Group 1: Language

IB ENGLISH HL*
Grade: 11 &12 (2 year course + May Exam)

IB English HL I

This is the first year of a two-year sequence. Assessments include a presentation, an oral commentary, essays, and creative written tasks. The first semester focuses on the study of language and media using a variety of texts. Some of the topics covered are race in the media, censorship, and language and the state. The second semester features a heavy emphasis on close reading and discussion of three texts: King Lear, Beloved, and The Things They Carried. This portion of the course engages students in critical reading, writing, and thinking about how authors use literary techniques to achieve their purpose.

IB English HL II

This is the second year of a two-year sequence. Year II of the IB Language and Literature program aims to explore how language develops in specific cultural contexts, how it impacts the world, and how language shapes both individual and group identity. Students are expected to (1) analyze how audience and purpose affect the structure and content of texts; (2) analyze the impact of language changes; and (3) demonstrate an awareness of how language and meaning are shaped by culture and context. The course will align these learning outcomes with an array of thematically connected texts. A further exploration of cultural importance associated with gender, power and identity will also be examined. Students will be expected to challenge, question, formulate, and develop ideas about different texts, their meaning, purpose and implications about society and its members’ identity.