At IICS we have two different programmes in the secondary school. The Middle Years Programme (MYP) is offered to students from Grades 7-10. The Diploma Programme (DP) is offered to students in Grades 11 and 12.
The Language Acquisition course offerings to students differ depending on which program they are in. These offerings are outlined below:
The Language Acquisition course offerings to students differ depending on which program they are in. These offerings are outlined below:
MYP Course Offerings
The Language Acquisition MYP Programme is separated by Phases, not Grades. This means that it is possible to have students of different grade levels in the same language class as they are grouped by their proficiency and/or background in the language rather than by their age.
In the MYP, there are 6 Phases, with Phase 1 being for outright beginners in a language and Phase 6 being for students preparing to take the language at a native level.
The languages and their respective Phases currently on offer at IICS in the MYP are:
Spanish - Phases 1-4
French - Phases 1-4
German - Phase 1 (Being introduced this year with the aim of being extended in later years)
English B - Phases 1-6 (Only available to students whose English proficiency is not yet up to 'English A' (mainstream) level)
In the MYP, there are 6 Phases, with Phase 1 being for outright beginners in a language and Phase 6 being for students preparing to take the language at a native level.
The languages and their respective Phases currently on offer at IICS in the MYP are:
Spanish - Phases 1-4
French - Phases 1-4
German - Phase 1 (Being introduced this year with the aim of being extended in later years)
English B - Phases 1-6 (Only available to students whose English proficiency is not yet up to 'English A' (mainstream) level)
Mother Tongue classes at IICS
At IICS, we appreciate and value the importance of students maintaining their mother tongue. In the DP program, depending on student demand in any particular grade level, we offer mother tongue/Language A courses in Spanish, French, German and Turkish. Students wishing to study other languages as a mother tongue/Language A in the DP program can choose to take their language as a 'Self Study' class. Self-study classes are supervised by a teacher familiar with the Language A course and requirements, but who is not fluent in the language - students taking DP Self-Study courses are assessed externally. Typically, Self-Study students need to be highly organised and motivated.
In the MYP, we are trialling a Mother Tongue elective option in Grade 9 in the 2016-17 school year. Grade 9 Mother Tongue students choose to study their mother tongue as an additional elective during the school day. Students taking these courses typically need an approved, rigorous and internationally-recognised online course to follow during their allotted 'Mother Tongue' lesson time. Appropriate courses can be found through CNED (French mother tongue), Cervantes (Spanish mother tongue) and the Goethe Institute (German). Other languages are available, but the course being studied must be official, provide documentation and be recognised internationally.
In the MYP, we are trialling a Mother Tongue elective option in Grade 9 in the 2016-17 school year. Grade 9 Mother Tongue students choose to study their mother tongue as an additional elective during the school day. Students taking these courses typically need an approved, rigorous and internationally-recognised online course to follow during their allotted 'Mother Tongue' lesson time. Appropriate courses can be found through CNED (French mother tongue), Cervantes (Spanish mother tongue) and the Goethe Institute (German). Other languages are available, but the course being studied must be official, provide documentation and be recognised internationally.
DP Course Offerings
There are 4 options for Language Acquisition students in the Diploma Programme (Grades 11-12). They are:
Ab Initio - This is essentially a beginner course and is reserved for students with one year or less of experience in the language.
Language B Standard Level (SL) - This is a continuation for students coming up from an MYP language at a Phase 3 or 4 level.
Language B Higher Level (HL) - This is a course best reserved for students coming up from the MYP with a great deal of success in Phase 4 or higher. The HL course includes students reading literary texts (novels, poems etc.) in the target language.
Language A - This course is purely for students with native-level proficiency in the target language. Students taking this course would face the same requirements in the target language as they would in their English A course. Students successfully completing this course as well as their English course would be eligible for a Bilingual IB Diploma.
Currently, at IICS, we offer the following DP Course options for Language Acquisition - please note that all courses are subject to student interest and may change on a yearly basis:
French B SL
French B HL
Spanish B SL
Spanish A
Spanish Ab Initio
German Ab Initio
German A
Turkish A