What 'language & identity' covers: Language & identity is part of the theme Identities. You need vocabulary to talk about mother tongues, being bilingual, minority and indigenous languages, dialects, and why learning and keeping a language matters — and to give your opinion about them.
The words below are common English B vocabulary. Treat the list as a glossary: learn each term with its meaning, then reuse them in the reading and writing sections.
- language / tongue
- a system of words a community uses to communicate
- mother tongue / native language
- the first language you grew up speaking
- bilingual / multilingual
- able to speak two / several languages
- speaker
- a person who speaks a particular language
- minority language
- a language spoken by a small group within a country
- indigenous language
- a native language of a region's original people
- dialect
- a regional or social variety of a language
- a sense of belonging
- the feeling of being part of a group or place
- to preserve / protect a language
- to keep a language alive and in use
- to be at risk of dying out
- to be in danger of disappearing completely
- to pass on (from generation to generation)
- to hand something down from parents to children
- to take pride in / be proud of
- to feel pleased and satisfied about something of your own
- fluent — fluency
- able to speak smoothly and easily — the quality of doing so
| Useful expression | What it means |
|---|---|
| My mother tongue is English. | The first language I grew up speaking is English. |
| I speak three languages fluently. | I can use three languages smoothly and easily. |
| A language is part of our identity. | The language we speak helps make us who we are. |
| Many indigenous languages are dying out. | A lot of native languages are slowly disappearing. |
| Learning languages opens your mind. | Studying languages broadens how you see the world. |
Why this matters: This vocabulary turns up in every skill — a reading text on indigenous languages, a listening interview about being bilingual, a Paper 1 blog, or your oral. Reusing precise topic words is how you score Criterion A (Language).
Have something to say: Examiners reward developed ideas, not just vocabulary. Around language & identity, the common debates are: why learn a foreign language, the loss of minority and indigenous languages, and the link between the language you speak and who you are. Take a position and back it up.
Opinion phrases (use these to introduce a view)
- In my opinion… / From my point of view… — to introduce what you think
- It seems to me that… / I believe that… — a slightly softer way to give a view
- The most important thing is… — to highlight your main point
- On the one hand… on the other hand… — to weigh up two sides
- I (completely) agree that… / I'm not convinced that… — to react to an idea
Risks to languages (drawbacks)
- Many minority languages are disappearing.
- Sometimes young people stop speaking their grandparents' language.
- When a language is lost, culture and history are lost too.
Benefits of learning languages
- Speaking several languages sharpens the mind and memory.
- It opens doors to new jobs and cultures.
- It helps us understand other people better.
Link your ideas: Connectors lift your answer from a list into an argument: moreover (to add), however (to contrast), therefore (to conclude), although (to concede). Use at least two or three in any written answer.
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Read like Paper 2: Here is a short blog post — the kind of text Paper 2 (Reading) gives you. Read it once just for the general idea; don't worry about every word. Then we'll work through one exam question together.
My grandmother's dialect: My grandmother grew up in a small fishing village where almost everyone spoke the local dialect. When she moved to the city as a teenager, people kept telling her that her way of speaking sounded "old-fashioned", so little by little she stopped using it.
For years she spoke only the standard language, and she never passed the dialect on to me. Recently, though, she began teaching me a few of its words and sayings, and something clicked: a language isn't only a tool for getting your message across — it carries a whole way of seeing the world. Now we practise together every Sunday. I don't want her dialect to disappear, because when a language dies, a small piece of who we are dies with it.
- old-fashioned
- from an earlier time; no longer in style
- little by little
- gradually, in small steps
- saying
- a well-known short phrase that expresses a common idea
- to get your message across
- to make people understand what you mean
- to die out
- to disappear completely over time
IB-style task — one Paper 2 question
One question, step by step
- The question — "According to the text, what did the writer realise when their grandmother began teaching them the dialect?"
- Find it in the text. Look for the word "clicked": "something clicked: a language isn't only a tool for getting your message across — it carries a whole way of seeing the world."
- The answer — They realised that a language is not only a tool for communication but carries a whole way of seeing the world. The words are right there in the text, so no outside knowledge is needed.
Reading technique: For an "according to the text" question, find the exact line that proves your answer — don't rely on memory or general knowledge.
The task: Your school is marking International Mother Language Day. Write a blog post for other students: talk about your own language or languages and give advice for valuing and learning languages.
Use an informal, friendly register. Write 250–400 words.
Blog structure — 5 steps
1
Catchy title
A title, often a question. "How many languages live inside you?"
2
Greeting + topic
Greet the reader and say what the post is about. "Hi everyone! Today I want to talk about…"
3
Your experience
Describe how you used to feel about your language in the past. "For a long time I felt embarrassed about it…"
4
Two or three tips
Give advice using imperatives. "Never be ashamed of your mother tongue", "learn a new language", "listen to your elders".
5
Motivating close
Finish with an encouraging line. "Use yours with pride — you'll feel more like yourself."
Title → Greeting → Experience → Tips → Close
Model: the 5 steps in action
The blog post, step by step
- How many languages live inside you?
- Hi everyone! I'm Sam, and today I want to talk about something I care about a lot: the link between the languages we speak and who we are.
- I grew up speaking English at school, but at home my family used a regional dialect. For a long time I felt embarrassed about it — I thought it made me sound less educated.
- So here are three tips. First, never be ashamed of your mother tongue or dialect. Second, try learning a new language to open your mind. And third, listen to the stories of your elders, because their words carry your history.
- The most important thing, though, is to remember that every language is a different window on the world. Start using yours with pride this week, and you'll feel a little more like yourself.
Why it scores: This answer hits all three Paper 1 criteria — here's what earns each one:
A — Language /12
- Range of tenses: past "I grew up", "I felt", imperatives "never be ashamed", "listen"
- Connectors: "so", "though", "first/second/third"
- Topic vocabulary, used accurately
B — Message /12
- Task fully done: talks about own language(s) AND gives advice
- Ideas developed with concrete examples
C — Conceptual /6
- Blog conventions: a catchy title
- Direct address: "Hi everyone", "you'll feel more like yourself"
- A persuasive, personal tone
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How listening is tested: Paper 2 also tests listening: you hear short clips, each played twice, and you never see the words. Read the questions first, listen for the key idea, then answer.
Here we'll use a transcript so you can practise the technique on the page. Read the questions, then find the answer in the speaker's words.
Transcript — Noa's languages: Hi, I'm Noa. At home I speak my family's regional language, and at school and with my friends I speak English, so I've been bilingual since I was little. Last year I started learning Spanish because I want to study abroad. For me, each language is part of who I am: my home language is my roots, and English is my future. I really believe that learning languages opens your mind and helps us understand other people.
IB-style task — two listening questions
Two questions, step by step
- Q1 — Why did Noa start learning Spanish? Listen just after "I started learning Spanish because…": "…because I want to study abroad." That is your answer.
- Q2 — What does Noa believe learning languages does? She says it at the end: "learning languages opens your mind and helps us understand other people." Answer: it opens your mind and helps you understand others.
Listening technique: Read the questions before the clip plays. Each question usually points to one short part of the recording — listen for the words around it, not the whole thing.