French B Exam Overview
If you are involved in anything IB-related, you know the assessment expectations can be confusing — the complexity of the program can easily overwhelm. Personally, I like the complexity because when you start to understand the way IB sets things up, you then realize they are doing this to better meet the variety of skills and achievement levels of its participants. If anything, I’d say IB is doing a better job at creating a program that meets different needs than many other programs that expect you to take a single standardized test.
The guide for language acquisition is lengthy, however, and even we teachers need time to fully incorporate all of the details into our understanding and practice. Every year I review the following information with my classes and it’s not just for their benefit; it’s for mine too.
To boil down the basics of how you’ll be assessed for French B, let’s first discuss the exam levels you can attempt.
EXAM LEVELS
Consult with your French instructor to choose the most appropriate exam level for you.
Ab initio: Ab initio is designed for students with no prior experience of the target language, or for those with very limited previous exposure. IB does not specify what “very limited exposure” means because it is too difficult to quantify. Teachers are expected to counsel students for appropriate placement, so speak with your instructor if you’re unsure whether ‘ab initio’ or SL is right for you. You may want to register for the ab initio exam if you transferred schools (and therefore had fewer years of French than your peers), your school only has a DP program (and no MYP program), or other extenuating circumstances disrupted your French education.
Standard Level (Niveau Moyen): This is what IB expects a student to be able to handle if they have had the requisite number of years of French. MYP French has 5 phases which are intended to be taken between 6th and 10th grade (United States perspective here. Approximately ages 11-16.) That’s before you move into the two Diploma Programme levels. Because different school systems (and individual schools) implement the program differently or are in various stages of authorization, not everyone receives this 7-year lead-up to the French B exam. As you can imagine, some students experience anxiety about which exam level to register for. In my experience, four years of study is sufficient for SL exam expectations.
Higher Level (Niveau Supérieur): Most of the information about Standard Level is also true about HL. HL differs in the difficulty and expectations IB has for one’s performance. HL students are also required to read at least two or more novels in French. (The novels must have been originally written in French.)
Now that we’re familiar with the levels in general, let’s look at a summary of what you’re expected to do for the French B exam!
INTERNAL ASSESSMENT
Interpersonal communication
For French, the Internal Assessment is an oral exam. This is how you demonstrate your speaking skills. You will have a recorded conversation with your teacher based on one of the five IB themes. For SL and ab initio, this conversation is based on a photo. For HL, the conversation is based on one of the pieces of literature the candidate read. The exam has four phases:
Preparation: The candidate is given a choice of photos or literature excerpts for the conversation. The candidate is then allotted time to prepare working notes before the exam begins.
Presentation: The candidate presents the photo to their teacher. The presentation discusses the chosen photo or literature excerpt.
Discussion: The teacher asks follow-up questions. The candidate engages in a conversation with the teacher.
Change of topic: The teacher changes the topic to another IB-themed conversation.
This chart summarizes the time stamps of the Internal Assessment (2020 guide, still applicable at the time of posting):
| Level | Preparation | Presentation | Discussion | New Topic | Total Speaking Time | Total Exam Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ab initio | 15 | 1-2 | 3-4 | 3-4 | 7-10 | 22-25 |
| SL | 15 | 3-4 | 4-5 | 5-6 | 12-15 | 27-30 |
| HL | 20 | 3-4 | 4-5 | 5-6 | 12-15 | 27-30 |
I like to look at this chart with students and show them that instead of thinking it as 15 minutes of speaking (which often causes anxiety), think of it as just a couple minutes at a time. And don’t forget — once the presentation phase is over, your teacher will join the conversation and take up a portion of that time! You’ll still talk more than they do, but it’s a moment to breathe before you speak again.
Paper 1
Written expression
Paper 1 is the writing assessment. Depending on the exam level, there are different expectations for how many texts you need to write and how long you have to write them.
| Level | Exam Time | Required Word Count | Task |
|---|---|---|---|
| ab initio | 1 hour | 70-150 | 3 prompts given; respond to 2 |
| SL | 1 hour 15 minutes | 250-400 | 3 prompts given; respond to 1 |
| HL | 1 hour 30 minutes | 450-600 | 3 prompts given; respond to 1 |
Paper 2
Listening comprehension
Paper 2 has two portions, both being receptive skills. One portion is listening comprehension. The audio texts increase in difficulty and length as the exam goes on. You will have a response sheet with comprehension questions to answer based on what you hear.
| Level | Exam Time | Number of Texts | Audio Is Repeated... |
|---|---|---|---|
| ab initio | 45 minutes | 3 | 3 times |
| SL | 45 minutes | 3 | 2 times |
| HL | 1 hour | 3 | 2 times |
Paper 2
Reading comprehension
The other half of Paper 2 is reading comprehension. You will be presented with three texts and have to answer reading comprehension questions about what you read.
| Level | Exam Time | Number of Texts |
|---|---|---|
| ab initio | 1 hour | 3 |
| SL | 1 hour | 3 |
| HL | 1 hour | 3 |
As you can see, the time and number of texts are the same for all exams. It is only the difficulty and length of the texts that sets them apart.
Summary
The exam offers a number of options to appropriately assess your French skills. Within each level, there are four areas, each worth 25% of your overall subject score.
Keep following this blog for more detailed information for each portion of the exam! There are many details to know about each skill, so there is a lot of content to come! For now I hope this overview has helped you understand the basic exam process for French B.
