All LISA students have to declare a first language. This can either be German, English or one of the 51 recognized IB languages. Students who have German or English as a first language will receive an appropriate course during school time. Students who have another first language will receive support by the school to maintain their mother tongue abilities on an academic level so that they can complete the IB Diploma Programme. All exams, with the exception of the languages are in English.
When neither German nor English is of high enough level (mother tongue and academic level) we sometimes are able to offer the new student an alternative mother tongue course in the following languages: Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish.
What is a Language A?
All students taking the International Baccalaureate Diploma must take a Language A at either Higher or Standard Level. In IB terms, a Language A is the student’s best language. The self-taught option is offered at Standard Level only.
Which Language A courses are available?
At the LISA, English and German are offered as taught Language A: literature courses. This means the school timetables the lessons, provides a teacher and a classroom, and offers the language at Higher Level. The school also lets students choose a different Language A, so that most students can study their best language. This is the school-supported self-taught (SSST) option. The IB provides prescribed reading lists for over 50 self-taught languages, and further languages are available by special request.
What if I don’t have a teacher yet? Where will my lessons take place? Can I miss other lessons to attend them?
A qualified teacher of the language can be hired as a tutor by the student’s parents or guardians, who cover the costs involved (lesson preparation, tutoring, marking, materials, travel and communication). If needed, the LISA will try to provide a room for the lessons at times that suit everyone. If the student and tutor cannot meet in person, they meet online in a virtual classroom. Students may not miss lessons in any other subject in order to attend sessions with their language tutor.
How does the LISA support me in studying my best language as a self-taught option?
The LISA and the self-taught coordinator offer support and advice, provide the relevant IB syllabus and documentation, and organise internal examinations. The coordinator also orders the prescribed reading list for each language from the IB, along with past examination papers where these are available. Details of the IB course requirements are available from the coordinator.
How much time do I need to spend studying?
A self-taught student must be able to work independently, as most of the course is unsupervised. We recommend that student and tutor meet for about two hours every two weeks, with work set for the student to complete on their own in between. As a guide, the taught Standard Level course is given four lessons a week plus homework, and a self-taught student should expect to spend at least that much time on their chosen language.
How often do I meet my tutor and the self-taught coordinator?
The recommended contact time assumes that the student’s writing skills and knowledge of the cultural background of the language are roughly those of peers of the same age in the country where the language is spoken. If that is not the case, more contact hours with the tutor may be needed to bring the student up to standard, and it is the tutor who makes this judgement. Students meet the self-taught coordinator every two weeks to present their work and discuss their progress.
What is the difference between the taught and self-taught courses?
The number of works studied is the same for both. The assessment differs in one part: instead of the internal assessment, the self-taught candidate takes an alternative oral examination at the end of the course, which is externally assessed by an IB examiner. In all other respects the assessment is the same as for the taught course.
Can students taking the same self-taught language study different books?
No. If more than one student studies the same self-taught language, they must study the same set of texts, even if they have different tutors. This means tutors and students need to agree on the choice of texts, and some compromise may be needed.
Can I write my Extended Essay in my self-taught language?
Generally no, because we often cannot provide a qualified IB teacher for the specific language.
How do I contact the coordinator?
Send an email to the self-taught coordinator: ca@europagym.at.
The self-taught coordinator will:
- provide the prescribed reading lists for the language,
- help the student design a syllabus,
- help draw up a study schedule for the two years,
- advise on useful study techniques,
- discuss ideas for the written components,
- provide past papers for practice,
- manage the oral examination.
