IB French B HL study plan
IB French B HL · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Identities & Experiences
Build a personal lexicon of 60 identity-related terms (family structures, values, belonging, self-presentation) and file them by sub-theme
Draft and record a 2-minute monologue describing your own identity trajectory, then re-record it after self-correcting three recurring grammar errors
Write 15 short opinion statements on identity topics and label each with the register (soutenu, courant, familier) you used
Read two short authentic texts on changing family models in the francophone world and extract 10 collocations per text
Your checkpoint
A 60-entry personal lexicon plus two audio recordings of the same monologue with a written list of the corrections made between versions
Identities & Experiences
Compose a 250-word argumentative paragraph on whether language shapes identity, using at least six connectors of concession and contrast
Interview a francophone speaker or use a recorded interview to note five expressions of personal experience and reuse them in your own sentences
Convert five informal diary-style passages into formal register without losing meaning
Self-mark your paragraph against the four IB language criteria and rewrite the weakest criterion
Your checkpoint
A 250-word argumentative text with an annotated self-assessment grid showing before-and-after scores per criterion
Experiences & Human ingenuity
Narrate three personal experiences in the past tenses, deliberately choosing between passé composé and imparfait for background versus event
Summarize two authentic audio or video clips on migration and mobility in 100 words each
Debate the statement that human ingenuity always improves quality of life, preparing three arguments for and three against
Log 12 new expressions linked to travel, adaptation, and innovation into your lexicon
Your checkpoint
Three recorded 90-second narratives plus two 100-word written summaries, each checked against a tense-accuracy checklist
Human ingenuity
Read one extended authentic article on scientific or technological innovation and map its structure (thesis, evidence, counterargument, conclusion)
Write a 300-400-word text type of your choice (blog post, letter to the editor, or proposal) on an ingenuity topic, respecting its conventions
Explain a scientific process or invention orally in 2 minutes using sequencing markers
Identify and practise 15 terms for research, ethics, and invention
Your checkpoint
One 300-400-word text type with an accompanying structure map and a two-minute recorded explanation
Human ingenuity & Social organization
Analyse two authentic texts on education systems or workplace change and compare their viewpoints in a 150-word synthesis
Role-play a formal exchange (job interview or school meeting) using appropriate politeness strategies, and record it
Draft a formal letter of 150-200 words to an institution, applying conventions of address and closing
Build a table of 20 formal connectors and discourse markers with one original example each
Your checkpoint
A 150-word comparative synthesis and a recorded formal role-play with a self-made politeness checklist
Social organization & Sharing the planet
Prepare both sides of a debate on a social-organization issue (e.g. work-life balance, generational solidarity) with five arguments each
Read two authentic texts on environmental responsibility and extract the rhetorical strategies each author uses
Write a 250-word opinion piece on an environmental topic, integrating two statistics paraphrased from source material
Practise 15 expressions for cause, consequence, and responsibility in environmental contexts
Your checkpoint
A written debate brief with five arguments per side plus a 250-word opinion piece containing two correctly paraphrased statistics
Sharing the planet & Identities
Complete two full timed paper-1 style writing tasks (250-400 words) under 75-minute conditions, one on sharing the planet and one on identities
Complete two timed reading comprehension sets and record error patterns by question type
Run a 10-minute simulated individual oral on a stimulus theme, then transcribe and annotate your own fluency breakdowns
Revise your lexicon down to the 80 entries you actually use in speaking
Your checkpoint
Two timed written tasks with marked criteria grids, two scored reading sets, and an annotated transcript of the simulated oral
Identities & Experiences & Human ingenuity & Social organization & Sharing the planet
Consolidate all five themes into a one-page mind map per theme with three key concepts and six supporting expressions each
Re-record your week-1 monologue and compare fluency, range, and accuracy against the original
Complete one full mock of each productive component under exam timing
Compile a personal error log and write a targeted revision list of the 20 items you still get wrong
Your checkpoint
Five theme mind maps, a before-and-after monologue comparison, two completed mock components with criteria-based scores, and a final 20-item revision list
Milestones
Week 2: Can sustain a two-minute spoken monologue on an identity or experience topic with only self-corrections, and has a 60-entry lexicon in active use
Week 4: Produces a structured 300-400-word text type on a human-ingenuity topic within 60 minutes and can explain its own structure aloud
Week 6: Argues both sides of a social-organization or environmental issue without notes for two minutes per side, using formal register
Week 8: Completes timed mock components at or above target scores on all four criteria, with a documented error log and revision plan