Importance of English?

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Friends, I am doing AP (6 subjects, no english0 and IB certificate (5 subjects, no english).</p>

<p>I wish to study in USA or Canada.</p>

<p>A friend of mine in college advises me to take IB english as he believes it is vital fr me, as an international student, to prove my level of English through taking this challenging course.</p>

<p>But, isn't TOEFL proof enough of my level of English? Isn't doing well on the SAT proof enough? Isn't doing well on the AP exams proof enough of your fluency of English, as you can't do well without it? </p>

<p>Taking English A1 is going to be too challenging for me.</p>

<p>Help me through your experience, knowledge, etc.</p>

<p>Thanks, I appreciate it. </p>

<p>Cheers :)</p>

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<p>Are you a native speaker of English or living in an English-speaking environment right now? If not, I would highly encourage you to take an English class just to keep practicing and using your English.</p>

<p>Why do you think IB English would be too challenging for you? You will most likely have to take a literature class in college (even if you study engineering) and if you don't go to a pure tech college, the English classes won't be much easier than IB English...</p>

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<p>just took IB English A2 HL is you think A1 is too much. trust me it is not that hard, the IB exam on languege is just a comparative commetary and a standard 5-paragraph essay. even you dont do IB English you have to learn those anyways... also if you took IB English as your 6th subject then you can have the full diploma which is a big plus.</p>

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<p>"But, isn't TOEFL proof enough of my level of English? Isn't doing well on the SAT proof enough? Isn't doing well on the AP exams proof enough of your fluency of English, as you can't do well without it?"</p>

<p>A good TOEFL score is enough. Colleges and universities use this exam SPECIFICALLY to see if your command of English is good enough to survive in their classes.</p>

<p>Your SAT scores, and your AP exams also demonstrate your command of academic English. This is also a good thing.</p>

<p>You do not need AP English or IB English A1. These are essentially what you would have to take at a US college or university if you were going to major in English literature. They do not truly replace a first year English composition class - that one will be geared for academic writing, and may even be specifically designed for different major fields. In other words, you may be able to choose one where you are reading and writing on biology topics if you are a biologist.</p>

<p>Heck, the vast majority of US students don't take AP English!</p>

<p>Trust your instincts on this one, and concentrate on getting decent grades in the classes that you are taking this year.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

5

<p>THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS!!!</p>

<p>b@R!um, yes, English is technically my first language (my best language), and I live in an english speaking environment. I have no problems in conversing, reading, writing, etc. I have got an A in IGCSE English. The thing is that I'm doing AP + IB certificate...I need to cut down on work, and IB english seems perfect for the cutting, and anyway, if i drop ib english, I still have to take English classes for a compulsory course in my school that is affiliated with CBSE. This isn't as intensive as the ib english course, but also requires analysis, etc, somewhat similar to IB english classes.S o, i do get the practice you think is necessary.</p>

<p>qihqi, you are missing a major point. I am dropping IB diploma primarily to not do TOK, EE, CAS. So even if I follow what you are saying, I won't get the diploma because of this AND also, I need an A1 Language subject. English is my best language, and if I am unable to do English A1, let alone doing some other language A1. Thanks for your help. :)</p>

<p>happymomof1, honestly, I wrote this thread to recieve the reply that you have given. Thanks! Very informative and I will, as you recommended, concentrate on getting decent grades [and then getting college credit] in the classes that I'm taking this year. My school doesn't provide AP classes. I will be doing the AP bit myself. My school will only give IB classes, and thus, its only me and my princetonreview books against the AP exams, lol. </p>

<p>My AP subjects : - Calculus BC [may 2010], Physics C: Mechanics[may 2009], Physics C: Electricity and magnetism [ may 2009], Chemistry [may 2009], Macroeconomics[May 2009] Microeconomics [May 2009].</p>

<p>By the way, the Princeton review 2009 AP books are released on december 30 2008. Can I just use the 2008 version for the 2009 exam?</p>

<p>IB courses:-
Physics HL, Maths HL, Economics SL, Chemistry SL, Bahasa Indonesia SL ab initio.</p>

<p>Best regards and thank you all once again. God bless.</p>

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<p>Good question about which set of AP books to study with. Why don't you ask that at the AP prep forum which is inside the SAT/ACT forum that is listed on the left-hand side of this screen under "Top Forums".</p>

<p>If you have lots of free time, you can wander around in the CollegeBoard website and try to track down an official curriculum for an AP course in each subject. If you can't find anything there (or if they want to charge you a bunch of money for these curricula), see what you can find on the website of any HS in the US that you know offers these subjects. You can start with this link to Happykid's school district's curriculum page:
<a href="http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Thanks for all your selfless help, happymomof1. I appreciate it.</p>