Diploma Programme

Programme du Diplme
Programa del Diploma

English ab initio
Language-specific syllabus
Anglais ab initio
Programme spcifique
Ingls ab initio
Programa de estudios especfico

English ab initio
Language-specific syllabus
First examinations 2013
Premiers examens 2013
Primeros exmenes 2013

English
International
Baccalaureate syllabus
Organization 2011
ab initio: Language-specific
Anglais
Organisation
du Baccalaurat
ab initio: Programme
spcifiqueInternational 2011
ab initio: Programa
de Estudios Especfico
Ingls
Organizacin
del Bachillerato
Internacional, 2011

Introduction
This language-specific syllabus must be read in conjunction with the Language ab initio guide
published in March 2011.
The following themes and related topics provide a framework for the acquisition of the target language.
Each theme and topic listed in the guide must be taught; however, the depth to which the teacher
covers each theme and topic will vary to reflect the interests and needs of the students. All details
related to the topics need not, therefore, be studied. Teachers are encouraged to introduce additional
details as required.
Themes, topics and aspects to cover within a topic are represented in this syllabus as follows.

Theme
Topic

Aspect to cover: suggestions

Since intercultural understanding is at the heart of the language ab initio course, teachers are also
encouraged to approach the themes and the related topics in such a way that students can describe
them and compare and contrast cultural aspects in their own culture with those of the target culture.
Suggestions are provided for some of the aspects. These suggestions are not exhaustive and are an
indication of what the teacher may cover for that particular aspect.

Theme: Individual and society

Appearance

Body

Clothes

Physical appearance

Character

Attitudes

Feelings

Daily routines

At home

At school

In the workplace

Social interaction: greetings, table manners

Week

Weekend

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

Anglais ab initio : Programme spcifique
Ingls ab initio: Programa de estudios especfico

Education

Clothes

Educational systems

Equipment

Examinations

Extra curricular activities: creativity, action, service

Facilities

School calendar

Students

Subjects: theory of knowledge, extended essay

Teachers

Timetable

Uniform

University: course, career

Food and drink

Cooking instructions

Culinary traditions: ingredients, special dishes, special events

Groceries

Health and diet: vegetarianism

Kitchen appliances and utensils

Markets

Meals

Quantity

Restaurants

Types of shops

Personal details

Address

Age

Date of birth

House: rooms, furniture

Languages

Nationality

Physical health

Accidents: first-aid, emergencies

Body

Doctor: check-ups, appointments

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

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Health: lifestyle, diet, fitness

Hospital and clinic: personnel, buildings

Illness

Medicines

Prescriptions

Relationships

Animals

Community

Family

Family celebrations

Friends

Partnerships

Pets

Stereotypes

Shopping

Credit

Customs and traditions: bargaining, sales

Environmental concerns: packaging, sources

Money

Shopping on the internet

Shops

Transactions

Theme: Leisure and work

Employment

Career

Job training

Professions

Qualifications

Studies

Unemployment

Work conditions: salary, schedule

Entertainment

Cultural and special events: festivals

Excursions

Leisure activities

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

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Ingls ab initio: Programa de estudios especfico

Leisure facilities

The arts

Holidays

Accommodation

Activities

Local customs and traditions

Regional and national foods

Tourist office and information

Transport

Types of holiday: city, beach, family

Weather and seasons

Media

Advertisements

Celebrities: lifestyle

Internet and social network sites

Press: news, reporting

Radio: types of programme, schedule

Television: types of programme, schedule

Sport

Clubs and teams

Special events: regatta, Olympic games

Sport equipment

Sport on TV: social interaction

Sport venues: stadium

Sportswear

Traditions: national sport

Training: activities, places

Types of sport

Technology

Cyber relationships

Filming and photography

Internet and music

Internet shopping and banking

Leisure: interactive games

Social networking: mobile telephone, internet

Use of technology: school, work

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

Anglais ab initio : Programme spcifique
Ingls ab initio: Programa de estudios especfico

Transport

Breakdowns

Directions

Driving: speed, alcohol

Emergencies

Environmental issues

Hazards

Highway code: road signs

Means of transport

Travelling: fares, return tickets, commuting, reservations

Theme: Urban and rural environment

Environmental concerns

Climate change

Endangered species

Global warming

Green issues: recycling, organic foods

Natural resources: water, oil

Types of pollution: environmental, visual, sound

Global issues

Aid organizations

NGOs (non-governmental organizations)

Peace

Poverty

War

Neighbourhood

City: suburb

Directions

Local or community events

Neighbours and local community

Public buildings and monuments: town hall, youth centre

Types of housing

Village

Physical geography

Countries and regions

Countryside

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

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Maps: north, south

Mountains

Nationalities

Seaside

Town and services

Facilities: banking, postal, recycling

Malls

Markets

Public transport

Purchases: food, goods

Recreational facilities: swimming pool, library

Shops

Weather

Climate

Events and celebrations: Thanksgiving, harvest

Impact of weather on customs, traditions, daily life

Natural catastrophes: flooding, drought

Seasons

Weather conditions and forecasts

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

Anglais ab initio : Programme spcifique
Ingls ab initio: Programa de estudios especfico

