Students who’d like to learn German as a foreign language, as part of their IB, often wonder about their options. There are IB German Ab Initio and German B as options. But what is the difference between the two?
If you choose Ab Initio, what the course’s content is going to be? How will your knowledge be assessed? In this German Ab Initio Guide, we’re going to answer all these, and some other, questions concerning this IB course.
What is German Ab Initio?
There are many students who recognise the importance of learning a second language. Today, when globalisation affects every aspect of our lives, language acquisition skills are critical. Some students start their linguistic journey quite early, and by the time they transition to high school, they are able to effectively communicate in their chosen foreign language.
However, sometimes students get to high school without having learned a second language, or decide to switch and learn another language from scratch. Ab Initio is designed exactly for these cases.
To be more specific, German Ab Initio is a language acquisition course for beginners. It lasts two years and teaches you basic knowledge of German grammar as well as sufficient vocabulary to express thoughts and ideas on everyday topics. On top of that, the course provides insight into the culture of German-speaking communities and encourages students to appreciate cultural diversity.
German Language Acquisition Options: Ab Initio and Language B
As we have already mentioned, many students start learning a second language long before high school. They are well familiar with German when they select subjects for their IB qualification. Such students will benefit more from the German Language B course, which requires at least two years of prior experience.
Simply put, Language B is for those who wish to continue learning German as an additional language, whereas Ab Initio is for those who are just starting out with it. So, these courses are not exactly alternatives.
Nevertheless, it is possible to enrol in Language B even if you officially have no background in studying German. If, instead of a school, you learned German at home or in language courses and your knowledge is on par with other candidates, you may be eligible for Language B.
The final decision is made by your schools IB coordinator in liaison with teachers based on their professional judgment. The most important thing is that the subject is “a challenging educational experience”. Clearly, Ab Initio is less challenging if you can already speak some German. In fact, the IBO won’t let you start the Ab Initio course if you already have some proficiency in the German language.
Why is German Ab Initio Important?
The primary goal of German Ab Initio is to help students learn three crucial communicative skills: receptive, productive, and interactive language development.
Receptive skills refer to one’s ability to recognise and comprehend language in audio and written forms. German Ab Initio students learn to understand most simple and some complex sentences, especially when their content aligns with the syllabus.
Productive skills are the ability to express thoughts in speech and writing. Thanks to basic grammar and vocabulary, Ab Initio students will be able to produce texts, dialogues, and other pieces of information, as well as answer questions.
Interactive skills imply the ability to engage in conversation, understand information, and respond to it appropriately.
During the course, students practice applying these skills in familiar contexts (i.e. those relating to the themes of the syllabus) alongside unfamiliar contexts. At the same time, it promotes such vital skills as independent research, critical thinking, and analysis – they will come in handy when students encounter new information or situations.
German Ab Initio teaches not only language but also cultural awareness. In other words, students develop an appreciation of the cultures for which German is the mother tongue. Along with this, the course emphasises the importance of learning a second language and its contribution to intellectual development.
Ab Initio is available only as the SL option. Over the course of two years, it provides at least 150 hours of teaching time. Students will get to know a variety of authentic materials in German (interviews, articles, personal correspondence, blog posts, etc.) and will also learn to produce texts on their own. These texts will reflect the themes of the syllabus along with their personal interests.
German Ab Initio IB Syllabus
The IB Diploma Programme specifies five themes for German Ab Initio. Each theme, in turn, includes 4 topics. In total, the syllabus introduces 20 topics, which provide the material in visual, written, audio, and audio-visual forms.
In summary, the course texts belong to one of three categories:
- Professional (e-mails, letters, interviews, job descriptions, etc.);
- Personal (text messages, invitations, phone calls, postcards, and others);
- Media (blog posts, advertisements, news articles, public speeches, and more)
It is important for students to recognise the different features of each type of text since they will encounter them in their final exams.
The German Ab Initio syllabus prescribes the following course themes:
- Identities. It delves into our identity, personality, and habits, as well as the ways we express who we are. The topics are the following:
- Personal attributes;
- Personal relationships;
- Eating and drinking;
- Physical well-being.
- Experiences. This theme explores the process of personal transformation through the lens of experiences, journeys, and events we encounter throughout our lives. The specific topics of the theme are:
- Daily routine;
- Leisure;
- Holidays;
- Festivals and celebrations.
- Human Ingenuity. The theme explores creative thinking, technological achievements, and innovations, and how they affect the world around us. The four topics are as follows:
- Transport;
- Entertainment;
- Media;
- Technology.
- Social organisation. People tend to organise themselves in various ways. This theme provides a closer look at social groups, as well as factors and actions that affect their formation. It includes such topics as:
- Neighbourhood;
- Education;
- Workplace;
- Social issues.
