Course Details

English A2 (HL and SL)

The course is designed for near-native speakers of English or for people who are bilingual in English and perhaps their mother tongue, or another language. It may also be appropriate for those who have studied English for many years formally or for people who lived in an English-speaking environment or home without having studied the language formally.

English A2 combines the study of languages with considerable exposure to literature. At Higher Level, you can expect to learn skills of literary analysis: how to get more out of reading a work of literature, understanding what makes a work of literature ‘work’, being able to analyse the style, themes, techniques, meaning of literature, through a close study of about 6 –9 literary works over a two-year period. These works will represent various genres; novels, drama, for example, drawn from different cultural contexts where English is a major language of communication. This will include countries and regions like the UK, North America and the Indian sub-continent.

In addition, you will be able to improve your oral and written communication skills by talking and writing about various issues connected with such broad topics as ‘Future/Change’, ‘Language and Culture’ or ‘Society”. In the process you will read a wide range of literary and non-magazine articles and the Internet texts and brochures connected to these broad topics. You will have many opportunities to express opinions about the issues – through class discussion and other oral activities, as well as through written forms, in a wide variety of genres: commentaries, comparative commentaries and essays, books and film reviews, letter, diary entries, creative writing, etc.

English A2 will involve an awareness of the ways in which languages and cultures interact. Through exposure to a wide range of literacy and non-literary and other media: films, songs, television, etc. and an active participation on the part of every student, it should be a dynamic learning experience. At Standard Level you will learn the same things that you do at Higher Level, but with less intensity. That is, you will have fewer class hours per week and you will study fewer texts in detail compared to students at Higher Level, 3 – 6 rather than 6 - 9 works in total.

English B (HL and SL)

The English B programme at both the Higher and Standard Levels is communicative in that it focuses principally on interaction between the speakers and writers of that language. The main aim of the programme is to prepare you to use the language appropriately in a range of situations and contexts and for a variety of purposes.

The skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are taught and developed through the study of a wide range of oral, visual and written texts of different styles and registers. At both levels there is a continuous assessment of oral work which is integrated into regular classroom activities. The texts used vary from the usual literary texts of informative articles, reports, notices, newspaper, TV etc. At both levels the aim is to lead the students towards fluency but clearly the Higher Level will be a more challenging course and the expectation will be greater.

If you are an absolute beginner or have had only a limited exposure to the language, you may feel more comfortable at the Standard level. The Higher Level will require a lot of hard work and motivation with a considerable amount of reading and reference work.

It will be very useful for those students whose knowledge of English is minimal that they participate in a short English immersion course prior to arrival at the College. This, however, is not mandatory, particularly for students whose countries do not have inexpensive courses readily available.

Placement Test

Upon arrival at the College, all students will be tested in English. This will enable our English teachers to place each student according to his or her ability and proficiency in English. There is absolutely no need to prepare for this test as its aim is only to help us to help you and it has nothing to do with the IB examinations.

French B (SL or HL) and Spanish B (SL and HL)

Have you already had an exposure to 2 or 3 years of French or Spanish. Have you some writing and speaking knowledge? French B/Spanish B is then made for you.

Each week you will develop the four skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing through the study of a wide range of oral and written texts such as extracts from books, movies, magazines, etc. Role plays and group work are also a part of the teaching. The study of grammar is directly included in the study of the texts to make learning more absorbing.

The programme is divided into three themes:

• exploring change (the media, the environment)
• exploring groups (the individual and the family, France and the international scene)
• exploring leisure (travel, sports, music, cinema)

At the end of the two years, you will be fluent in French/Spanish in day-to-day communication, in entering into discussions and expressing and evaluating information etc.

French ab initio

You have always wanted to learn French but thought it would take too long and it would be more difficult to master! MUWCI offers you this unique opportunity to be ‘comfortable’ with French within 2 years.

Each week you will learn to communicate both verbally and in writing in French through a variety of French materials such as articles, commercials, extracts from books and movies.

Group and pair work as well as role-play are also a part of the activities. A total of 9 topics are studied, from environment to travelling, including sports, movies and ... food!

At the end of two years you will be able to express yourself and write about dayto- day situations, read and understand most basic French and you will know so much about France that on your way back you will certainly feel like making a stop-over in Paris, Bruxelles or Geneva to taste a ‘baguette with camembert’ and notice how fluent you are in French!

Spanish ab initio

This programme has been conceived for those students who wish to learn Spanish for the first time. Although no previous knowledge is necessary, as students will not be living in a Spanish-speaking environment, strong enthusiasm will be essential. Students will be expected to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities and to that end will engage in activities such as simple conversation, role-play and short essay writing. The correct use of grammar and extensive vocabulary will be core parts of the programme. Placement in the appropriate level of French and Spanish will be made at the discretion of the respective teacher.

Hindi B (HL)

Unlike Hindi A1, this course does not concern itself with literature. Rather, it is oriented towards developing a familiarity with the use of Hindi in various situations. By the end of the course, students must be comfortable with newspaper articles, short stories, letters and business correspondence, reading and understanding graphs and diagrams, listening to news and official broadcasts as well as a wide range of writing and communication styles. Normally Hindi B (HL) would be taken by students who have some experience with the language, i.e. with basic reading, writing and grammar and at least 2-3 years of prior Hindi study at high school level.

Hindi ab initio

This course is only for students with no previous knowledge of Hindi. You are going to spend two years in India and India is a multi-lingual country. The two languages that bind most Indians from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds are English and Hindi. During your stay in India you will be armed with the basic knowledge of Hindi so that you can enjoy interacting with the local community while travelling during Project Weeks and the Christmas Break, for example.