Key Stage 5 / IB

French B is a language acquisition course developed at two levels—standard level (SL) and higher level (HL)—for students with some background in the target language. While acquiring a language, students will explore the culture(s) connected to it. The focus of these courses is language acquisition and intercultural understanding.

Programme overview

The language B syllabus is organised into five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organisation and sharing the planet.

Both language B SL and HL students learn to communicate in the target language in familiar and unfamiliar contexts. The distinction between language B SL and HL can be seen in the level of competency the student is expected to develop in receptive, productive and interactive skills.

Assessment overview

The assessment outlines for language B SL and HL are identical; it is the nature of the assessment that differs and this is what distinguishes SL assessments from those of HL.

For language B HL paper 1, the tasks set will require more complex language and structures and demand higher-order thinking skills. Additionally for HL, a higher word range has been provided in order to accommodate the more complex responses required. For the individual oral internal assessment, the stimulus at language B SL is a visual image that is clearly relevant to one (or more) of the themes of the course. The stimulus at language B HL is an excerpt from one of the two literary works studied.