IB Group 1 subjects

The Group 1: Studies in language and literature (previously First Language) subjects of the IB Diploma Programme refer to the student's first language (native language or otherwise best language).
Three courses are available: ''Language A: literature'', ''Language A: language and literature'' and an interdisciplinary subject, ''Literature and performance''. Students who complete two group 1 subjects (instead of a group 1 and group 2 subject), or complete a group 3 or 4 subject that is of a different language of the group 1 subject taken by the candidate, are eligible to be awarded a bilingual IB Diploma on the condition that the candidate obtains a level 3 or greater in both subjects.

Language A: literature

Language A: literature (previously known as Language A1) is a recently updated literature course, for first examinations 2013. The course is designed to "encourage students to appreciate the artistry of literature and to develop an ability to reflect critically on their reading". The course is available at both Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL), where the HL curriculum is slightly more demanding than that of SL. The course is officially available in over 50 languages, and there is a special request service available (only for May sessions) for languages that are not officially supported.

Syllabus

The course is divided into four parts. All works chosen must feature as part of teaching.
* Part 1: Works in translation (SL: 2 works, 40 hours; HL: 3 works, 65 hours) - As its name implies, this part focuses on works that are originally written in a different language, but translated into the language concerned. The aim of this part is to "deepen students’ understanding of works as being products of a time and place". Works are chosen from the prescribed literature in translation (PLT) list published by the IBO. Knowledge of this part is assessed through the written assignment.
* Part 2: Detailed study (SL: 2 works, 40 hours; HL: 3 works, 65 hours) - This section of the course focuses on the detailed analysis of the works in terms of both content and technique of writing. This part aims to encourage close reading and in-depth analysis of significant elements in each work. Works are chosen from the prescribed list of authors (PLA) and are of different literary genres and different authors (at HL one of the works must be poetry). Knowledge of this part is assessed through the individual oral commentary.
* Part 3: Literary genres (SL: 3 works, 40 hours; HL: 4 works, 65 hours) - Works in this part are chosen from the same literary genres from the PLA. The purpose of this is to allow a framework for the comparative study of the chosen works through exploring the literary conventions and features associated with the genre. Knowledge of this part is assessed in paper 2.
* Part 4: Options (SL: 3 works, 30 hours; HL: 3 works, 45 hours) - Works for this part are freely chosen by the teacher and can be in any combination, hence its name. Students are assessed on their literary understanding of the works in this part, as well as the ability to produce an effective oral presentation.

In total, SL students study 10 works and HL students study 13 works.

Assessment

For all languages at both SL and HL there are five assessment components.

External assessment

* Paper 1: Guided literary analysis (SL: 1 hour 30 minutes)/Literary commentary (HL: 2 hours) (20 marks weighing 20% of the course) - Candidates write a commentary on one of the two unseen passages - a prose and a poetry. SL candidates must respond to the two guiding questions given in the question paper - one on understanding and interpretation and another on style. HL candidates are assessed for their exploration of the various literary aspects and how their effects are achieved.
* Paper 2: Essay (25 marks weighing 25% of the course, 1 hour and 30 minutes for SL, 2 hours for HL) - Candidates write a comparative essay based on one of the three essay questions given for the literary genre studied in part 3 of the course. Responses must be based on at least two works from this part, but reference can be made from one of the works studied in part 2 as well. Candidates will not have access to the works studied.
* Written assignment (25 marks weighing 25% of the course) - Candidates submit a 1200 to 1500-word analytical literary essay on a topic generated by the candidate, based on a work studied in part 1. This is done in 4 stages - the interactive oral (journal writing for self-taught candidates), the reflective statement, topic development and the production of the essay. The journal writing (for self-taught candidates) and reflective statement, of 300-400 words, is also submitted for assessment.

External assessment accounts for 70% of the grade for the course.

= Alternative oral examination

=
SL school-supported self-taught candidates undertake the alternative oral examination instead of the internal assessment components. They are essentially the same as the internal assessment components, except that they are externally assessed and some administration procedures are different. The alternative oral examination accounts for 30% of the final grade.

Internal assessment

* Individual oral commentary (SL & HL: 20 minutes preparation & 10 minutes delivery) and discussion (HL only: additional 10 minutes) (30 marks weighing 15% of the course) - SL and HL candidates complete a recorded literary analysis on an extract of a part 2 prose (20-30 lines, 40 lines for self-taught students) or the whole or part of a part 2 poem (for HL students this must be the poem studied), set with one or two guiding questions. Candidates deliver the prepared commentary for a maximum of 8 minutes, then engage in a 2-minute discussion on the extract or poem (self-taught students deliver for the full 10 minutes; there is no discussion element). HL students will then continue uninterrupted into the 10-minute discussion on another part 2 work that wasn't used for the commentary. Recordings and marks are then sent for moderation.
* Individual oral presentation (30 marks weighing 15% of the course, 10 to 15 minutes) - Candidates prepare and deliver a presentation based on a part 4 work or works studied (self-taught students must use two of the works). Candidates can choose a topic on their own personal interest based on any aspect of the work(s) chosen. The presentation can be in the form of a standard analysis or a creative activity (this requires a rationale). The presentation can be created in pairs or small groups, but each candidate must present individually. This component is not recorded or submitted (except for self-taught students, where both the recording and notes in point form are submitted for external assessment) and is moderated through the individual oral commentary.

Internal assessment accounts for the remaining 30% of the final grade of the course.

Available languages

As of the 2014 exam session, courses in the following languages are automatically available in May examination sessions, while those denoted with (N) are also automatically available in November (i.e. fewer languages are available in November compared to May):

* Albanian
* Amharic
* Arabic
* Belarusian
* Bengali
* Bosnian
* Bulgarian
* Catalan
* Chinese (N)
* Croatian
* Czech
* Danish
* Dutch
* English (N)
* Estonian
* Filipino
* Finnish
* French (N)
* German (N)
* Hebrew
* Hindi
* Hungarian
* Icelandic
* Indonesian (N)
* Italian
* Japanese (N)
* Korean (N)
* Latvian
* Lithuanian
* Macedonian
* Malay
* Modern Greek
* Nepali
* Norwegian
* Persian
* Polish
* Portuguese (N)
* Romanian
* Russian
* Serbian
* Sesotho
* Sinhala
* Slovak
* Slovene
* Spanish (N)
* Swahili
* Swedish
* Thai
* Turkish (N)
* Ukrainian
* Urdu

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