- Sharing the planet. There are opportunities and challenges that come from living together in this world. The theme discusses these factors through the following topics:
- Climate;
- Physical geography;
- The environment;
- Global issues.
German Ab Initio Assessment Guide
The course of German Ab Initio concludes with a multi-stage assessment at the end of the IB year 2. In the first stage, students have to sit an external assessment, which consists of two papers.
German Ab Initio IB External Assessment
Paper 1 assesses productive skills, i.e. writing. The students receive 3 tasks, from which they need to choose two and produce 70-150 pieces of text for each. This assignment lasts 1 hour and awards up to 30 marks. This equals 25% of the total score.
Paper 2 focuses on receptive skills and awards overall 65 marks.
First, students will listen to three audio passages and answer a number of questions (typically, short answer, fill-the-gap, and multi-choice questions) to prove their listening comprehension. The duration of this section is 45 minutes and the maximum number of marks is 25.
Next, is the assessment of reading comprehension. The students will have 1 hour to process three written passages and answer questions. With this assignment, they can earn up to 40 marks.
German Ab Initio IB Internal Assessment
The final stage of the IB German exam is Internal Assessment (IA). It is also known as the German oral exam. It focuses on interactive skills and involves a presentation, conversation, and responding to questions. IA rewards 30 marks, which is 25% of the total score.
Your Internal Assessment is basically an oral exam. Its direction will depend on a stimulus you will pick from the choice of two. The stimuli are pictures, which represent one of the themes you’ve learned in class.
After you decide on a picture, you will have 15 minutes to prepare for your presentation. During this time, you can make notes, write down bullet points or keywords, or outline a plan of what you are going to say. You may refer to your notes as you give your presentation, but you cannot just read them.
The presentation itself lasts 1-2 minutes. You should describe what you see in a picture (what do the people do, what’s in the background, how does it relate to one of the themes you’ve studied, etc.). You can also briefly share some of your opinions or talk about your experience in similar situations.
After the presentation is over, you will have a follow-up discussion. Basically, it is a question-and-answer session of approximately 3-4 minutes. Your teacher will ask you questions about your presentation. For example, they might want you to elaborate on some of your points or ask you to describe the parts of the picture you overlooked. Also, this discussion is an excellent chance to show your appreciation of the language and German culture in general.
The last part of the Internal Assessment is a general discussion. It means that you won’t talk about the stimulus anymore. Instead, you will jump to other topics that the syllabus covered. By the time of your exam, you should gather enough vocabulary, grammar, and experience to talk about things in familiar contexts. Overall, you will have 3-4 minutes to engage in a discussion with your examiner.
The Assessment Criteria for German Ab Initio
Next, we will explain how IB examiners assess your answers.
External Assessment Marking Criteria
Paper 1 evaluates students’ written communication skills. There are three assessment criteria:
Criterion A: Language (6 marks) assesses how effectively students write in German. In particular, it evaluates word choices, variety in vocabulary and German expressions, grammatical forms, and sentence structure. While it leaves some room for occasional errors, they shouldn’t inhibit the overall communication of ideas.
Criterion B: Message (6 marks) focuses on how successfully students complete assignments. This means that their ideas should have a logical structure and effective delivery. Besides, it checks if the students understood the task and were able to address it accurately. To gain full marks, it is important to include relevant details and, if possible, provide supporting examples.
Criterion C: Conceptual Understanding (3 marks) is about understanding of text type conventions. Specifically, it evaluates if students chose an appropriate format, register, and tone for their texts.
Each criterion is applied individually to each text. The maximum number of marks you can get is 15 x 2 = 30.
In Paper 2, the number of marks will depend on how accurately you gave your answers. For example, there are 25 questions for the audio assessment – if all your answers are right, you will get 25 marks. In the reading section, each correct answer is worth 1-2 marks.
Internal Assessment Marking Criteria
When it comes to Internal Assessment, examiners use three criteria to assess your responses.
Criterion A: Language (12 marks) judges how well you use German to convey your ideas. Among other things, it requires you to have an appropriate and varied vocabulary as well as diverse and correct grammar structures. It pays attention to pronunciation and intonation as well. You don’t have to demonstrate a perfect accent but an examiner should easily understand what you say. Overall, the criterion allows some mistakes, as long as you are able to get your points across.
Criterion B1: Message (6 marks) checks if your response is relevant to the visual stimulus. To get all allocated marks, you shouldn’t deviate from the topic of the picture. Also, in your presentation, you must describe not only the stimulus but also provide personal interpretations of what you see. It is also necessary to make links to the culture of the German-speaking world.
Criterion B2: Message (6 marks) scrutinises the conversation itself. It is vital to provide thorough and detailed answers to the questions asked. Your personal opinions matter as well. Finally, since the Internal Assessment is not exactly a monologue but rather a dialogue, it is important to try to engage an examiner.
