Considering to take IB Chinese but unsure of how it is assessed and how heavy are each assessment? Learn more about IB Chinese, the assessments and weightages with Tutopiya!
This is what we are going to discuss today – Learning all about IB Chinese. Readers who does not have any idea of what is IB, it is International Baccalaureate. There are schools in Singapore that offers the IB curriculum.
How does IB work?
IBDP, also known as IB Diploma Programme, is for students aged 16 to 19 years old. It prepares students to be university or employment ready.
In the IBDP curriculum, there are 2 standards to a subject, also known as HL and SL. HL stands for Higher Level and SL stands for Standard Level.
Higher and Standard levels are differentiated by the recommended teaching hours, the depth of syllabus coverage and the level of difficulty and requirements of the assessment tasks and criteria.
Types of IB Chinese
| Type | Who takes them? |
| Chinese A HL | Mostly taken by PRC scholars, also known as Literature in Chinese |
| Chinese B HL | Taken by a small group of local students, it is also like taking Literature in Chinese |
| Chinese B SL | Taken by the vast majority of local students. It is more similar to the level of Chinese offered in Singapore, no literature |
| Chinese ab initio SL | For students with little or no experience of the language |
We will discuss more about Chinese B SL and Chinese ab initio SL since majority of the students takes Chinese B SL and ab initio
IB Chinese SL
Highest attainable grade is 7. The grades range is from 1 to 7, 1 being the lowest and 7 being the highest.
Syllabus outline
| Syllabus component | Teaching hours | |
| SL | HL | |
| Part 1: Language in cultural context | 40 | 40 |
| Part 2: Language and mass communication | 40 | 60 |
| Part 3: Literature – texts and contexts | 40 | 70 |
| Part 4: Literature – critical study | 30 | 50 |
| Total teaching hours | 150 | 240 |
Assessment outline
| Assessment component | Total marks | Number of hours | Weightage |
| External assessment | 65 | 3 hours | 70% |
| Paper 1: Textual analysis
The paper consists of 2 unseen texts Students write an analysis of one of these texts. |
20 | 1 h 30 m | 25% |
| Paper 2: Essay
In response to one of six questions, students write an essay based on both the literary texts studied in part 3. The questions are the same as HL but assessment criteria are different |
25 | 1 h 30 m | 25% |
| Written task
Students produce at least three written tasks based on material studied in the course Students submit one written task for external assessment – 800-1000 words in length + a rationale of 200-300 words. |
20 | – | 20% |
| Internal Assessment | 60 | – | 30% |
| Individual oral commentary
Students comment on an extract from a literary text studied in part 4 of the course. |
30 | 15% | |
| Further oral activity Students complete at least two further oral activities, one based on part 1 and one based on part 2 of the course |
30 | 15% |
IB Chinese AB Initio
What is IB AB initio?
IB ab initio is a language course that is designed to provide students with the necessary skills and understanding for them to successfully communicate in an environment where the language studied is spoken.
Language ab initio is available at standard level (SL) only.
Who takes them?
The language ab initio course is a language acquisition course for students with little or no experience of the language.
This means a lot foreign students whose mother tongue is not Chinese are more likely to take IB Chinese ab initio.
Curriculum overview
| Areas of study |
Language
|
Themes
|
| Texts
Students are taught to understand and produce a variety of spoken, written and visual texts. |
Assessment and Weightages
| Type of assessment | Format | Time(hours) | Weighting of final grade (%) |
| External | 75 | ||
| Paper 1:
Receptive skills |
Understanding of four written texts.
Text-handling exercises. |
1.5 | 30 |
| Paper 2:
Productive skills |
Two compulsory writing exercises.
Section A: One question to be answered from a choice of two. Section B: One question to be answered from a choice of three. |
1 | 25 |
| Written assignment:
Receptive and productive skills |
A piece of writing, 200–300 words, in the target language carried out under teacher guidance. | 2 | 20 |
| Internal | 25 | ||
| Individual oral: Interactive skills |
|
10 minutes | 25 |
Benefit of learning IB Chinese
New opportunities
One of the main driving forces for people to learn Chinese is because of the booming economy in China. We all know that China is a huge country with many opportunities as well as room for improvements. Over the last 35 years, China has grown from an impoverished third world country to the largest global economy.
China encourages foreign investment and economic cooperation. As such, there is a huge demand for people who can bridge the gap between this new growing China and the world.
Possessing the ability to speak fluent Chinese can also land you in attractive jobs. This is because people in the Western business world hardly has anybody who can speak both English and Chinese. Therefore, making you an attractive hire.
All in all, knowing how to speak and write Chinese fluently is a good skill to possess.
About Tutopiya
Tutopiya has recently introduced some new languages for the IB curriculum as well. Have a read!
Tutopiya is a 1-1 Live Online Tutoring for students aged 8 to 18 years old. Our tutors are highly qualified and trained to teach the IB curriculum.
Sign up for a FREE 60 minutes trial in IB Chinese now! Our tutors are bilingual and experienced in teaching IB Chinese.
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