I'm not sure whether to do French SL, Japanese Ab initio or Italian Ab initio.

[Dalia123]

I am deciding between French SL, Japanese Ab Initio or Italian Ab Initio for the ib.

 

FRENCH SL?

I have been doing French for around 4 years at school and have been doing pretty well, except this past year (with online lessons) I have fallen behind (especially in listening and speaking) compared to some of my classmates (the ones who are continuing french in ib) so I feel a little uncertain on continuing, but I do not really want to just 'drop' everything I learned, so I might do extra french for fun (I'm not sure if I will have time to do this though). 

 

JAPANESE AB INITIO?

I have barely started Japanese, but I am interested in the language, I have learned all of the hiragana and katakana, used to study Chinese when I was younger (but I do not remember much), like anime and am considering getting a tutor. I have started a few lessons and so far it is easy to follow but I am concerned about how many words I will have to learn quickly and kanji.

 

ITALIAN AB INITIO?

I have not learned any Italian, but friends who have learned it tell me that it is really easy to pick up and get a good mark (around a 7) because there is so much practice and help - but I am not sure if I want to learn it, like it could be interesting but I would prefer to do French or Japanese.

 

QUESTIONS/ CONCERNS

I am willing to work hard and get a tutor for any of the languages. I would consider any language that I can get a high mark in; at the moment, I have chosen Japanese.

Honestly, I would prefer to do Japanese but I am scared of the workload (because I am doing a lot of HLs in Y11 and then going to drop whatever I do the worst in or do not like maybe halfway through), and how difficult it will be. 

 

Which is the best option for me?

What is required for a 6/7 in Japanese Ab Initio?

How hard is learning a language in ib?

How much time would you recommend studying per fortnight?

 

Thanks in advance!

[faten]

9 hours ago, Dalia123 said:

I am deciding between French SL, Japanese Ab Initio or Italian Ab Initio for the ib.

 

FRENCH SL?

I have been doing French for around 4 years at school and have been doing pretty well, except this past year (with online lessons) I have fallen behind (especially in listening and speaking) compared to some of my classmates (the ones who are continuing french in ib) so I feel a little uncertain on continuing, but I do not really want to just 'drop' everything I learned, so I might do extra french for fun (I'm not sure if I will have time to do this though). 

 

JAPANESE AB INITIO?

I have barely started Japanese, but I am interested in the language, I have learned all of the hiragana and katakana, used to study Chinese when I was younger (but I do not remember much), like anime and am considering getting a tutor. I have started a few lessons and so far it is easy to follow but I am concerned about how many words I will have to learn quickly and kanji.

 

ITALIAN AB INITIO?

I have not learned any Italian, but friends who have learned it tell me that it is really easy to pick up and get a good mark (around a 7) because there is so much practice and help - but I am not sure if I want to learn it, like it could be interesting but I would prefer to do French or Japanese.

 

QUESTIONS/ CONCERNS

I am willing to work hard and get a tutor for any of the languages. I would consider any language that I can get a high mark in; at the moment, I have chosen Japanese.

Honestly, I would prefer to do Japanese but I am scared of the workload (because I am doing a lot of HLs in Y11 and then going to drop whatever I do the worst in or do not like maybe halfway through), and how difficult it will be. 

 

Which is the best option for me?

What is required for a 6/7 in Japanese Ab Initio?

How hard is learning a language in ib?

How much time would you recommend studying per fortnight?

 

Thanks in advance!

this is a very hard choice i think the three of them work for you, but from what ik french is quite hard and especially a an SL subject not ab initio so i would suggest not taking it since you want what would score you high, unless u know u can catch up on what you've missed + its an advantage that u've done 4 years of french so its not a completely new language to you. italian is for sure the easiest out of all of them but u don't seem to want to learn it? i'd say still keep it in mind + in my opinion japanese is the best option for u since u seem to have interest in the language and it's ab initio level so would be easy. basically i think u should go for japanese but ofc the desicion is urs, do what u think is best fy.

these are the grade boundaries for japanese ab initio from may 2019 exams so the latest ones done in may since the previous two years were cancelled as yk - they seem to be quite high but i think you'll be fine since you have the basics and you'll be getting a tutor as well! good luck! and i'd love to know what you've decided when u do so, if ur fine with that?

[Dalia123]

On 10/27/2021 at 7:04 PM, faten said:

this is a very hard choice i think the three of them work for you, but from what ik french is quite hard and especially a an SL subject not ab initio so i would suggest not taking it since you want what would score you high, unless u know u can catch up on what you've missed + its an advantage that u've done 4 years of french so its not a completely new language to you. italian is for sure the easiest out of all of them but u don't seem to want to learn it? i'd say still keep it in mind + in my opinion japanese is the best option for u since u seem to have interest in the language and it's ab initio level so would be easy. basically i think u should go for japanese but ofc the desicion is urs, do what u think is best fy.

these are the grade boundaries for japanese ab initio from may 2019 exams so the latest ones done in may since the previous two years were cancelled as yk - they seem to be quite high but i think you'll be fine since you have the basics and you'll be getting a tutor as well! good luck! and i'd love to know what you've decided when u do so, if ur fine with that?

Thanks so much for your reply!

Also, woah thanks for the useful info - especially the grade boundaries.

Ofc it's fine, I think I'll take your advice and continue with Japanese Ab Initio for a bit longer and see how I go  : ) 

[faten]

On 10/29/2021 at 10:00 AM, Dalia123 said:

Thanks so much for your reply!

Also, woah thanks for the useful info - especially the grade boundaries.

Ofc it's fine, I think I'll take your advice and continue with Japanese Ab Initio for a bit longer and see how I go  : ) 

I'm glad I was able to help! good luck!