Criterion C: Interactive Skills (6 points) is about sustainable comprehension and interaction. It requires that you maintain a conversation and effectively express yourself. Finally, you should try to be an active part of a dialogue.
How to Succeed in Language Ab Initio
German Ab Initio is a challenging subject since it provides plenty of material over the course of just 2 years. Due to this density, many students fail to achieve good results in their exams. Nevertheless, the top grade of 7 is not mission impossible. There are many effective revision tactics you can use.
Let us turn it over to Dr. Eva Herlitzius-Karpasitis, an English, German, and French Language Specialist, as well as one of the most qualified tutors at Tutors Plus. Here is her piece of advice on getting the top score in German Ab Initio.
“Your success in a language acquisition will depend on how thoroughly you have revised the target vocabulary. The best way to do it is a consistent and regular practice.”
Rather than studying hours at a time shortly before an in-class assessment or exam, it is much more effective to revise vocabulary daily in smaller time chunks (15-30 minutes). It is especially beneficial to set a fixed time during the day to engage with the material. Since you will have to learn a lot of words, it is a good idea to classify them according to topics and word types (noun, verb, adjective, etc.)
She also suggests that it is helpful to make a distinction between active and passive vocabulary.
Active vocabulary includes words you will be using regularly in speaking and writing. Therefore, you need to memorise these words (both spelling and pronunciation) and be able to apply them to appropriate contexts.
Passive vocabulary is the words you understand when you read or hear them. However, you might not be confident enough to implement them in your speech or writing.
In fact Eva says “classifying your vocabulary into active and passive will allow you to focus on the most important words to learn. Due to the limited time, it is impossible to memorise every new word you encounter. However, it makes sense to dedicate your time and effort to the vocabulary you will need most often”.
The Best Study Resources for IB German Ab Initio Preparation
Your German Ab Initio studies should start with reliable textbooks and official materials. At this point, you probably have the textbook your school recommends. That’s good but might not be enough. We suggest supplementing it with other materials, which provide similar topics and grammar drills but from a different angle.
Jessica Otto, our IB German tutor, and IB lead teacher notes that specific textbooks for Ab Initio IB don’t exist, so instead she suggests using those created for IGCSE German. For instance, the IGCSE German Student Book offers structured lessons, vocabulary lists, and practice exercises based on practically the same themes as the IB syllabus. She also recommends taking advantage of workbooks for polishing Grammar as well as Reading and Listening skills from the same series, along with Stimmt! (Edexcel GCSE) designed specifically for grammar and translation exercises.
Online Resources to Study German
In addition to printed materials, it is a good idea to use various online platforms and YouTube channels. Here are some you can try:
- Duolingo is an excellent starting point for daily practice. Its gamified approach helps build basic vocabulary and grammar skills.
- Babbel provides structured language learning with a focus on practical conversation skills.
- Quizlet provides an effective way to build your vocabulary with flashcards. You can create your own ones or use sets made by other German Ab Initio students.
- Deutsch Lernen offers comprehensive resources for German learners, including grammar explanations, interactive exercises, and listening practice.
- Languages Online supplies a ton of interactive grammar exercises, vocabulary units, quizzes, and even mock exams.
- Begegnung is a great source of online grammar exercises.
- Deutsche Welle Learn German gives access to various articles, vocabulary by topics, podcasts, interviews, and even educational TV series.
- The Language Gym features interactive ‘workouts’ to improve every aspect of language comprehension.
- Gimkit offers an innovative and fun way to learn German through games.
- Learn German with Anja is a YouTube channel focusing on practical, everyday German, which is particularly relevant for Ab Initio students.
- Easy German provides street interviews and real-life conversations with German speakers.
Make sure to spend at least 30 minutes a day learning German with these resources. As you wait for dinner or ride a bus, take your phone and do some vocabulary expansion or grammar exercises. By the end of year two, this will convert into a better command of German.
Finally, your revision plan should include practice with past papers. This way, you will be able to learn more about the exam format and question types. They are also an effective way to ensure your time management is on point. The more time you spend answering past papers and mock exams, the better you will feel and do in the actual examination.
Better Your Best with Tutors Plus
Watch YouTube videos, listen to songs in German, read books, study with past papers, get a pen pal, or organise a study club with your friends – these are some of the ideas to emerge yourself in German.
At Tutors Plus, we offer one more effective (and exciting) way to learn a foreign language. With some friendly help from our experienced German tutors, you’ll be able to significantly strengthen your communication skills, improve grammar, and expand your vocabulary to feel more fluent when speaking German.
Studying with a tutor is a comprehensive linguistic experience that provides confidence to express your thoughts as freely as you would in your native language.
Feel free to contact Tutors Plus via our email info@tutorsplus.com and phone at 022 731 8148.
By Sara Lloyd
Sara has been an education consultant for TutorsPlus for 15 years, and is an expert on international IB education. She is also a parent of two lively children.