The following is an illustration of some of the ways in which the topic of food and drink may be taught:
Theme: Individual and society
Topic: Food and drink
Topic details

Situation

Function

Classroom
activity

Text types

Grammar and lexical items

Groceries: quantity

In the shop

Purchasing

Role play

Lists, advertisements

Bread, wine, cheese

Kilo, litre, numbers
Imperative, conditional

Types of shops/markets

In the street

Giving advice
and directions

Role play

Maps

Butchers, department store

Kitchen appliances and

utensils

At home

Describing

Presenting a
picture

Visual stimuli

Washing machine, cooker

Cooking instructions

At home

Giving and
following orders

Demonstration

Recipe/cookery book
Menu, short video clip

Imperative: mix, stir, boil

Meals*

At the restaurant,
at home

Describing,
comparing,
contrasting

Producing a
menu

Email, invitation, menu

Time, course

Restaurants

At the restaurant

Ordering a meal

Role play

Leaflet

Conditional tense, future

Culinary traditions*:
ingredients, special dishes,
special events

Describing,
comparing,
contrasting

Oral
presentation on
special event

Short video clip, leaflet

Imperative, conditional

Health and diet*:

vegetarianism

Giving and
asking advice

Role play

Guidelines

Impersonal verbs, forming a

question

*Aspects of the topic that could lend themselves well to the written assignment:

Meals: order and number of courses; times of meals; main meal of the day/week; eating utensils; etiquette
Culinary traditions: special meals; family cooking; ingredients; influence of the climate
Health and diet: comparing diets from different parts of the world; benefits of healthy eating

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

Anglais ab initio : Programme spcifique
Ingls ab initio: Programa de estudios especfico

Grammatical syllabus
In addition to the themes and related topics detailed above, teachers are expected to integrate the
following grammatical syllabus into the ab initio course at appropriate stages.
Examples are given below for some grammatical elements but the list of examples is not exhaustive.

Adjectives

Position of adjectives

Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives: more + adjective + than/adjective + -er +than;
as + adjective + as; less + adjective + than; the most + adjective/the adjective + -est; the least +
adjective; irregular comparative and superlatives: better/best, worse/worst

Comparison of quantity: to show difference: more, less, fewer + than; to show no difference: as
much, as many, as few, as little

Possessive adjectives: my, your, his

Demonstrative adjectives: this, that, these, those

Quantifiers: many, much, enough, some, any, all, few, little, somebody, anybody, something,
anything

Distributives: each, every, either, neither, all, both, half

Difference words: other, another

Interrogative and exclamation words: which, what, whose

Adverb

How to use them

How to form them

Irregular adverbs: well

The use of adjectives as adverbs: fast, hard, late

Comparative and superlative of adverbs: more + long adverb/short adverb + -er; most + long
adverb/short adverb + -est; irregular forms: better, best

Adverbs of manner: well, badly, slowly

Adverbs of place: everywhere, outside, inside, nowhere

Adverbs of time: today, yesterday, tomorrow, sometimes, often, never, last year, now, soon,
immediately

Adverbs of certainty and uncertainty: certainly, probably, definitely, perhaps

Adverbs of degree: almost, very, extremely, quite, hardly

Interrogative adverbs: why, where, how, when

Viewpoint and commenting adverbs: personally, clearly, honestly, surprisingly

Conjunctions

Conjunction of coordination: and, but, or

Conjunction of subordination: because, though, when, where, before, after, until, if, while, as, so,
unless, since

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

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Connectors/linking words

For sequencing: at first, first of all, firstly, secondly, then, lastly, finally

For expressing a consequence: consequently, therefore, as a result, so, then, thus

For giving a reason: because, because of, for, due to, since, as

For contrasting ideas: however, while, whereas, though, in spite of

For adding information: and, also, too, besides, moreover

For summarising: in short, in brief, to conclude, in conclusion

Distance

Continents, countries, regions, towns, distances, speed, directions

Means of transport

Modal verbs

Can, must, may, will, would, should, could, might

Negative

How to form it

Contractions: doesnt, cant, dont

Negative words: not, never, no more, no longer, nothing, nobody, neithernor, not at all, nowhere

Nouns and articles

Noun gender

Plural of nouns

Countable and uncountable nouns

Compound nouns: policeman, dining room

Proper nouns: people, titles, geographical nouns, feast days, nationalities

Definite article: the

Indefinite article: a, an

Numbers

Cardinal numbers

Ordinal numbers

Fractions and percentages

Orthography

Use of the apostrophe

Possessive form of nouns: Pauls book, the girls room, at the grocers, in a years time

