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Language A at Diploma College

In the Diploma Programme, our Language A: Language & Literature courses enable fluent and near-fluent (CEFR: C2) speakers to study complex texts, refine academic communication skills and explore how language constructs meaning across contexts. These courses are academically rigorous and support students in developing both personal and critical responses to a variety of text types.

Completion of 2 language A courses leads to the award of the prestigious Bilingual Diploma.

Girl learning language in library

We currently offer the following language classes:

Arabic Chinese Croatian
Danish Dutch English
Finnish French German
Greek Hebrew Hindi
Hungarian Icelandic Italian
Japanese Korean Polish
Portuguese Russian Spanish
Swedish Turkish Ukrainian

If your language does not feature in this list, please contact us and we will find a teacher for your home language.

Curriculum focus
The curriculum is structured around three interconnected Areas of Exploration:

  1. Readers, writers and texts – developing an understanding of how texts are crafted, how they communicate with different audiences and how the purpose shapes meaning
  2. Time and space – exploring cultural, social and historical contexts that influence both the creation and interpretation of the texts 
  3. Intertextuality – comparing and connecting texts across different genres, forms and themes to uncover deeper meaning and global perspectives

Students study both literary and non-literary works, including works in translation and culturally diverse texts for different time periods. Analytical writing, oral presentations and creative tasks are integrated throughout.

Assessment and criteria

Assessment components include:

Girl sitting test at desk
  • Individual oral – An analysis of how a global issue is represented and explored in either one literary work and one non-literary body of work (for Language A: Language and Literature), or in two literary works (for Language A: Literature)
  • Paper 1 – A guided textual analysis of one or two (if in HL) unseen texts, examining their purpose, audience, and stylistic features
  • Paper 2 - A comparative essay exploring a thematic or conceptual connection between two literary works studied in the course
  • HL Essay (for HL students only) – A formal, academic essay of 1,200–1,500 words offering a focused analysis of a chosen work or body of work studied during the course.

All components are assessed using the IB rubrics, focusing on criteria such as understanding and interpretation, analysis and evaluation, organisation and development, language use and style, and engagement with the work’s context and purpose.