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Ab Initio Arabic - help!
So basically our IB exams are in may - which is relatively soonnnn - looking at the syllabus, I realized that in school we have BARELY touched anything it requires, which makes me kind of freaked out now - haha
we are starting all our orals next month and frankly, i feel like I dont know anythingg (a very scary thought)
While I do have a predict of a 5, I sincerely don't think i have enough knowledge for even a 3. - Actually our entire class has a predict of a 5 - so I feel as if our teacher is really brushing it all aside and does not really understand IB at ALL.
This is my teacher's first year teaching IB - and he frankly has no clue what the whole curriculum is about lol. Just last week, we finally got our hands on 1 mock paper. It scares me even more that I can barely understand anything it asks for.
I asked him for a markscheme to look at, or any grade boundaries/criterion for ab initio arabic, and he said that none existed?!
I'm pretty sure that isnt the case.
Basically i need help to get myself on track with arabic. I'd like to aim for a 5 or higher. I have conditional acceptances into some good universities, and my only worry is if i can pass arabic.
Is anyone else taking arabic ab initio?
What kind of things should one expect to see on an exam? and how do people study for language ab initio?
and most of all - how can i learn this stuff really really fast? lol
we are starting all our orals next month and frankly, i feel like I dont know anythingg (a very scary thought)
While I do have a predict of a 5, I sincerely don't think i have enough knowledge for even a 3. - Actually our entire class has a predict of a 5 - so I feel as if our teacher is really brushing it all aside and does not really understand IB at ALL.
This is my teacher's first year teaching IB - and he frankly has no clue what the whole curriculum is about lol. Just last week, we finally got our hands on 1 mock paper. It scares me even more that I can barely understand anything it asks for.
I asked him for a markscheme to look at, or any grade boundaries/criterion for ab initio arabic, and he said that none existed?!
I'm pretty sure that isnt the case.
Basically i need help to get myself on track with arabic. I'd like to aim for a 5 or higher. I have conditional acceptances into some good universities, and my only worry is if i can pass arabic.
Is anyone else taking arabic ab initio?
What kind of things should one expect to see on an exam? and how do people study for language ab initio?
and most of all - how can i learn this stuff really really fast? lol
I am taking arabic ab initio!
Its really easy, all the past papers are the same. We personally take things about transportation, how to right letters to a friends or an email, we talk about food.
The traditional ab initio exam is about 4 or 5 topics about certain subjects they choose. You read it, and questions follow it. They are direct questions, no need to study for anything. I dont remember the last time I studied, and i get an A+ average. My predicted is a 7 and if there was higher, i will get that too.
After doing the stories, which look like case studies, you have to write. Thats when the stuff you learned in class come in. You MUST know how to write a letter to a friend. They will ask you to write a letter to a friend telling him/her about your arabic language course, for instance, or about a trip you took, etc........
Its easy, don't panic. If you need anything, just PM me and I will be more than glad to help you!!
Its really easy, all the past papers are the same. We personally take things about transportation, how to right letters to a friends or an email, we talk about food.
The traditional ab initio exam is about 4 or 5 topics about certain subjects they choose. You read it, and questions follow it. They are direct questions, no need to study for anything. I dont remember the last time I studied, and i get an A+ average. My predicted is a 7 and if there was higher, i will get that too.
After doing the stories, which look like case studies, you have to write. Thats when the stuff you learned in class come in. You MUST know how to write a letter to a friend. They will ask you to write a letter to a friend telling him/her about your arabic language course, for instance, or about a trip you took, etc........
Its easy, don't panic. If you need anything, just PM me and I will be more than glad to help you!!
I'm doing Arabic ai. next year, but can't help you yet 
mankoosho
I am taking arabic ab initio!
Its really easy, all the past papers are the same. We personally take things about transportation, how to right letters to a friends or an email, we talk about food.
The traditional ab initio exam is about 4 or 5 topics about certain subjects they choose. You read it, and questions follow it. They are direct questions, no need to study for anything. I dont remember the last time I studied, and i get an A+ average. My predicted is a 7 and if there was higher, i will get that too.
After doing the stories, which look like case studies, you have to write. Thats when the stuff you learned in class come in. You MUST know how to write a letter to a friend. They will ask you to write a letter to a friend telling him/her about your arabic language course, for instance, or about a trip you took, etc........
Its easy, don't panic. If you need anything, just PM me and I will be more than glad to help you!!
