IB DIPLOMA TUTORING
Expert IB Spanish Tutors
in Hong Kong
Every candidate in the IBDP curriculum is required to learn at least one additional language. Most students chose to fulfil this requirement by enrolling onto a course from the IB’s language acquisition subject group.
Despite Chinese being taught in Hong Kong throughout the MYP programme, students, particularly those whose first language is English, may decide to transfer onto IB Spanish at the start of their Diploma Programme. Whether learning as a beginner on the ab initio course, or developing pre-existing Spanish skills on the SL or HL path, BartyED’s expert tutors are here to support IB Spanish candidates.
Common IBDP Spanish challenges
Using accurate and advanced grammatical structures every time
Many learners find it challenging to learn and accurately produce the Spanish grammar structures required at IBDP. With a BartyED IB Spanish tutor, students are introduced to grammar in context, provided with repeated opportunities to produce these structures, and given individualised feedback.
Employing vocabularly specific to the thematic categories of IB Spanish
In a BartyED Spanish lesson, students are introduced to texts and vocabulary from all five of the IB’s Spanish course themes. Through translation exercises, reading comprehension questions, and flashcarding, students build their internal word banks and learn how to deduce meaning from context.
Producing text in the target language
Candidates often struggle far more with production skills than they do receptive skills. A BartyED IB Spanish tutor regularly requires learners to consolidate the content learnt through independent writing. By exam day, students have had ample practice at independently producing accurate, high-level responses.
Adapting to the individual oral stimulus
One of the most daunting elements of the IB Spanish examination is the individual oral assessment. Through regular speaking practice, students are able to practice responding to unseen stimuli. Students improve their fluency but also their confidence, both of which helps improve their exam performance.
BartyED ensures high-quality IB Spanish tutoring
From our strict hiring process, through our comprehensive on-going tutor training, BartyED places a strong emphasis on teaching quality. Our reputation for rigour is at the heart of what we do.
3-phase hiring process
Our 3-phase hiring process consists of a structured interview with Jerome, a written exam across proposed subject areas, and an engagement session to assess teaching style.
A strong CV is not enough: candidates need to demonstrate strong subject knowledge, resilience and adaptability. We place our bar deliberately high in the full knowledge that most candidates will fail. Our students will benefit from the strong communication skills and pedagogical passion of the best applicants.
Rigorous training programme
Once hired, candidates undergo a six-month training programme to ensure deep subject and curriculum knowledge. This is conducted by our Heads of STEM and English/Humanities, and overseen by our Director of Studies.
The IB examiners know their own curriculum, so it's essential that we do, too. Our training programmes are designed to instil strong academic rigour, and consistent teaching across subjects.
On-going professional development
Whether in IBO-led workshops on the latest changes to the Extended Essay marking criteria, or knowledge sharing across the team in informal sessions to improve our support of SEN students, BartyED's IB tutors enjoy continued professional development.
International curricula like the IBDP, A-Levels and IGCSEs are subject to change and adaptation. It's essential for teaching quality that our IB tutors are ready and aware of all developments so we can maintain our exemplary support of all students.
THE BARTYED DIFFERENCE
Why BartyED for IB Spanish Tutoring
Spanish-specialist tutors
Working with a BartyED Spanish tutor gives you access to support from a native or advanced Spanish speaker. Our team of experienced IB Spanish tutors have supported students across the three IB Spanish courses, improving students writing, reading, listening and speaking skills through targeted practice and individualised feedback.
Exam technique for IB Spanish
IB Spanish students are expected to produce accurate grammatical structures and employ sophisticated vocabulary across their writing and speaking examinations. For their reading and listening exam, students must be confident in comprehending information from across all five of the IB Spanish course themes. Our IB Spanish tutors address all four skills of the IB Spanish course with students, guiding them through exam-style questions so that they are aware of the requirements of each element of their Spanish course.
Translation practice
Whilst not a skill required of the IB Spanish course itself, a BartyED Spanish tutor will support students through translation exercises. This improves students’ Spanish comprehension, vocabulary, and language production by introducing them to phrasing in the target language. This extension skill enables students to tackle unknown vocabulary with confidence, and write more fluently in their own work, two skills fundamental to success in IB Spanish.
Personally vetted by Jerome, our Managing Director
BartyED’s IB Spanish tutors are native Spanish speakers, or hold Spanish qualifications from top institutions. Every BartyED IB Spanish tutor sits a supervised written exam and partakes in an engagement session overseen by Jerome before joining the team. For Spanish, tutors sit an IB writing Paper 1, and are then rigorously questioned on Spanish grammar and IB exam technique.
