IB English B: the five themes, exam papers and the Individual Oral
A guide to IB English B (language acquisition): the five prescribed themes, HL vs SL, Paper 1 writing, Paper 2 listening and reading, and the Individual Oral assessment.
IB English B is a group 2 (language acquisition) course for students learning English as a foreign language. Unlike English A (for near-native speakers), English B builds the four core skills — reading, writing, listening and speaking — around five prescribed themes. Success in the Diploma Programme comes from communicating clearly and appropriately for each task and audience. For one-to-one support see IB English B tutoring.
The five prescribed themes
The whole course is organised around five themes that frame every text and task: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organisation and sharing the planet. Vocabulary, text types and discussion topics are all built within these themes, so knowing them well helps in every component.
HL vs SL
HL and SL share the themes and skills, but HL works with more demanding texts and, crucially, includes the study of two literary works, which feed the HL Individual Oral. HL writing is also expected to show greater range and accuracy. SL keeps the same structure without the literary works.
The exam papers
- Paper 1 — productive writing: one written task (SL) or a choice of tasks (HL) in a specified text type (article, blog, letter, speech, proposal...), responding to a theme. Matching register and conventions to the text type is where marks are won.
- Paper 2 — receptive skills: a listening section and a reading section testing comprehension of authentic texts.
The Individual Oral
The Individual Oral (internally assessed) is worth a significant share of the grade. At SL it is based on a visual stimulus (an image) linked to one of the themes: the student describes, interprets and then discusses it. At HL it is based on an extract from one of the two literary works studied, followed by a discussion. Preparation — choosing what to say about the stimulus, structuring the response and handling follow-up questions — is decisive.
How to score well
- Master text-type conventions: an article, a blog and a formal letter each have a distinct register and layout; Paper 1 marks reward getting these right.
- Build themed vocabulary: strong, topic-specific vocabulary within the five themes lifts every component.
- Practise the oral out loud: fluency and the ability to develop ideas under questioning improve only with spoken rehearsal.
- Train listening with authentic audio: Paper 2 listening rewards exposure to varied accents and natural speed.