IB MYP Language Acquisition – Key and related concepts in language acquisition Revision Notes

For full explanations and longer worked examples, read the key and related concepts study guide first. These notes are for quick recall in the final weeks.

These revision notes cover the key and related concepts of IB MYP Language Acquisition. They are aligned to the International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Language acquisition, from 2020 (first eAssessment May 2023/November 2023), and suit MYP years 4 and 5 at any proficiency level. There is no SL/HL split in the MYP. MYP has no prescribed content list – schools design their own units – and these notes cover the concepts the IB’s brief names for language acquisition.

The notes are in English. Examples come from French, Spanish and German; each method works in any target language.

Links: course hub · printable checklist · practice questions · proficiency phases revision notes · criteria in practice revision notes

What the brief actually says

• Key concepts such as communication, connections, creativity and culture broadly frame the MYP curriculum.
• Related concepts promote deeper learning grounded in the subject. The brief’s examples for language acquisition are word choice, conventions and idiom.
• You explore key and related concepts through the six global contexts: identities and relationships; orientation in space and time; personal and cultural expression; scientific and technical innovation; globalization and sustainability; fairness and development.
• The curriculum explores factual, conceptual and debatable questions.
• Schools choose the content. Anything beyond this – for example, other related concepts from the full guide – your teacher will share.

Definitions at a glance

Term	Type	Plain meaning	One-line classroom example
Communication	Key concept	Exchanging meaning, matched to audience, purpose and mode	Same news told to a friend by text and to a head teacher by email
Connections	Key concept	Links between languages, subjects, people and places	Cognate hunt between English and your target language
Creativity	Key concept	Using known language in new combinations for a purpose	Inventing and performing a radio advert
Culture	Key concept	Shared beliefs, values, habits and products of a group	Choosing the right form of address for an older stranger
Word choice	Related concept (example)	Picking words for register, connotation and precision	Replacing “stuff” with the exact noun
Conventions	Related concept (example)	The expected rules of a text or exchange	Correct opening and closing of a formal email
Idiom	Related concept (example)	A fixed phrase whose meaning is not the sum of its words	Explaining tomar el pelo as “to tease”
Statement of inquiry	Unit planning	One general claim joining a key concept, related concept(s) and a global context	“Cultural expectations shape the conventions of polite requests.”

The statement-of-inquiry formula

key concept  +  related concept(s)  +  global context
      →  one general, transferable claim (a sentence, not a question)

Checklist – a strong statement of inquiry is:

1. a statement, not a question or an instruction;
2. general (no named app, film or textbook chapter);
3. built on a key concept you could name;
4. linked to at least one related concept;
5. pointed at one of the six global contexts;
6. still true in another language or unit.

Weak: “In this unit we will learn about holidays in Spain.” (A task description; no concept.) Strong: “Where and how people celebrate reflects the culture and history of a community.” (Culture; conventions; orientation in space and time.)

Method in steps

Choosing the right words (word choice)

1. Who is the audience? Stranger, friend, official, child?
2. What is the purpose? Inform, persuade, complain, entertain?
3. Set the register: formal or informal – including the correct form of “you”.
4. Swap vague words for precise ones (“nice” → “welcoming”, “spacious”, “tasty”).
5. Check connotation: does each word carry the feeling you want?
6. Check for false friends.

Following conventions

1. Name the text type or exchange (formal letter, blog, interview, voicemail).
2. List its expected parts (opening, body, closing; greeting, question, reply).
3. Check layout details: date format, sign-off, paragraphing.
4. Check language-specific rules: ¿ ¡ in Spanish; capital letters for all German nouns; formal sign-off formulas.
5. In speaking, follow turn-taking: answer, add a detail, ask something back.

Handling an idiom you meet

1. Notice that the literal meaning makes no sense in context.
2. Use surrounding clues to infer the real meaning.
3. Record it as: idiom → meaning → your own example sentence.
4. In translation, match the meaning, not the words.

Using an idiom in your own work

1. Use only idioms you have checked with a teacher or a reliable dictionary.
2. Fit the register: many idioms are informal.
3. One well-placed idiom beats three forced ones.

