Inside IB: Speaking with Confidence in English Language Acquisition
How do students learn to communicate ideas clearly and confidently in a second language?
In Grade 8 Phase 4 English Language Acquisition, Ms. McAdams designed a lesson that placed speaking skills at the centre of learning. Using a Fishbowl discussion format, students demonstrated the interactive communicative abilities required by MYP Criterion C: Speaking at the proficient level.
The Lesson in Action
The discussion focused on the unit question: Are we products of our environment? Students explored this theme through four literary texts—“What’s in a Name?”, “All Summer in a Day”, “American History”, and selected immigrant narratives.
In the Fishbowl, an inner circle of speakers engaged in real-time dialogue while an outer circle observed and prepared follow-up questions. Students were expected to:
- Make and defend inferences about identity and relationships.
- Cite textual evidence with page or paragraph references.
- Use academic vocabulary such as identity, inference, cultural conflict, resilience, and adaptation.
- Respond respectfully to peers and build on others’ ideas.
This structure allowed students to practise spontaneous interaction, a key component of Criterion C, while modelling the collaborative exchange of ideas that defines IB learning.
Criterion C in Focus
At the proficient level, students should be able to:
- Use a wide range of vocabulary related to the unit theme (family, environment, experiences).
- Apply a wide range of grammatical structures with general accuracy.
- Speak with clear pronunciation and intonation so ideas are comprehensible.
- Communicate all or almost all required information clearly and effectively during interaction.
In this lesson, these descriptors were visible in practice. Students pronounced key terms such as experience, inference, and conflict with appropriate stress and intonation. They structured responses using sentence starters like:
“In [text], the author shows… which suggests that…”
and
“I disagree with [name] because… My evidence is…”
During Q&A, students justified claims, synthesized ideas across texts, and employed nonverbal techniques—eye contact and gestures—to reinforce meaning.
ATL Skills and Learner Profile Attributes
This activity foregrounded two essential Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills:
- Communication: Students expressed and defended ideas orally, using academic language and clear delivery.
- Thinking: They made reasoned inferences, evaluated perspectives, and connected evidence to themes.
It also reflected the IB learner profile in action: students were communicators, thinkers, risk-takers (sharing original interpretations publicly), and balanced (managing tone and interaction respectfully).
Teacher’s Perspective
Ms. McAdams emphasized that speaking is not just about fluency—it’s about precision and interaction:
“The Fishbowl discussion gives students a chance to demonstrate real communicative competence. They’re not reciting memorized answers—they’re responding, questioning, and building meaning together. This is what Criterion C looks like in action.”
Why It Matters
In an IB classroom, language learning is holistic. Students develop not only linguistic accuracy but also the confidence to engage in academic dialogue—a skill that prepares them for success in global contexts where collaboration and clarity matter.
