1. Summary

In accordance with the international and multicultural ethos of the Diploma Programme, all candidates are expected to learn at least one foreign language.

The French Ab Initio course is a language learning course for beginners, designed to be followed over two years by students who have no previous experience of learning the target language. The main focus of the course is the acquisition of language required for purposes and situations usual in everyday social interaction.

2. Aims and Objectives

The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.

The French AB Initio course aim to develop a variety of linguistic skills and basic awareness of the culture using the language, through the study of a core syllabus and language-specific syllabuses

The overall objective of this course is for students to achieve communicative competence in a variety of everyday situations.

At the end of the French Ab Initio course candidates will be expected to demonstrate ability to:
o Communicate information and some basic ideas clearly and effectively, in a limited range of situations.
o Understand and use accurately the essential spoken and written forms of the language in a limited range of situations
o Understand and use a limited range of vocabulary in common usage
o Use a register that is generally appropriate to the situation
o Show an awareness of some elements of the culture(s) related to the language studied.

Language

The four primary language skills to be developed in an integrated way are: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
The balance between these four skills should be appropriate to the needs of the students, but none should be neglected.

Download Core Syllabus



Download Sample of Student Work

Download Sample 1: Invitation
Download Sample 2: Les Cités