IB MYP Language Acquisition – Global Contexts and Topic Vocabulary Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – the IB holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or the IB store.

This practice set is for IB MYP Language Acquisition and follows the International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Language acquisition, from 2020 (first eAssessment May 2023/November 2023). It covers the six global contexts named in the brief and the topic vocabulary you build around them. It suits MYP years 4 and 5, including eAssessment candidates; there is no SL/HL split, and courses are assessed at emergent, capable or proficient level. MYP has no prescribed content list – schools design their own units – so your teacher will share the task-specific clarifications.

Each question is labelled with the criterion it trains. Real MYP work is judged against criterion level descriptors (1–8, in four bands), so the [1] points here are a revision aid, not IB marks. Questions are in English: redo each task in your target language. All sources and data are fictional.

Revise with the study guide and the revision notes. Course hub: /boards/ib/ib-myp/myp-language-acquisition/. Checklist: /checklists/ib/ib-myp/myp-language-acquisition/.

Questions

1. (Course knowledge) Name the six global contexts listed in the MYP Language acquisition brief. [3]

2. (Criterion C) Your speaking topic is transport.

(a) Give one idea about transport at each scale: personal, local and global. [3] (b) Explain why moving between these scales helps in a speaking task. [1]

3. (Course knowledge) Assign each topic to the global context it fits best: (i) learning to code at school; (ii) a town music festival; (iii) growing up with your grandparents; (iv) how a port town has changed; (v) plastic packaging in supermarkets; (vi) equal access to sport for girls and boys. [3]

4. (Criterion A) You will hear a short recording about a community garden.

(a) Before listening, predict four words or phrases you expect to hear. [2]

Now read the transcript.

Source A – original text written for Marlbridge When the old car park closed, a few neighbours decided to grow food there instead. Nobody in our street had a garden, and fresh vegetables in the shops were expensive. Now twenty families share the plots. Anything we can’t eat goes to the school kitchen next door.

(b) Why did the neighbours start the garden? Give two reasons. [2] (c) What happens to vegetables the families do not need? [1] (d) Quote the words in the recording that match “vegetables the families do not need”. [1]

5. (Criterion B) Read Source B.

Source B – original text written for Marlbridge Every Saturday, the library hosts a repair café. Volunteers mend broken lamps, torn jackets and wobbly chairs for free. Visitors learn to fix things themselves, so fewer items end up in the bin. The organisers believe that reusing objects is more sustainable than replacing them.

(a) Find a word in the text from the same word family as: (i) “sustain”; (ii) “use”. [2] (b) Find a phrase that means “are thrown away”. [1] (c) “Wobbly” may be new to you. Explain how the text helps you work out its meaning. [2]

6. (Criterion C) Plan a one-minute answer to the question “Has technology made learning easier?” Use notes and show which word-bank layer each note comes from. [4]

7. (Word-bank audit, Criteria A–D) A student has a 48-item bank on healthy routines. In one week she recognises 44 items when reading, recalls 30 from English prompts in writing, and uses 26 correctly in a recorded speaking practice.

(a) Calculate each result as a percentage of the bank, to 3 significant figures. [2] (b) Explain the gap between her reading and speaking results. [2] (c) Suggest one change to her revision. [1]

8. (Course knowledge) Answer from the brief.

(a) State the total marks across the three on-screen examination tasks. [1] (b) State which criterion is assessed outside the on-screen examination, and how. [2] (c) Explain why you should build banks across all six contexts rather than guess the exam topic. [1]

9. (Extended, Criterion D preparation) Build a five-layer word bank for the topic “volunteering” under fairness and development, with a scale row. Show how two items can be re-angled for a second context, and explain why this saves revision time. [8]

10. (Extended, Criteria A–D) Read Source C.

Source C – original text written for Marlbridge Last year my family moved to a new city, and at first I felt completely lost. Everything was louder than in my village. Little by little, I got used to the noise. I joined a football club, which helped me make friends quickly. Now I find my way around by bus without checking the map. I still miss the peace and quiet of the countryside, but on the whole I feel at home here.

(a) Identify four chunks from Source C worth adding to a bank on moving house (orientation in space and time). [2] (b) Turn two of your chunks into questions you could ask a partner in a speaking task. [2] (c) Write an informal message of 60–80 words to a friend about a move, using at least three chunks from Source C. [4] (d) Explain how you would use these chunks to prepare for a listening task on the same topic. [2]

Answers

1. Any two of: identities and relationships; orientation in space and time [1]. Any four: add personal and cultural expression; scientific and technical innovation [1]. All six: add globalization and sustainability; fairness and development [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Writing a topic (“environment”) instead of a context name earns nothing here – learn the six names exactly.

2. (a) Personal: “I cycle to school, so I arrive awake” [1]. Local: “our town has a new bus lane” [1]. Global: “many cities are trying to cut traffic pollution” [1]. (b) It extends the answer and matches the Criterion C wording on personal, local and global topics, showing range [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Three ideas that are all personal count once in this set; each point must genuinely sit at a different scale.

