As a Chinese can I self taught Chinese B?

[Kevin Chan]

My school only offers English A SL/HL, so I have to take English A for group1. For group2 I do not feel like learning Spanish abnitio, so I am thinking about study a self taught language course. I think Chinese A is way too hard (two A languages will destroy me), so I dont know if I can self taught Chinese B.

Is Chinese B available for a Chinese student who learned Chinese A in MYP?

Are language B courses available for self taught?

Thank you very much for any help!

[Guest]

Well, I think you have to talk to your school, as it is their decision. 

 

However, I personally find it laughable, to do language B as a native speaker. It is an easy "7' for sure but it is also a superb waste of time. I am doing German B and because so many german native speakers are doing it, it is really hard for "normal students" to get a 7. (thew grade boundaries is like 90% for a 7)  It is not fair.

 

So ya, no one can stop you from doing it, but you will not learn anything new, and what is the point?

[Nini Nincompoop]

I don't think self taught as B language is an option, since from what I remember the only possible self taught is as language A Literature (not even Lang Lit was an option I think). This is because all self taught students are assumed to have the knowledge on the language as native speakers, and B language is usually for non-native speakers. I might be wrong, but all the English B students in my class are non-native English speakers. 

 

I am currently taking Chinese A Literature self taught as well as English A Lang Lit From my personal experience I would suggests you NOT to take self taught if possible, because YES, IT IS SO DAMN HARD. Unless you are a literature enthusiast or has great outside support (such as parents or tutors), I strongly recommend you to avoid taking self taught at all cost. I personally could have taken Swedish A easily since I actually speak Swedish more fluently than Chinese - which is ironic - but I was too naive and thought it would be fun to be challenged. That was before I realized that the entire IB was challenging enough as it is : ))))) 

 

And also: from my conversations with other self taught students, they find self taught difficult to understand concerning the SYLLABUS, because they do not take another A language course like I do. So if you really, really, really want to take self taught, it is perhaps better if you take another A language as well - unless as mentioned earlier, you are enthusiastic enough or have strong support in the subject of Chinese literature. 

 

Otherwise, it is not THAT hard to do two A languages. It depends on the quality of your teacher(s) of course, my English teacher for example is absolutely fantastic and I feel fully confident in achieving high grades in this subject (and I'm not even a native English speake). On the other hand, Chinese A Lit per se is entirely doable too once you fully understand what is required from you, but it is not so easy to tackle if you want a good grade. Right now the goal for me is to just get a 5.... because anything beyond requires toooooo much effort (okay I admit that I am not really prioritizing this subject). And my Chinese is not that great either P: (it's like on elementary level). But English A has really helped me to understand languages though, and that knowledge is actually very transferable. What is difficult in my case is that the lack of knowledge in Chinese cannot be fully amended by my knowledge in English, so that's why I predict that I cannot get anything higher than a 5. 

 

Anyways, hope I was helpful! Don't hesitate to ask me questions

Edited October 10, 2015 by Nini Nincompoop

[Kevin Chan]

I don't think self taught as B language is an option, since from what I remember the only possible self taught is as language A Literature (not even Lang Lit was an option I think). This is because all self taught students are assumed to have the knowledge on the language as native speakers, and B language is usually for non-native speakers. I might be wrong, but all the English B students in my class are non-native English speakers. 

 

I am currently taking Chinese A Literature self taught as well as English A Lang Lit From my personal experience I would suggests you NOT to take self taught if possible, because YES, IT IS SO DAMN HARD. Unless you are a literature enthusiast or has great outside support (such as parents or tutors), I strongly recommend you to avoid taking self taught at all cost. I personally could have taken Swedish A easily since I actually speak Swedish more fluently than Chinese - which is ironic - but I was too naive and thought it would be fun to be challenged. That was before I realized that the entire IB was challenging enough as it is : ))))) 

 

And also: from my conversations with other self taught students, they find self taught difficult to understand concerning the SYLLABUS, because they do not take another A language course like I do. So if you really, really, really want to take self taught, it is perhaps better if you take another A language as well - unless as mentioned earlier, you are enthusiastic enough or have strong support in the subject of Chinese literature. 

 

Otherwise, it is not THAT hard to do two A languages. It depends on the quality of your teacher(s) of course, my English teacher for example is absolutely fantastic and I feel fully confident in achieving high grades in this subject (and I'm not even a native English speake). On the other hand, Chinese A Lit per se is entirely doable too once you fully understand what is required from you, but it is not so easy to tackle if you want a good grade. Right now the goal for me is to just get a 5.... because anything beyond requires toooooo much effort (okay I admit that I am not really prioritizing this subject). And my Chinese is not that great either P: (it's like on elementary level). But English A has really helped me to understand languages though, and that knowledge is actually very transferable. What is difficult in my case is that the lack of knowledge in Chinese cannot be fully amended by my knowledge in English, so that's why I predict that I cannot get anything higher than a 5. 

 

Anyways, hope I was helpful! Don't hesitate to ask me questions

Thank you for your help! I am absolutely not a literature enthusiastic in any languages. But I am quite sure that self-taught language B is available, since a lot of people asked in this forum the same quesiton. I don't know about you, but I studied in MYP, and I did English B. I did a lot of research in IB system, so I am confident in finding what to learn and what to prepare.

[Kevin Chan]

Well, I think you have to talk to your school, as it is their decision. 

 

However, I personally find it laughable, to do language B as a native speaker. It is an easy "7' for sure but it is also a superb waste of time. I am doing German B and because so many german native speakers are doing it, it is really hard for "normal students" to get a 7. (thew grade boundaries is like 90% for a 7)  It is not fair.

 

So ya, no one can stop you from doing it, but you will not learn anything new, and what is the point?

Honestly, although I speak Mandarin all the time, but i am very bad at any literature study, i will probably end up getting 3/4 if I do language A, and not mention Self-taught...