6 Ways Advanced English Speakers Can Improve Their Fluency by Lindsey Franger for heyladie.io (2021)

What is English ab Initio in the IB Diplomma Programme?

"The language ab initio course is a language acquisition course for students with no prior experience of the target language, or for those students with very limited previous experience."

According to the IB Website, "students develop the ability to communicate in the target language through the study of language, themes and texts.  In doing so, they also develop conceptual understandings of how language works."

In addition, these are some of the common objectives that this language acquisition course aims to achieve:

• Develop international-mindedness through the study of languages, cultures, and ideas and issues of global significance. 
• Enable students to communicate in the language they have studied in a range of contexts and for a variety of purposes.
• Encourage, through the study of texts and through social interaction, an awareness and appreciation of a variety of perspectives of people from diverse cultures.
• Develop students’ understanding of the relationship between the languages and cultures with which they are familiar.
• Develop students’ awareness of the importance of language in relation to other areas of knowledge. 
• Provide students, through language learning and the process of inquiry, with opportunities for intellectual engagement and the development of critical- and creative-thinking skills.
• Provide students with a basis for further study, work and leisure through the use of an additional language.
• Foster curiosity, creativity and a lifelong enjoyment of language learning.

As English ab initio learners, we seek to develope receptive, productive and interactive skills as we learn the target language, English.

This course consists of 5 major areas that have to be covered over the two years of the program:  identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization and sharing the planet.

Through this blog I'll be sharing my knowledge on the big areas, mainly identitites and experiences.

Along the way, we will have the opportunity to learn about other cultures, politics, manners, and experiences from around the world.

References

IB Organization (2023). Language ab initio. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/language-acquisition/language-ab-initio/

IB Organization (2018). International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Subject Brief. https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/5895a05412144fe890312bad52b17044/lang-ab-initio-2018-en.pdf