External Evaluation of the European Baccalaureate (Annexes)

1.9.4 Doc 1.1
Comparison of the EB L1 and the International Baccalaureate Language A2, Higher
Level
Overview
The EB qualification is designed for native speakers working in their own language. The IB
qualification can be for a ‘native or near native speaker wishing to study a different language
as his or her language A1.’ This means that in the IB qualification there is a notional target
language (as there would be in A level Modern Foreign Language study) and that skills and
levels of achievement in reading, writing, speaking and listening would probably be judged on
a lower level than those required by native speakers.
The IB qualification is, in effect, a second language qualification, albeit at a high level.
Achieved at high level, it looks to be equivalent to a very good pass in a Modern Foreign
Language A level, possibly slightly higher for someone for whom the course has genuinely
been in a foreign language, significantly lower for someone who is of near native competence.
Without looking carefully at examination papers and worked outcomes, it is not possible to
judge whether IB achievement in HL papers is equivalent to that of the EB.
The aims and objectives of both the IB and the EB are virtually identical. However, the IB
specification bears strong resemblance to a GCSE English specification in terms of tasks set.
In particular, the literary texts suggested are very clearly the sorts of works that would appear
on a GCSE specification -- straightforward, with plot and character being the main areas for
study, not literary technique. Moreover, as in a MFL A level, there is no requirement on
candidates to take the ‘literary’ option in the examination, though they do have to produce
course work that deals with literature.
Quick comparison of IB Language A2 suggests that it might have more in common with EB
Language 2 than with EB Language 1
Principal Differences/ Similarities
In both there is an oral examination.
Candidates in the IB are not obliged to have read a play by Shakespeare, nor do they have to
demonstrate knowledge of literary texts over time. Both call for study of a wide range of texts
of both literary and non-literary types. In the IB literature option, students must choose works
from two genres.
Both EB and IB include ‘cultural options’ which oblige candidates to think about a range of
texts in a thematic way.
The IB does not emphasise Knowledge about Language explicitly, though it is plain from p14
that the course will usually include much more ‘language teaching’ than would be expected in
a first language course such as the EB: the teaching of vocabulary, idiomatic expression and
grammatical structures in the classroom suggests a notionally lower level of understanding
amongst typical IB A2 students. The IB allows the possibility of study of contextual variation,
language change and comparative linguistics, but it is only an option ‘to gain greater
familiarity with the target language.’ Again, a term like ‘target language’ suggests that typical
candidates are not native speakers.
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