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Language Development

  • Language Development

Language Development for the lifelong learner

This element of the core is so flexible that you really can put your context's needs before everything. Consider the details below and think what does your school already offer? How could you improve the way your students develop languages? How could you utilise other aspects of the CP core, courses and the community? See how this course now and in the future, is so much more than about language acquisition and embraces everything about the IB Mission.

What is Language Development in the CP?
An individual approach to developing language in the lifelong learner

This might well be the most flexible element of the CP core so far that we are exploring. Like its core family - the reflective project and service learning - students must devote a minimum of 50 hours to Language Development over their 2 year course and create a portfolio throughout their experience. The key thing to say from the start, is that this is a language acquisition tick-box exercise and whilst many schools will use a DP Group 2 subject to fulfil the requirements of this component, the flexibility in this component allows for a huge choice.

Context is everything - and by that we mean the starting point for the student and their language needs as well as the idea of context as culture. Cultural understanding plays a key part in Language Development and is just another example of exploring international-mindedness.

How can students study?
  • a school can design their own Language Development course
  • Language Development can be an extension to a DP Group 2 ab initio or Language B course*
  • students can take an online language course
  • students can self-direct their studies entirely
  • schools might want to utilise an externally provided course

*if students study 2 DP subjects as part of their CP course and one of them is a Group 2 course, they must complete an extra 50 hours of Language Development. If students are studying a Group 2 course as one of 3 DP subjects, their Language Development requirements are met.

What can students study?

Firstly, let's establish that students do not have to be beginners. They can have existing proficiency in a language. It is all about their individual starting point in terms of proficiency but also contextual and cultural implications and interests should be taken into account.

In the current requirements for Language Development, there are 6 phases of language proficiency with established learning objectives:
Phase 1 and 2: Emergent Communicator
Phase 3 and 4: Capable Communicator
Phase 5 and 6: Proficient Communicator

Whatever their starting point, on the current language development course, students will study four types of communication and the focus is all skills-based. 

                                    Oral               Visual             Reading Comprehension                Writing
This is hard to visualise ... examples please

The following examples are very different from each other and all possible. You will notice that some incorporate a range of contexts to explore communication skills in cognitive, linguistic and socio-cultural contexts. Also these examples employ other elements of the core to a greater or lesser extent. However, a successful CP course does stress that students are able to make connections between subjects and core elements as much as possible.

VOICE AND CHOICE: One school is able to offer a bespoke approach to language development with students choosing a range of options from self-study to a Group 2 subject. The Language Development coordinator very much recognises their job as a facilitator, monitoring students' progress and portfolios and, in some cases, helping to provide resources. In one case, the 50 hours of time is devoted to extra learning support for a student with dyslexia studying a Group 1 subject, in the language of instruction but not their best language.
This school requires all students to take 3 DP subjects as part of their CP course with one of these being a Group 2 subject. However, they also have in place provision for students who might give up one of these DP subjects just in case so language development requirements are met.
This school also requires all students to take 3 DP subjects as part of their CP course with one of these being a Group 2 subject. In the PPS lessons, students explore connections between their DP subjects and the themes of PPS as well as their other core elements. This comes in particularly handy for recognising multiple perspectives in different contexts and cultures as part of their skill-building for the reflective project.
This European school's CP students had no wish to continue their studies of languages from their previous courses with some having tricky learning experiences. The school wanted to create an opportunity to raise intercultural understanding and chose Japanese as a fresh start for all. They were lucky to have a Japanese teacher already on staff who could deliver the language development course but could have considered an online course. The course has a balance of language acquisition and intercultural understanding with individual projects on Japanese art and culture as well as tea ceremonies, food festivals and planting of cherry trees.
One of the core teachers are this CP school is in charge of a school trip to Florence in Italy. CP and DP combines with the teacher deciding to learn Italian with their students to prepare for the trip with the focus on communication skills but also with an artistic slant. This also complements some of the students' career-related studies of Art and Design as well as some who are taking DP Visual Arts.
The school embarking on their is in a diverse inner-city context with students speaking more than 50 different home languages. The school is considering a course in sign language for their CP students as an option rather than favouring another language.
A student is studying French ab initio as one of 2 DP subjects in an international school. They extend their language development through a sharp focus on French for Business as this is their career-related studies. Through a work experience placement, they also extend their language development skills through real world application. They are also able to draw in their service learning through a peer learning Service Learning project helping new students with their French communication skills.

Joining the dots

As you can see, Language Development can really tie in with the core as well as the PPS themes, particularly Personal Development, Intercultural Understanding and Effective Communication. At the start of the course, students will want to be explicit about their starting point in terms of their language proficiency, cultural influences and communication needs as well as consider their CP course as a whole.

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