Foreign Language Programs for International Baccalaureate World Schools

International Baccalaureate World Schools have gained increased popularity due to the rigorous process that a school must undergo to achieve becoming an IB school. The benefits IB schools can offer students are several, including an environment in which students are encouraged to think critically, drive their own learning, develop the ability to engage with people in a globalized world, and are more culturally aware through the acquisition of a second language.

Due to the international mindedness of the IB program, one of its requirements is that schools must provide students with the opportunity to learn a second language as part of the school’s curriculum. That’s where we come in.

Language Kids World provides a turn-key foreign language program solution for IB Schools, specifically for the Primary Years Programme (PYP), which is designed for children ages 3 to 12. Our curriculum for PYP IB schools, which incorporates the attributes of the IB learner profile, also incorporates the IB themes and approaches to learning. Our curriculum also follows the guidelines set by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) for each proficiency level.

We can tailor our curriculum to incorporate the IB themes each school is targeting a specific year and at a specific time. In addition to IB themes and concepts and specific language objectives based on ACTFL’s guidelines, our curriculum incorporates cultural elements related to each thematic unit. Some cultural elements include music, art, food, traditions, dance, celebrations, cities, and architecture from countries that speak the target language. For example, we could align our language objectives with the theme “Who We Are” or “How We Express Ourselves”, and also align the cultural element of the curriculum to that specific theme.

As stated by the International Baccalaureate Organization, “An IB education further enhances the development of international-mindedness through multilingualism. All IB programmes require the students to study, or study in, more than one language because we believe that communicating in more than one language provides excellent opportunities to develop intercultural understanding and respect. It helps the students to appreciate that his or her own language, culture, and worldview is just one of many.”