Being a self-taught student offers a unique opportunity to study the literature of a language that may not be offered at your school as a taught subject. A certain level of autonomy is expected, for example you will be asked to develop a list of literary works and a timeline. You will also be expected to autonomously engage in the 150 hours required for the study of the course.
The information included in this section is intended for SSST students who are taking this standard level (SL) course over a period of two years.
Language A: literature SSST is similar to the taught course, which is built on the notion of conceptual learning. This means that the course is organized around concepts, or big ideas, which makes it easier to form connections between subjects and between parts of a course. Concepts are important as they are applicable and transferable to real-life situations. In this course, the central concepts are culture, communication, transformation, perspective, creativity, representation and identity. When reading and studying a literary work, you should explore how it relates to these concepts.
This will help to:
see how the literary works are relevant to your world and your experiences
make connections between works studied in the course
make connections with theory of knowledge (TOK), the approaches to learning and international-mindedness
make connections with other subjects you are studying
become a flexible and critical reader.
→engage with a range of texts in a variety of forms from different periods, styles, and cultures
→develop skills in speaking, reading, writing
→develop skills in interpretation, analysis, and evaluation
→develop sensitivity to the formal and aesthetic qualities of texts and an appreciation of how they contribute to diverse responses and open up multiple meanings
→develop an understanding of relationships between texts and a variety of perspectives, cultural contexts, and local and global issues
→develop an understanding of the relationships between studies in literature and other disciplines
→communicate and collaborate in a confident, critical, and creative way
→foster a lifelong interest in and enjoyment of literature.