Inflection rules: for example, a bus buses, to try he tries, to carry carrying

Prepositions

Time: in, at, for, during, since

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

Anglais ab initio : Programme spcifique
Ingls ab initio: Programa de estudios especfico

Place: on, in, under, above, near, far

Others: with, without, from, to, against, by

Prepositions and verbs: to listen to, to apologize for, to agree to

Prepositions and adjectives: afraid of, different from, angry with

Pronouns

Personal pronouns: subject pronouns: I, you, heand object pronouns: me, him, us

Intensive/reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, ourselves

Possessive pronouns; mine, yours

Demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those

Relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that

Interrogative pronouns: who, which, what, whom, whose

Indefinite pronouns: another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone,
everything, little, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone,
something, all, both, few, many, several

Quantity

Units of measurements: for example, kilos, pounds, dollars, meters, kilometres, miles

Adjectives of quantity: many, much, enough

Expression of quantities: a slice of, a bottle of, a packet of

Sentences

If sentences

When sentences

Interrogative sentences

Question tags: he doesnt work, does he?

Negative sentences

Word order

Time

Date, seasons, months, days of the week, the time

Adverbs of time: today, yesterday, later, often

Conjunctions of time: when, as soon as, until

Verbs

Simple present: he works

Present continuous: he is working

Simple past: he worked

Past continuous: he was working

Present perfect: he has worked

Present perfect continuous: he has been working

Past perfect: he had worked

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

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Past perfect continuous: he had been working

Immediate past: he has just left; he had just left

Simple future: he will work

Future continuous: he will be working

Future perfect: he will have worked

Future perfect continuous: he will have been working

Immediate future: he is going to work

Other future forms: we are to leave, he is about to speak

Conditional: he would work

Present continuous conditional: he would be working

Perfect conditional: he would have worked

Perfect continuous conditional: he would have been working

Present participle: working

Past participle: worked

Infinitive: to work

Continuous infinitive: to be working

Perfect infinitive: to have worked

Perfect continuous infinitive: to have been working

Affirmative imperative: go, lets go

Negative imperative: dont go, lets not go

Auxiliary verbs: to do, to have, to be

Phrasal verbs: to put up, to put down, to get on

Common irregular verbs

Impersonal verbs: it is cold, it rains, it is necessary

The passive form

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

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Instructions for written examinations

Paper 1
These are the instructions that will be used in paper 1.
1.

Answer the following questions. Base your answers on the text.

2.

Choose the correct word or phrase to complete the sentence/answer. Base your answers on the
text.

3.

The sentences below are either true or false. Tick [] the correct answer. Justify your answer by
using words from the text. Both parts are required for one mark.
Example: Seeing a midwinter sunset at Stonehenge can be quite strange.

Justification: Its very spooky.

4.

Choose the most appropriate response from the options below. Write the letter in the box
provided.

5.

Questions x refer to paragraph X. For each number/gap, fill in the missing word. Choose your
answers from the words given in the box below. Each one can be used only once and an example
has been given. Note: there are more words than you need.

6.

Complete the table below. Base your answers on text X. An example has been given.

7.

Choose the most appropriate response from the options below. Write the corresponding letter in
the box.

8.

One/two of the following sentences is/are true. Write the letter(s) corresponding to the correct
answer(s) in the box(es). An example has been given.

9.

Choose the sentence in the right-hand column which best summarizes each of the [number]
paragraphs of text X. Write the appropriate letter in the box. An example has been given. Note:
there are more sentences than you need.

10. Based on the information in the text/in paragraph X, match the first part of the sentence with the
appropriate ending on the right. An example has been given. Note: there are more endings than
you need.
11. The words in the left-hand column are taken from the text/paragraph X. Find the word in the righthand column which is closest in meaning to one of the words on the left. An example has been
given. Note: there are more words than you need.
12.

Match the words with the pictures. An example has been given.

13. In line X, to whatto whom does X refer? An example has been given.
14.

Each of the words below refers to someone or something in the text. In the space provided,
indicate who or what they refer to. An example has been given.

15.

Match the questions with the paragraphs. Write the appropriate letter in the box. An example has
been given. Note: there are more questions than you need.

16. From the list below choose the word that best fits each gap in text X. Each word must be used
only once. An example has been given. Note: there are more words than you need.
English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus
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17.

Fill in the gaps. Choose from the words/phrases in the box. An example has been given. Note:
there are more words than you need.

18. Replace the gaps in the summary below with exact words from paragraph(s) Y and Z of text X. An
example has been given.
19.

Complete the following sentence: John went to X because

20.

From statements A to E, select the two that are true according to text X. Write the appropriate
letters, in any order, in the boxes. An example has been given.

21. This text is (identify the correct text type from a choice of four).

Paper 2
Section A
Answer only one of the following two questions. Write at least 50 words.

Section B
Answer only one of the following three questions. Write at least 100 words.

English ab initio: Language-specific syllabus

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