IB Japanese SL will prepare the student to communicate competently in the skill areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening in preparation for the Standard Level exam in May and receive a grade for the class separate from the exam. The IB student is mature, self-motivated, linguistically competent, and studious. In IB Japanese SL, students and teachers will be communicating almost exclusively in Japanese and the IB level students will be able to utilize conversational Japanese to function in the class without the use of English. Students in their first year (SL) of IB Japanese have the option of sitting for the Standard Level exam in May, though sitting for IB exams or being an IB diploma student is not a course requirement. Though this course prepares students for success in the IB exams, any student who wishes to develop their Japanese language skills at an advanced level is encouraged to enroll.