Course Focus

The two-year Language A1 program strives to provide a rigorous course of academic studies that will, through a study of multi-cultural literature, broaden the student;s perspective of and appreciation for the common human experience. Exposure to a wide range of literary works with a global focus will foster independent critical thinking and writing skills.

The successful candidate will come to value the artistic merit of the written word, and will emerge from the IB program equipped to provide insightful, relevant commentary on any work in the English language.

Assessment will involve timed and un-timed writings, objective exams, extended essay assignments, and oral presentations. Oral assessments will be graded internally and moderated by the International Baccalaureate Organization during the student’s junior year. All assessments are designed to reflect the student’s grasp of the subtleties of thought and feeling expressed in the text, the originality and relevancy of their interpretation of the selection, and their appreciation of the literary features of the work.

Works Studied in 2020-2021

Crime and Punishment

Macbeth

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Poetry:

William Blake

Robert Browning

Judith Wright