While the international Baccalaureate Diploma Programme has a reputation as a curriculum that favors a global world view and encourages critical thinking - a perfect gateway into university style study that values independence and free thought- the importance of the Middle Years Programme is often overlooked.
Its purpose is to help students smoothly transition into the IBDP, equipping them with the skills to be able to take on the grueling requirements of the exams, at times both the MYP falls short.
The article aims to clarify what the MYP English Programme consists of, comparing it to the widely recognized IGCSE English curriculum to establish an understanding of which one acts as a better precursor to the IBDP.
Overview
The MYP English curriculum differs significantly from the IGCSE English curriculum in several key areas, particularly in regard to content coverage, assessment methods and the marking mindset.
Knowledge coverage
One of the most notable differences is the scope of the knowledge covered.
In the MYP, both English Language and English Literature are taught under the general title of English.
Students engage in English Language specific tasks such as reading passages and answering basic comprehension questions, as well as undertaking creative writing tasks. They also take on analysis tasks, looking closely at a writer's language choice, identifying techniques and contemplating their effects on the meaning and the exploration of themes.
In the IGCSE, however, English Language and English Literature are seen as two separate subjects, hence, in cases where students opt to do both, there are more hours dedicated to English as a whole in week which means that students are given more time to develop and hone their writing and analysis skills.
The fact that the MYP merges English Language and Literature under the name of English indicates that teachers may sometimes provide students with assessments and exercises that are not always relevant to the two Language A IBDP English exams: English Language & Literature and English Literature.
For instance, their focus on creative and transactional writing tasks in the MYP has no relevance to both Language A IBDP English exams as there are no creative components which indicates that valuable time is sometimes taken away from the more important task of developing analysis skills.
However, the fact that the IGCSE has a whole course on English or World Literature studies suggests a more intense practice on analysis and writing.
External exams
Another significant distinction lies in the examination structure. The IGCSE culminates in a clear end goal- external examinations that evaluate students' knowledge comprehensively.
In contrast, the MYP does not typically include external exams. While there is an optional on-screen eAssessment in the final year of their MYP studies, participation is limited among Hong Kong Schools.
Even if schools opt to participate, the MYP exam does not require long essay type answers, but favors short answer questions which means that students do not need to engage in deep critical thinking when doing the exam. Schools that participate in the eAssessment generally do not spend a prolonged period training students to do well in the exam which means that they specifically struggle with timing as they are not ready to think quickly on the spot and ultimately do not perform well most of the time.
A lack of examinations means that students may not experience formal testing, which some parents see as an advantage in managing stress, while others prefer the training that comes with exams.
Marking mindset
The final difference is the rigorousness of the marking mindset. Because the MYP does not have formal examinations, school teachers usually only expose students to basic analysis skills, along with basic writing skills, teaching the required PEAL paragraph writing style in a systematic, mechanic way.
This means that student essays are not up to IBDP standards as they lack evaluative segments with smooth transitions between ideas that are detrimental to Criterion A (Knowledge and Understanding) that requires deep insight of both the surface level meaning and the more subtle meanings of a text, along with Criterion C (Focus and Organization) which requires transitions between quotes within a paragraph that refers back to the topic sentence.
So when students transition from the MYP to the IBDP they may have difficulty adapting to the quality expected from IB examiners. This results in a drastic drop in their grades during the transition. Those be receiving a Level 8 may find their grades dropping to a Level 5 once they start their IBDP studies.
For the IGCSE, because there exists a formal exam, teachers mark more harshly to prepare students for exam demands and ensure that they push themselves to reach their maximum potential.
A lack of formal examination is why the MYP falls short when preparing students for the IBDP, while the IGCSE gets them ready for an exam mindset.