3. (i) scientific and technical innovation; (ii) personal and cultural expression [1]. (iii) identities and relationships; (iv) orientation in space and time [1]. (v) globalization and sustainability; (vi) fairness and development [1]. Accept another context if a sound reason is given. [3] Examiner insight: Topics often fit several contexts, so a one-line reason protects your point when your choice differs from the model.

4. (a) Any four sensible predictions, for example: vegetables, plant, grow, neighbours, share, fresh [1] for two, [1] for four. (b) Nobody in the street had a garden [1]; vegetables in the shops were expensive [1]. (c) They go to the school kitchen next door [1]. (d) “Anything we can’t eat” [1]. [6] Examiner insight: “The car park closed” says when, not why – the answer must match the question word.

5. (a) (i) “sustainable” [1]; (ii) “reusing” [1]. (b) “end up in the bin” [1]. (c) Volunteers mend these chairs, so it is a fault [1]; beside “broken” and “torn”, it means unsteady [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Name the clue in the text; a correct guess with no evidence earns only the meaning point here.

6. Model plan:

• Opinion layer: “on the whole, yes, but…” [1]
• Personal, verbs and chunks layers: “look up words instantly”; “revise with online quizzes” [1]
• Local, nouns layer: “our school’s laptops, homework platform, fewer printed worksheets” [1]
• Global, linking layer: “however, not everyone has fast internet at home” [1] [4] Examiner insight: An opinion without a reason or contrast is thin; the balancing “however” point lifts this plan.

7. (a) 44/48 = 91.7%, 30/48 = 62.5% [1]; 26/48 = 54.2% [1]. (b) Reading tests receptive vocabulary: she only has to recognise words [1]. Speaking tests productive vocabulary: instant recall with correct form and pronunciation is harder, so 18 items (37.5 percentage points) drop out [1]. (c) Test from English to target language and review missed items on a spaced schedule [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Give 3 significant figures as asked (91.7%, not 92%) and name the receptive/productive difference.

8. (a) 3 × 24 = 72 marks [1]. (b) Criterion C (speaking) [1]; an internally assessed speaking examination, marked by your teacher and moderated by the IB [1]. (c) The brief says the on-screen tasks may include any topic from the language acquisition list, so you cannot rely on one topic [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Answer from what the brief actually prints; details it does not state (such as which topic will appear) earn nothing.

9. Model bank (English; build it in your target language):

• Core nouns: volunteer, charity, food bank, care home, donation [1]
• Verbs: help older people, raise money, collect donations, give up your time [1]
• Describing words: rewarding, unpaid, tiring, worthwhile [1]
• Opinion and linking: I am convinced that; although; as a result [1]
• Chunks: make a difference, take part in, a good cause [1]
• Scale row: personal (I help at a food bank on Saturdays), local (our school collects coats every winter), global (volunteers help after natural disasters) [1]
• Re-angle: “raise money” and “make a difference” fit globalization and sustainability too (“raise money for a river clean-up”) [1]
• Why: the same verbs and chunks serve several contexts, so one bank grows instead of six starting from scratch [1] [8] Examiner insight: A layer counts only if it holds usable items of the right type; a verbs row of nouns, or verbs with no object, earns nothing.

10. (a) Any four of: felt completely lost; little by little; got used to; make friends; find my way around; peace and quiet; on the whole; feel at home [1] for two, [1] for four. (b) “Did you feel lost when you first moved?” [1]; “How did you make friends in your new school?” [1] (c) Model (70 words): “Hi Sam! Guess what – we’ve moved house again! The first week I felt completely lost, but little by little I’m getting used to it. There’s a skate park near our flat, so I’ve already made friends with two boys from my street. Honestly, I miss the peace and quiet of our old place, but on the whole I think I’ll feel at home soon. Come and visit in the holidays!” Three chunks used accurately [1]; informal register throughout [1]; personal and local detail (flat, street) [1]; balanced opinion (“I miss… but on the whole”) [1]. (d) Predict the chunks and synonyms before listening, for example “got used to” = “settled in” [1]; listen for ideas, not exact words, because recordings paraphrase [1]. [10] Examiner insight: In (c), keep to 60–80 words and one register; copied source sentences show little of your own language.

Where marks are usually lost

• Writing a topic (“pollution”) when a question asks for a global context, or the other way round.
• Listening answers near the right words that do not answer the question word (why, when, what).
• Missing a paraphrase because only one way of saying an idea was learned.
• Speaking plans that stay at personal level and never reach local or global.
• Opinion phrases left without a reason, contrast or example.
• Percentages rounded to 2 significant figures when 3 were asked for.
• Copying source sentences in writing instead of adapting chunks to your own message.

Next steps

• Global contexts revision notes
• Global contexts study guide
• Criteria in practice questions
• Course hub
• Printable checklist
• All free 10-minute diagnostics
• Book a free trial class

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Language acquisition, from 2020 (first eAssessment May 2023/November 2023). Published by the International Baccalaureate Organization. Complete subject guides are available to schools through the IB’s Programme Resource Centre.