Ridapher Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I was wondering, (I thought I should ask here because my Spanish teacher is going crazy because of Gov school and everything!), is it possible to drop down to ab initio after taking one year of SL? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't ab initio easier?The thing is, I got an A- first quarter, and a B this past quarter, and that too with extreme studying just to understand what goes on in class!Advice? Should I drop? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yahooo! Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Yes, it is possible to move down to ab initio. A few weeks ago, a kid in my year moved from SL to ab initio. However, I do not know IB rules so if you have been entered for the IB exams already then it might not be possible (check with your school's IB co-ordinator though, my school only registered last month).I think the switch comes down to you... How much work are you willing to put in for the top grade? If you are willing to work extremely hard for the 7 then I would suggest stick to the SL. But if you want to cut down the work load and still be in for the shot with a 7 then move to ab initio. There are often misconceptions with ab initio languages. They are NOT easier by any means, they are essentially for people who have 'no prior knowledge' in the language. I have a kid who has been doing Spanish for 2 years, and he is struggling. So I would not say ab initio is the easy way out. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Award Winning Boss Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Up to you. Doesn't matter too much really but a word of warning, I know a few people that dropped but saw little improvement in their grades. But if you're going to drop to ab initio, why not do it now? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridapher Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Yes, it is possible to move down to ab initio. A few weeks ago, a kid in my year moved from SL to ab initio. However, I do not know IB rules so if you have been entered for the IB exams already then it might not be possible (check with your school's IB co-ordinator though, my school only registered last month).I think the switch comes down to you... How much work are you willing to put in for the top grade? If you are willing to work extremely hard for the 7 then I would suggest stick to the SL. But if you want to cut down the work load and still be in for the shot with a 7 then move to ab initio.There are often misconceptions with ab initio languages. They are NOT easier by any means, they are essentially for people who have 'no prior knowledge' in the language. I have a kid who has been doing Spanish for 2 years, and he is struggling. So I would not say ab initio is the easy way out.You say ab initio is for people with "no prior knowledge" of the language...I took spanish 1,2,3 and half of IB 4; are there requirements to transfer? And I'm not necessarily "struggling" but with everything else, it'd be best to cut the work load! What is required from ab inito? Paper one and two plus written assignment? Is there an oral? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridapher Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Up to you. Doesn't matter too much really but a word of warning, I know a few people that dropped but saw little improvement in their grades. But if you're going to drop to ab initio, why not do it now?Yeah, it's course sign up season and I was just thinking; and the work load is lower, plus it's a class to help people who are struggling...side note: I love your EE and ToK topics ;D Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabz Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) At least at my school, i begged my teachers to drop me down to ab initio french but they never did, they said that i was passing the level so i didn't need to drop down. This is not the case in Maths though but not sure if your school would let you or not, at least mine didn't let me.Ab initio is for people who've studied language for maximum of 1-2 years really. Another with 3 years of study should go to B standard. THat's what i was told. I really wanted to get 99% by dropping down to ab initio but i ended up being in French B Edited January 30, 2013 by shad0wboss Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Award Winning Boss Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 [Yeah, it's course sign up season and I was just thinking; and the work load is lower, plus it's a class to help people who are struggling...side note: I love your EE and ToK topics ;DPersonally, I'd stay with SL simply because you might end up doing better than you expected. There's no guarantee of a 7 in either subject really. Maybe you could take a few past papers and see how much better you do.Also, talk to your teachers about it. They may be able to tell you whether it'd be best to move down or not. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridapher Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) At least at my school, i begged my teachers to drop me down to ab initio french but they never did, they said that i was passing the level so i didn't need to drop down. This is not the case in Maths though but not sure if you school would let you or not, at least mine didn't let me.Ab initio is for people who've studied language for maximum of 1-2 years really. Another with 3 years of study should go to B standard. THat's what i was told. I really wanted to get 99% by dropping down to ab initio but i ended up being in French BB standard? The classes they offer at our school are: Spanish 1, 2, 3, 4, IB 1, IB 2, and ab initio...Was French B easier? Did it help you with your grades?I just don't have time to organize; but I still am motivated for the diploma! Edited January 30, 2013 by Ridapher Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yahooo! Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Paper 1 is basically a comprehension (eg true/false, some questions based on the texts). Paper 2 is a writing paper where you have to write I think 200-300 words or something around that about anything (clothes, schools, food, etc). There is a oral (which is a picture response, you get a choice of 2 pictures, 15 minutes planning & 5 minutes talking about the picture, then some broader questions). There is also a written assignment (200-300 words on a chosen topic where you find/are given articles about a particular topic like Christmas, Easter, Valentines Day, etc and you have to compare Spanish culture to your own. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridapher Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 So...basically the same as SL? We're doing everything listed above in future SL 2.In fact, we're doing the oral on the picture also, which I thought was just a "teacher" thing... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboro76 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) Our school says that they want you to have less than one year of experience studinging that language. So I assume that by already studying a language for a year then it would be hard to drop down. Essentially its up to your school and the IB rules as to whether your allowed though Edited February 16, 2013 by theboro76 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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