as from HL to SL. As an approximate guide: 86% = 7, 72% = 6, 60% = 5, 45% = 4.

Paper 1 (Text Handling) 1hr30 40%

Section A) Reading Comprehension: 30-40 questions based on 3 texts (Texts A, B and C). Question types include true or false with a justification, looking for synonyms, inserting conjunctions, identifying which noun a pronoun refers to, matching titles with paragraphs, multiple choice, identifying the main purpose of the text. All answers should be exact words lifted from the text; do not try to explain or paraphrase. 1 mark is allocated to each question.

Section B) Written Response: There will be one question related to Text D and candidates are expected to write at least 100 words. There is no word limit, but it is advisable not to go over 200 words as in this task it is important to be concise. The objective of the exercise is to select details from the orginal text that are pertinent to the question and re-write them in a different format. For example, Text D could be an article about a school in Guatemala and the question could ask you to write an interview with one of the students featured in the article. Candidates should look for about 7-10 details from the text, then link them together coherently. Candidates can use words from the original, but not whole sentences, as the point is to demonstrate understanding of style and register. For example, an article would be written in a journalistic style, while an interview should contain features of oral language; if whole sentences were lifted from the article, the interview would not sound convincing.

Paper 2 (Writing in Registers) 1hr30 30%

HL have a choice of 6 questions covering different topics and types of text. SL have a choice of 4 questions covering different topics and types of text. 30 marks are available for this task: 10 for Language, 10 for Cultural Interaction, 10 for Message. As this exam is worth 30% of the final grade, every individual mark also counts as a percentage point, so every mark counts.

Internal Assessment 30%

Interactive Oral: At least 3 group orals should be assessed in the second year of the course and the best mark is put forward. Interactive Orals can take many forms, for example: a prepared presentation followed by questions, a formal debate, an informal discussion, a role-play, or a spontaneous response to a film-clip. Interactive orals are marked by the teacher. The more orals done in class, the less nerve-wrecking they become.

Individual Oral: The Individual Oral takes place around February/March of your second year and lasts 11-12 minutes. It is conducted and marked by the teacher and recorded for external moderation. The mark is averaged with the best Interactive Oral mark. Part 1 is a 3-4 minute presentation on a topic chosen by the candidate. Part 2 involves 3-4 minutes of unprepared questions based on the presentation topic. Part 3 involves 3-4 minutes of questions on other topics studied throughout the course. It is essential that the time allocated for each part is respected in order for the candidate to achieve highly.

Extended Essay in Spanish

Students can choose to write their Extended Essay (la monografía) in Spanish as part of Group 2. The EE can be written either on aspects of Language, Culture & Society, or Literature. Students should read carefully the Extended Essay Guide (2009) and the Group 2 Subject Specific criteria. Writing the EE in Spanish is excellent preparation for university study of the language.

External Links

IB Spanish B HL/SL Revision Guide for students and teachers http://www.osc-ib.com/

IB Online Curriculum Centre for teachers http://occ.ibo.org