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
Success stories
Our students have gone on to Oxford, Edinburgh, UCL, Duke, Brown, and Harvard.
How Spanish B, SL, and HL is Graded
The IBDP Language B courses are designed for students with some previous experience of the target language, and are available at both SL and HL. The assessment outlines for Spanish B SL and HL are identical: it is the complexity of vocabulary and grammar structures that distinguishes HL from SL.
Paper 1: Writing (productive skills)
30 marks available, contributing 25% of students’ final grade. Candidates are required to complete one writing task from a choice of three. The word range of the SL writing exam is lower than that of the HL exam.
30 marks available, contributing 25% of students’ final grade. Candidates are required to complete one writing task from a choice of three. In comparison to at SL, the word range in the writing exam is higher at HL. This enables test-takers to showcase the complex language and grammar required at HL.
Paper 2: Listening and Reading (receptive skills)
The paper contains two separate sections: one for listening and one for reading. 25 marks are available on the listening section, whilst 40 are available for reading. Despite the difference in marks, both sections of the exam contribute 25% of the overall grade.
The paper contains two separate sections: one for listening and one for reading. 25 marks are available on the listening section, whilst 40 are available for reading. Despite the difference in marks, both sections of the exam contribute 25% of the overall grade.
Individual oral assessment
The IOA is worth 30 marks and contributes the final 25% of the overall grade. At SL, the stimulus for the IOA is a visual image that is clearly relevant to one (or more) of the themes of the course.
The IOA is worth 30 marks and contributes the final 25% of the overall grade. At HL, the stimulus for the IOA is an excerpt from one of the two literary works studied.
Total external / internal split
75% external, 25% internal.
75% external, 25% internal.
How IB Spanish AB initio is graded
The IB Spanish ab initio course is designed for students who have never studied Spanish before. Ab initio courses are only available at SL. The two exam papers within the ab initio course are assessed externally, whilst the individual oral assessment is assessed internally. Combined, these assessments result in a grade marked out of 7.
Paper 1: Writing (productive skills)
30 marks available, contributing 25% of the overall grade. Students complete two writing tasks from a choice of three.
Paper 2: Listening and Reading (receptive skills)
The paper contains separate sections for listening and reading. Despite the listening section having 25 marks available whilst the reading section has 40, both parts of the paper are weighted equally. The speaking and reading portion are both weighted at 25%, with Paper 2 as a whole contributing 50% of students’ overall grade.
Individual oral assessment
30 marks available, contributing 25% of the overall grade. For the individual oral assessment, students are given a visual image that clearly relates to one (or more) of the themes of the course.
Total external / internal split
75% external, 25% internal.
WHAT WE COVER
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IB Spanish ab initio is for individuals who are brand new to Spanish, and have no pre-existing Spanish level. IB Spanish B is for candidates who have prior experience with Spanish. Spanish B can be taken at SL or HL.
The assessment outline for IB Spanish B SL and HL is identical. For the writing paper, the difference lies in the language and structures required of the students. Similarly, in the listening and reading paper, HL students will be required to comprehend more complex arguments and advanced vocabulary. In the individual oral assessment, SL candidates must respond to a visual image stimulus, whilst at HL students’ stimulus is an excerpt from one of the two literary works studied in their course.
The five themes of the IB Spanish courses are: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization, and sharing the planet. These themes are the same across both Spanish ab initio and Spanish B.
No one skill amongst reading, writing, listening, and speaking is more important than the others in IB Spanish. Each skill is equally weighted and contributes 25% to candidates’ overall grade. Accuracy across all four of these skills is required for students to receive a top-grade.
No matter your specific IB Spanish course, the individual oral assessment consists of three parts:
- Candidates must do a short presentation on the stimulus presented.
- Students partake in a follow-up discussion on the stimulus with the teacher.
- Candidates partake in a general conversation based on an additional theme of the course. For those on the Spanish B HL course, this general conversation uses one or more of the prescribed themes as a starting point, and, depending on the students discussion, may extend beyond the parameters layed out in the course.
The individual oral assessment contributes 25% to students overall Spanish grade.
A subjective question. Students who have studied Chinese throughout their MYP may feel more confident continuing to study this language into IB. For others, changing onto a latin-script language is preferable.
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FURTHER READING