Its really easy, all the past papers are the same. We personally take things about transportation, how to right letters to a friends or an email, we talk about food.
The traditional ab initio exam is about 4 or 5 topics about certain subjects they choose. You read it, and questions follow it. They are direct questions, no need to study for anything. I dont remember the last time I studied, and i get an A+ average. My predicted is a 7 and if there was higher, i will get that too.
After doing the stories, which look like case studies, you have to write. Thats when the stuff you learned in class come in. You MUST know how to write a letter to a friend. They will ask you to write a letter to a friend telling him/her about your arabic language course, for instance, or about a trip you took, etc........
Its easy, don't panic. If you need anything, just PM me and I will be more than glad to help you!!
Is arabic really that easy? how long have you studied it?
Well, I didnt know how to write and read arabic, but i knew how to talk arabic from as long as I can remember.
I learned how to read and write when i was 10, and ever since then, i know arabic. It is not a hard language at all.
But you must keep in mind that in ab-initio, we don't take arabic grammar..... Man, that stuff is really really really really complicated and confusing. The only reason i entered ab-initio is so i dont have to take grammar!
I learned how to read and write when i was 10, and ever since then, i know arabic. It is not a hard language at all.
But you must keep in mind that in ab-initio, we don't take arabic grammar..... Man, that stuff is really really really really complicated and confusing. The only reason i entered ab-initio is so i dont have to take grammar!
Are you actually allowed to take a language you've known "as long as [you] can remember" at ab initio? I thought the whole point was learning a new language.
talespirit
Are you actually allowed to take a language you've known "as long as [you] can remember" at ab initio? I thought the whole point was learning a new language.
Thats true, but the thing is that I know it, and have known it, but I studied it when I was 10 and then left back to the states and did not practice it ever since. Talking is easy, but reading and writing is my problem. I couldnt manage in higher than ab-initio, so i had to take it.
I really regret not practicing it. I took it when i was 10, and then forgot all about it, and then came back in 11th grade when i was around 16 and wanted to learn it again!!
I can read it but not speak, would ab-initio be okay or would you recommend SL?
mehitabel
I can read it but not speak, would ab-initio be okay or would you recommend SL?
To take SL, you have to be very good at writing. SL is all about writing stories and commentaries and compositions.
If you know how to write, taking into consideration the grammar when writing, take SL! If you can't, don't get yourself into a mess!!
mehitabel
I can read it but not speak, would ab-initio be okay or would you recommend SL?
ab-initio is okay for anyone who had never studied the language before. ab-initio IS SL - - I think you're talking about B (which can be HL or SL). I don't think you'll be able to handle B if you can't speak it.
talespirit
ab-initio is okay for anyone who had never studied the language before. ab-initio IS SL - - I think you're talking about B (which can be HL or SL). I don't think you'll be able to handle B if you can't speak it.
Yup, thats true. There is arabic ab-initio, arabic B, and arabic HL!
And i think, not sure though, that B can be considered to be HL; It can count as an HL subject!
The only way to really get your head round Arabic, is only if it's your mother tongue.
lol!!! Every subject can be taken as HL or SL except ab-initio languages (which are too easy) and further maths (which can only be taken as an additional SL if you already take maths HL). There's also language A2 and A1, and trust me A2 even at SL is MUCH MUCH harder than B HL. And A1 HL...well...that's like IB highschool/university essay writing..whereas thai A2 is like 10th grade stuff. I'm feeling guilty as it is :P (taking A2 in my mothertongue lol!)
EDIT: Believe me, aside from popular/modern languages like English/french/German/Mandarin/Japanese, the IB language courses still lack some kind of standard because moderation can only be done within that country (who else does Thai?). I take it at A2 SL (i was like 2nd or 3rd of my Thai A1 class before IB) so my friends made jokes. Everytime i read something in Thai they'd say "can A2 SL actually read, do you need help?", of course i'd get right back at them when they try to read english lol!
EDIT2: And just last week i was proof reading my friend's Thai WL paper.
EDIT: Believe me, aside from popular/modern languages like English/french/German/Mandarin/Japanese, the IB language courses still lack some kind of standard because moderation can only be done within that country (who else does Thai?). I take it at A2 SL (i was like 2nd or 3rd of my Thai A1 class before IB) so my friends made jokes. Everytime i read something in Thai they'd say "can A2 SL actually read, do you need help?", of course i'd get right back at them when they try to read english lol!
EDIT2: And just last week i was proof reading my friend's Thai WL paper.
mankoosho
I am taking arabic ab initio!
