Kungsholmens gymnasium/
Stockholms Musikgymnasium
International Section
Kungsholmen Language Policy Document (2013)
Kungsholmen’s Gymnasium is a Secondary school in Stockholm city. It provides instruction in
both English and Swedish for approximately 1200 students. The school consists of two
sections: the Swedish Section (instruction language: Swedish) and the International Section
including the IB Diploma Programme (instruction language: English). All teachers of the
International Section are bilingual as is the school’s staff.
The IB at Kungsholmen is subsidised by the Swedish government to serve the international
community in Stockholm. The student body, therefore, comes from a wide-range of
backgrounds, both culturally and linguistically. While the majority of the students have
previously attended English-language international schools, a few have no experience of
being taught in English. An increasing number of students come from a purely Swedish
background, though these are still in the minority.
Diploma Programme Language Offerings
Our language of instruction is English. We offer the English and Swedish A Literature courses.
All students may also study their own native language as a self-taught course at Standarad
Level. The emphasis in all these courses is on literary analysis rather than language
acquisition. Students are expected to already have native language competency and not
require assistance with grammar etc. Instruction in all courses, except Swedish, is provided in
English. If students feel they require assistance with some of the finer points of grammar in a
self taught language they are encouraged to get help from their families or other members of
the language community.
Kungsholmen has special programme for second language acquisition in the national section.
The school offers a number of languages at both beginners’and advanced levels. Week-long
exchange visits are coordinated with schools in the target language countries in the spring
term for those students able to particpate. DP students may take French, German and
Spanish at both the B and ab initio levels. These courses are offered in mixed groups where
DP students study together with students following national programme courses.
Two languages are offered only as DP courses. HL English B is for students already studying
an A language and limited background in Swedish. Swedish B is also offered, though this
course does not meet the Swedish requirements for university. Students wishing to fulfill
Swedish requirements for university need to take an external test, such as the TISUS at the
Department of Nordic Languages. In the pre-DP year, the school offers a beginners’ Swedish
class for those with rudimentary knowledge of Swedish. This course cannot be continued as
no ab initio (beginners’) course in Swedish is offered in the DP. Unless students have very
good prior knowledge of Swedish they are usually unable to learn enough Swedish to attend
local university.
MAILING A
1P
DO
DRESS
STREET ADDRESS
TELEPHONE
TE LE FA X
Box 12601
11292 STOCKHOLM
SWEDEN
Hantverkargatan 67-69
11238 STOCKHOLM
SWEDEN
+46 8 508 38003 +46 8 50838001
Placing candidates in the proper language course can be a difficult task. The gap between A
and B language seems quite large. Globalisation has led to a mixture of languages both in
homes and in previous schooling making it less and less relevant to talk of a ”mother tongue”.
Candidates are placed based on their previous experience in the language in accordance with
general DP guidelines. Candidates should feel that they are challenged but not overwhelmed
by their language courses.
Language Awareness
The school’s goal is to promote multilingualism as a tool in a globalised world. The students of
the school, both those of the Swedish Section and those of the International Section,
represent all continents.
We are strongly determined to improve the students’ language skills and also to achieve a
more general linguistic awareness by studying, within the IB Programme, linguistic issues
such as Sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Language Variety etc.
The Role of the Teachers
The teachers of the IB Section are encouraged to be aware of the fact that the English
Language is a Second Language for many of the students; they are ESL- Learners. It is
recommended that teachers inform themselves about students’ linguistic backgrounds for
more efficient teaching and learning.
It is important that teachers encourage a cross cultural discussion in the class room so that
the students we sometimes call ”Global Nomads” or ”Third Culture Kids” can take advantage
of their experiences from other parts of the world and exchange ideas.
Communicating the Language Policy
The Language Policy shall be available to the Kungsholmen’s Gymnasium and IB
communities. A language policy group consisting of the DP Coordinator, a librarian, A
language teachers from Swedish and English, the Swedish B and English B language
teachers, together with student and parent representatives shall review the policy on an
annual basis.