Glossary

from the beginning (Latin) This is an IBO language taught "from the beginning" over two years, to prepare for a standard-level ab initio exam. Language **ab initio** is intended for students who have no previous background in the language.
 * ab initio**

Additive bilingualism occurs when students acquire a second language with neither detriment to development in their first language, nor to esteem for their own culture, whether academic, cognitive, linguistic or social. This can lead to students being highly proficient in both languages, with all the benefits that accompany bilingualism, for example, a higher rate of academic success compared to monolingual students. (from Wallace Lambert, 1975, in Thomas and Collier, 1997)
 * Additive bilingualism**

Authentic assessment is the use of learning activities to assess student competency in designated skills. It assesses what a learner understands and can do.
 * Authentic assessment**

A bilingual person can demonstrate competence in two languages.
 * Bilingual**

Cummins (1981) uses this term to refer to the kind of L2 proificiency that learners require in order to engage effectively in face-to-face interactions. BICS involve the mastery of context-embedded uses of language in communicative tasks that are selectively undemanding.
 * Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)**

computer assisted language learning
 * CALL**

Cummins (1981) uses this term to refer to the kind of L2 proificiency that learners require in order to engage effectively in academic study. In particular, CALP involves the ability to communicate messages that are precise and explicit in tasks that are context-reduced and cognitively demanding.
 * Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)**

The adaptation of teaching strategies and content to allowsecond-language students at various levels of competence in the language of instruction to participate in the mainstream academic programme.
 * Differentiation**

English for Academic Purposes
 * EAP**

English as a second language
 * ESL**

The host country language is the language spoken in the community in which the school is located.
 * Host country language**

International Baccalaureate Organization
 * IBO**

First language (native language, mother tongue, or vernacular) is the language a person learns first. Correspondingly, the person is called a native speaker of the language. Usually a child learns the basics of their first language from their family.
 * Mother tongue**

Language Assessment Scales produced by CTB/McGraw Hill to assess listening, speaking, reading, and writing. A measurement used to assess English language proficiency.
 * LAS links**

The language of instruction is the language in which the curriculum is delivered in the school.
 * Language of instruction**

For the purposes of the MYP, “mother tongue” (also known as first language, home language, preferred language, native language, heritage language, and best language), describes the language that students use at home, and/or outside the classroom environment. The complexities of some students’ language profiles do not always allow for clarity in this area. Many second-language students are using more than two languages outside the classroom arena. Schools need to engage with parents and students to decide in which of the student’s mother tongues literacy should be maintained and developed.
 * Mainstream**

Scaffolding of learning is the supply of practical supports and strategies, such as patterns, grids and outlines, to help secondlanguage students participate in the learning of the mainstream classroom.
 * Scaffolding of learning**

“Second language” is standard linguistic terminology used to describe a language learnt subsequently to a first language, and implies that a student also has access to the language for communicative purposes outside the context of the languageclassroom (for example, in other subject classrooms, outside the school or learning environment, in the community). (Spolsky, 1999) For the purposes of the MYP, “second language” is also the term used for the language of instruction when this language is not a student’s mother tongue.
 * Second language**

Subtractive bilingualism occurs when the development of the second language is detrimental to the development and maintenance of the first language. Through this, students may also come to have lower esteem for the culture of their first language. This can happen in many situations, for example, when the first language is regarded as unnecessary for learning, has a lower status in the community, or is simply not supported. Students experiencing subtractive bilingualism tend to achieve much less success than their peers, as their academic, cognitive, and social progress is restricted during the period of learning the second language. This in turn can also have a long-term effect on students’ motivation and self-esteem. (from Wallace Lambert, 1975, in Thomas and Collier, 1997)
 * Subtractive bilingualism**

English is the language of instruction at IST. All languages other than English are referred to as world languages.
 * World languages**

Sources //MYP Second-language Acquisition and Mother-Tongue Development: A Guide for Schools//. Geneve: International Baccalaureate Organization, 2004. Ellis, Rod. //Study of Second Language//. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997.