Its really easy, all the past papers are the same. We personally take things about transportation, how to right letters to a friends or an email, we talk about food.
The traditional ab initio exam is about 4 or 5 topics about certain subjects they choose. You read it, and questions follow it. They are direct questions, no need to study for anything. I dont remember the last time I studied, and i get an A+ average. My predicted is a 7 and if there was higher, i will get that too.
After doing the stories, which look like case studies, you have to write. Thats when the stuff you learned in class come in. You MUST know how to write a letter to a friend. They will ask you to write a letter to a friend telling him/her about your arabic language course, for instance, or about a trip you took, etc........
Its easy, don't panic. If you need anything, just PM me and I will be more than glad to help you!!
Its really easy, all the past papers are the same. We personally take things about transportation, how to right letters to a friends or an email, we talk about food.
The traditional ab initio exam is about 4 or 5 topics about certain subjects they choose. You read it, and questions follow it. They are direct questions, no need to study for anything. I dont remember the last time I studied, and i get an A+ average. My predicted is a 7 and if there was higher, i will get that too.
After doing the stories, which look like case studies, you have to write. Thats when the stuff you learned in class come in. You MUST know how to write a letter to a friend. They will ask you to write a letter to a friend telling him/her about your arabic language course, for instance, or about a trip you took, etc........
Its easy, don't panic. If you need anything, just PM me and I will be more than glad to help you!!
wow - you really make it sound easy - haha
but im sure your prior knowledge of arabic definately did help - unfortunately i dont have that background - and i feel like i know zerrooo - haha
What topics appear most on the exams? also what are the orals supposed to even be like? and how is it all graded?
talespirit
ab-initio is okay for anyone who had never studied the language before. ab-initio IS SL - - I think you're talking about B (which can be HL or SL). I don't think you'll be able to handle B if you can't speak it.
Oops I meant Arabic B SL
Thanks for the advice all, I think I might stick to the ab-initio
What topics appear most on the exams? also what are the orals supposed to even be like? and how is it all graded?
Like I said, your teacher should be giving you all different kinds of things to read about.
From the subjects that come on the exam, they are related to:
1) Transportation
2) Nature
3) Food
4) Traveling
5) Some kind of Arabic writer or poet or even actress: Their Bibliography
6) A Television channels daily schedule
7) A certain countries background, religion, culture, etc.....
I will attached the 2006 ab-initio past paper. Take a look at it, it is almost the traditional test that the IB bring each year....It looks very similar to this one!
P.S: I am not going to attach the mark scheme because it is wrong, there are alot of errors in the mark scheme, and i don't want you to get confused! I will attach it when i get back from school!!!
i seeeeee
thanks a lot mankoosho - that was really helpful. I look forward to seeing the paper and the markscheme!
thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu (again.)
thanks a lot mankoosho - that was really helpful. I look forward to seeing the paper and the markscheme!
thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu (again.)
mankoosho
I am taking arabic ab initio!
Its really easy, all the past papers are the same. We personally take things about transportation, how to right letters to a friends or an email, we talk about food.
The traditional ab initio exam is about 4 or 5 topics about certain subjects they choose. You read it, and questions follow it. They are direct questions, no need to study for anything. I dont remember the last time I studied, and i get an A+ average. My predicted is a 7 and if there was higher, i will get that too.
After doing the stories, which look like case studies, you have to write. Thats when the stuff you learned in class come in. You MUST know how to write a letter to a friend. They will ask you to write a letter to a friend telling him/her about your arabic language course, for instance, or about a trip you took, etc........
Its easy, don't panic. If you need anything, just PM me and I will be more than glad to help you!!
Its really easy, all the past papers are the same. We personally take things about transportation, how to right letters to a friends or an email, we talk about food.
The traditional ab initio exam is about 4 or 5 topics about certain subjects they choose. You read it, and questions follow it. They are direct questions, no need to study for anything. I dont remember the last time I studied, and i get an A+ average. My predicted is a 7 and if there was higher, i will get that too.
After doing the stories, which look like case studies, you have to write. Thats when the stuff you learned in class come in. You MUST know how to write a letter to a friend. They will ask you to write a letter to a friend telling him/her about your arabic language course, for instance, or about a trip you took, etc........
Its easy, don't panic. If you need anything, just PM me and I will be more than glad to help you!!
hi
i will be doing arabic ab next year and i have no access to any resources like the exam papers or anything? can any of you help me out and send some?
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