Ab Initio

[momo521]

So i know A1 you are fluent, A2 is a second language you are fluent in but not your preferred language (right?), B is a language that prior to taking the course you don't know at all. So what is Ab Initio?

[Mayo]

Ab Initio is what you take when you have never formally studied it or never studied it at all.

Language B is a language you have studied before but you're not fluent enough to take it as and A1 or A2.

Hope that makes sense

[Vvi]

Language B includes 3 categories: HL, SL and Ab Initio. HL and SL both expect you to have studied 5-6 years or at least 3-4 years of the language. Ab Initio is for people who only start learning that language at the beginning of IB1, and so by the time exams come around they have been studying the language for 2 years. Beginners level, in other words.

[Bishup]

I'm doing Japanese ab next year !!! Anybody else doing ab or Japanese ab?

[herong2x]

well like what people have said above, it is something that you mostly have no knowledge in

from what i know, you start from beginning starting from grammar and alphabet and stuff (thats what we started with)

and go on with conversations and essays

id have to claim that though its ab initio, if you take it in IB level, after graduating, i can see that

you will not have any problem conversing and reading some simple things concerning that language

[bohemian03]

I'm doing Japanese ab next year !!! Anybody else doing ab or Japanese ab?

I took Japanese A2 SL

[NotreDameWatson.]

I'm doing Japanese ab next year !!! Anybody else doing ab or Japanese ab?

I'm doing Japanese Ab Initio.

がんばって　ください！ (Do your best)

[CommeDesEnfants]

As a side note, I hope you don't end up thinking Language B is the easiest thing ever to take just because you've taken it previously. It's a whole new way of thinking that derives away from just memorizing vocabulary lists and verb conjugations. It requires thought, effort and a lot of commitment on perhaps even a daily basis. Has anybody else ever experienced this?

But personally, I think ab initio would be harder to do - an IB subject on something I barely know about? I looked at a French ab Paper 1 and went "Wow..." at it, but that's obviously because I was at the end of French B SL. However, I can imagine that for somebody who was way less experienced in me in the language, they'd find it rather challenging or difficult. Is this really the case? Just wondering.

[Chelleee]

I'm doing Japanese ab next year !!! Anybody else doing ab or Japanese ab?

i am !!

although i only swapped to jap 'bout 10 weeks ago.

basically, learn the scripts (hiragana and katakana) as it'll help you heaps to be able to recognise the symbols quickly. take time in learning sentence structure and particles, it will help you IMMENSELY if you learn it right

and hmm what else, oh, don't expect to pick up the language from watching anime or drama i'll admit it helped me a bit but realistically i was bludging and tricking myself into believing i was "studying"

*sigh, i've got alot of catch up to do for jap

[Tiara Angel]

Let me give you the breakdown.

In an ab initio language, you start from scratch by learning how to carry a conversation starting from the very basics. You learn how to greet people, you learn how to describe yourself, you learn whatever you need to be able to survive in a country where the target language is spoken. It's designed for those with no experience in a particular language. Most schools offer this course.

Even though I heard it starts off relatively easily, the course is pretty intense. Because the expectations are high at the IB exams that are sat at the end of the two years. You have to have good vocabulary, grammar skills and the like. You also have to learn a variety of tenses. Furthermore, if you're learning a new script like some people here are learning Japanese, you need to be able to do well with the spelling. Having said that, the course is not very easy. However, if you love languages and you can memorise well, go for it. I chose a B language as a relief from my difficult classes.

Good luck.