Idioms worth knowing (checked meanings)

Idiom	Literal	Meaning
French tomber dans les pommes	to fall into the apples	to faint
French poser un lapin à quelqu’un	to put a rabbit on someone	to stand someone up
Spanish tomar el pelo	to take the hair	to tease, to pull someone’s leg
Spanish costar un ojo de la cara	to cost an eye of the face	to be very expensive
German Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof	I only understand “station”	I don’t understand a thing

False friends worth knowing

Word	Looks like	Actually means
French actuellement	actually	currently
French librairie	library	bookshop
Spanish embarazada	embarrassed	pregnant
Spanish éxito	exit	success
German Gift	gift	poison
German bekommen	become	to get, to receive

Must-know distinctions

• Key concept vs related concept. Key concepts (communication, connections, creativity, culture) are broad and frame the whole MYP. Related concepts (word choice, conventions, idiom) are specific to language acquisition.
• Concept vs topic. “Sport” is a topic; “communication” is a concept that works across topics.
• Statement of inquiry vs inquiry question. A statement is a claim; an inquiry question is factual, conceptual or debatable.
• Factual vs conceptual vs debatable. Factual has one checkable answer. Conceptual asks how or why, and transfers. Debatable has reasonable answers on more than one side.
• Word choice vs conventions. Word choice is about individual words. Conventions are about the rules of the whole text or exchange.
• Idiom vs slang. An idiom is a fixed phrase with a non-literal meaning. Slang is informal vocabulary, often new or group-specific. Some idioms are formal enough for any text; most slang is not.
• Culture as facts vs culture as perspective. “Siesta exists” is a fact. “Why daily timetables differ between communities” is a perspective.

Quick self-test

1. Name the four key concepts the brief lists for language acquisition.
2. Name the three related-concept examples the brief gives.
3. How many global contexts are there, and which one fits a unit on festivals and art?
4. Classify: “Should schools ban mobile phones?” – factual, conceptual or debatable?
5. What is wrong with “What makes a good holiday postcard?” as a statement of inquiry?
6. Give the meaning of German Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.
7. Which related concept is broken when a formal job application ends “See ya!”? Give the best answer and one other.
8. What does Spanish éxito mean, and why is it a trap?
9. Which key concept is most at work when you choose usted rather than tú for an older stranger?
10. Rewrite “The food was nice” with more precise word choice, for a restaurant review.

Answers

1. Communication, connections, creativity, culture.
2. Word choice, conventions, idiom.
3. Six. Personal and cultural expression.
4. Debatable – reasonable people answer both ways.
5. It is a question, not a statement, and it names a specific text type instead of a transferable idea. Example fix: “Writers adapt conventions to suit the space and the reader they have.”
6. “I don’t understand a thing” (literally, “I only understand ‘station’”).
7. Conventions (a formal letter needs a formal close). Word choice is also broken (the register is wrong).
8. “Success”. It looks like English “exit” (which is salida), so learners misread it.
9. Culture – the form of address reflects expected respect. Communication and word choice are also involved.
10. Any precise version, for example: “The paella was fresh, full of flavour and generously served.”

Where marks are usually lost

• Listing the key concepts but not explaining how one shapes a specific task. Naming is recall; applying is understanding.
• Writing a statement of inquiry that is a question, a task instruction or tied to one textbook page.
• Choosing a related concept that does not fit the unit (for example, “idiom” for a unit that never uses fixed expressions).
• Translating idioms word for word, which produces nonsense in the target language.
• Using an informal idiom or slang in a formal written task, breaking register.
• Getting the form of address wrong partway through a role-play (switching from formal to informal “you”).
• Missing language-specific conventions: Spanish opening ¿ ¡, German noun capitals, formal sign-off formulas.
• Treating culture as a list of facts, with no comparison of perspectives between your own community and another.
• Vague word choice (“nice”, “good”, “thing”) at a level where precise vocabulary is expected.

For how these ideas feed into the four assessment criteria, see the assessment revision notes and the syllabus guide.

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Language acquisition, from 2020 (first eAssessment May 2023/November 2023).