New Year, New Guide?
In the land of English B, we are anxiously awaiting our new Language B guide from the IB. We will share with you what we know so far so we can all keep calm and plan on!
The most important question is when. We aren't exactly sure when the new guide will come out, but we do know from the last IB conference that it should be available in the first quarter of 2027. Workshops featuring the new guide will begin in March of 2027.
So what exactly are the changes and how much will I have to revise my units? Any change can cause anxiety with the implications. However, it seems that the changes will be minimal for the assessments.
The good news is that they are promising clearer language throughout with better guidance, materials such as:
• Improved navigation between the subject guides and TSM
• New TSM developed
• Critical thinking
• Formative assessment (editable assessment criteria)
• Listening and reading comprehension
• Unit planning (guidance, templates, examples)
What are the significant changes in the subject guides?
• Guidance for appropriate placement of students into the courses and entry expectations
• Approaches to learning and approaches to teaching enhanced
• Practical guidance for learning and teaching moved to the TSM document (e.g. principles of
course design)
• Reorganized, revised, and new guidance for IA (requirements and recommendations)
• Minor revision to IA criteria descriptors
What we hope changes:
• Clarification about the role of culture in HL literature
• Clarity in the oral rubrics between criteria B2 and C
• Updated resources and materials for the digital assessments
• Others?
What does not change?
• No changes to the five prescribed themes common to both subjects
• No changes to the four prescribed topics per theme for language ab initio
• No changes to the assessment model or assessed components
We have been resting, relaxing and working hard to revamp the English B site for the new academic year.
- More student facing pages
- More teachable materials to assign directly to your students
- Clarity on the pages with more student friendly language
- More resources for Paper 1 and SL Orals
- Unit planning and resources to teach the full novel for Born a Crime