Teaching Language B International Baccalaureate

[LadyPollyEstherCardigan]

Hi everyone,

I'm starting a new job in September where I'll be teaching both A level and IB (Language B). I don't have any experience of teaching the IB (and just had to google how to spell 'baccalaureate' ) and I'm aware that the specification has just changed and will be examined for the first time next year. I'm planning to spend my summer swatting up on the new spec and I've already bought a course book and two of the chosen literature texts for my holiday reading, but I've also been tasked with creating the scheme of work for September!

Does anyone have any tips or advice they could offer on teaching at IB, particularly Language B?

Thank you!

Just Higher & Standard? Or Higher, Standard & Standard ab initio? Hats off to anyone teaching all the levels at once.

Are they giving you IB Certificate training?

Expect to have bilingual speakers doing it as their B even though they're as fluent in English for their A.

Don't openly compare the 2 systems. DC1's IB chemistry teacher made it very clear that they thought A levels were better which just pissed off the IB students.

And get used to the acronyms! ToK, CAS, EE, IA ...

(I'm a primary science teacher, but IB parent)

Check Facebook for groups to join. I'm in one called IB DP English Language B teachers, I'm sure there will be others for other languages. Lots of sharing of resources and ideas, including people's made-up exam papers to use until there is more stock of actual papers in future.

Agree with PP re an official IB training course, though if you're new to IB I would recommend getting a few months in and then looking for Cat 2 courses once you have your head around the system. Cat 1 courses are just introductory, you will learn more on a Cat 2. Your school should be ensuring staff are IB trained if they want to keep their IB accreditation, regardless of the cost.

Ask your school for membership of InThinking. I don't know the cost but I was thrown into the deep end teaching Lang B this year and it was the most helpful thing for me.

The course is based around 5 themes so use that as the basis for your scheme of work. People either take one theme each in turn (though there is loads of overlap) or they cycle through the themes repeatedly so they are all covered over and over again (my preference).

Contact other IB schools in your area and ask to meet with relevant teachers. IB teachers tend to be quite a collegiate bunch and should be happy to share ideas and maybe even whole schemes of work.if that doesn't work, try schools elsewhere (even abroad).

There is now an IB thread on TES, brand new so not much activity yet but worth a look.

Good luck!! IB is a great system but it is very different from A level and will take a while to get used to. It will look great on your CV having both A level and IB.

Thank you BringOnTheScience and Eledamorena for your replies!

BringOnTheScience I'll be teaching Higher and Standard, but not ab initio. I know that I'm going to have two native speakers and only four students in total in the class, which is going to be a completely new experience! I definitely won't compare the two systems in front of the students. If anything, from the research I've done so far, I'm starting to prefer the sound of IB - it sounds quite a lot like the German Abitur system, which gives students a grounding across a broader range of subjects and prepares them more for lifelong learning and curiosity about the world around them, but I suppose there's no reason why A level shouldn't do that too.

Eledamorena I've just joined two Facebook groups after your recommendation, thank you! The Cat B course I've found is mid-November, so it'll be good to get a couple of months of teaching in before I go on it. I'm going to ask about it before September - it's extremely pricey, but it's a proper accredited course and hopefully the school would be prepared to pay for CPD, like you say...

I like the idea of cycling through the five themes, I think I'll try that too! I've ordered a coursebook so I'm going to swot up over the first part of the summer and familiarise myself with the themes and their content. I hadn't thought of contacting other IB schools but that's a good idea!

Thank you both for your help, it's really interesting to have both a teacher's and a parent's perspective!

I am in my early 50s and reentering Secondary teaching in Austria. I will be joining an IB school as a cover teacher for a year Teaching English Language B DP. I was wondering which certification would be wise to pursue for self development but also would help me in my new career journey. I am thinking of doing iPGCE as it is genrally desirable for most international schools. Would this be prudent or should I go for an IB certification instead?