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IB French B Tutoring

IB French tutoring for French B at SL and HL. Practise Paper 1 writing, the Paper 2 listening and reading exam and the individual oral with a tutor who knows how the French B criteria are applied.

French B is the IB language acquisition course for students who have studied some French before, and it is the most widely taken IB French course. You are assessed on Paper 1 (writing), Paper 2 (listening and reading) and an individual oral, all built on five prescribed themes, and HL students also study two literary works written in French. Tutoring targets the papers and skills where you lose marks, from text-type conventions, agreements and the subjunctive to listening speed and oral fluency. If you are starting French from scratch you are on French ab initio, and if French is your first language you are likely on French A; both have their own tutoring pages.

Quick answer: IB Doctor offers 1-to-1 IB French B tutoring for course content, each assessment component and coursework. Lessons follow the syllabus and assessment criteria, and the work stays your own. Review tutor verification, student results and methodology before booking.
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French B tutoring prices

From £52.50 to £70 per hour, depending on bundle size. Each bundle covers one subject.

  • Taster Bundle
    3 hours
    £210
    £70 per hour
  • Starter Bundle
    5 hours
    £330
    £66 per hour
  • Coursework Bundle
    10 hours
    £650
    £65 per hour
  • Assessment Bundle
    20 hours
    £1,250
    £62.50 per hour
  • Guardian Bundle
    50 hours
    £2,900
    £58 per hour
  • Ultimate Bundle
    100 hours
    £5,250
    £52.50 per hour
See full bundle details

What You Get with IB French B Tutoring

Comprehensive support designed to help you achieve your target grade

Paper 1 and Paper 2

  • Paper 1: one task from three, 250-400 words (SL) or 450-600 words (HL), in the right text type
  • Register in French: tu or vous, formal emails and letters, opinion articles, blogs and speeches
  • Paper 2 listening: three audio passages in 45 minutes (SL) or 1 hour (HL)
  • Paper 2 reading: precise answers on three written texts in 1 hour

Individual Oral

  • SL: presenting a visual stimulus and linking it to a theme and to French-speaking cultures
  • HL: presenting an extract from one of your two literary works in French
  • Mock orals in the real format: presentation, follow-up discussion, general conversation
  • Speaking under pressure: connectors, fillers and recovering from mistakes

Language Building

  • The five themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organisation, sharing the planet
  • Grammar range the language criterion rewards: past tenses, the subjunctive, the conditional, pronouns and complex sentences
  • Vocabulary banks for each theme and the topics your school teaches
  • A study plan built around your exam dates and your weakest paper
Real student results

Students Improving Their French B Grades

4 → 6
"My tutor helped me master French text type conventions. My Paper 1 writing went from unstructured to polished and exam-ready."
S

Sophie L.

French B SL, May 2024

3 → 6
"The oral used to terrify me. Mock sessions with my tutor built my confidence and I ended up enjoying the presentation."
E

Ethan C.

French B SL, May 2024

5 → 7
"At HL, discussing literary extracts felt daunting. My tutor showed me how to connect them to global issues fluently."
I

Inès K.

French B HL, Nov 2023

How It Works

Simple steps to get started with IB French B tutoring

1

Buy a Bundle

Choose 3 to 100 hours based on your needs. Split across subjects if needed.

2

Complete Onboarding

Tell us your course and level, weak areas, goals, and scheduling preferences.

3

Get Matched & Start

Matched within 24 hours. Schedule your first session immediately.

First Session Guarantee

Not satisfied? Contact us within 24 hours. We'll address concerns, offer a rematch, or provide a full refund.

French B HL vs SL: What's the Difference?

Understanding the requirements at each level

SL
HL
Teaching Hours
150 hours
240 hours
Literary Works
Not required
Two literary works in French
Paper 1 Writing
One task, 250-400 words, 1 hr 15 min
One task, 450-600 words, 1 hr 30 min
Paper 2 Listening
45 minutes
1 hour
Paper 2 Reading
1 hour
1 hour
Individual Oral
Visual stimulus, 15 min preparation, 12-15 min oral
Literary extract, 20 min preparation, 12-15 min oral

IB French B Topics We Cover

The IB French B syllabus is organised around five prescribed themes, with the concepts of audience, context, purpose, meaning and variation running through every task. Every paper draws on all five themes, and HL adds two literary works written in French. Tutoring builds the vocabulary, grammar and text-type control the French B criteria reward at SL and HL.

Theme: Identities

  • Lifestyles
  • Health and well-being
  • Beliefs and values
  • Subcultures
  • +1 more
    • Language and identity

Theme: Experiences

  • Leisure activities
  • Holidays and travel
  • Life stories
  • Rites of passage
  • +1 more
    • Customs, traditions and migration

Theme: Human Ingenuity

  • Entertainment
  • Artistic expression in the French-speaking world
  • Communication and media
  • Technology
  • +1 more
    • Scientific innovation

Theme: Social Organisation

  • Social relationships
  • Community
  • Education
  • The working world
  • +1 more
    • Law and order

Theme: Sharing the Planet

  • The environment
  • Human rights
  • Peace and conflict
  • Equality
  • +1 more
    • Globalisation and ethics

HL Extension: Literary Works

  • Two literary works written in French (HL)
  • Themes, characters and narrative technique (HL)
  • Linking the works to the prescribed themes (HL)
  • Presenting and discussing an extract in the oral (HL)
Assessment breakdown

IB French B Assessment Structure

IB French B has the same three components at SL and HL: Paper 1 (writing, 25%), Paper 2 (listening 25% and reading 25%) and the individual oral (25%). There is no Paper 3 and no written assignment in the current course. HL differs in longer Paper 1 answers, a longer listening section and an oral based on a literary extract. A new Language B guide starts teaching in August 2027 for first exams in May 2029, so students sitting exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028 follow the current guide.

Paper 1 - Writing

External Assessment
SL: 25%
HL: 25%

One writing task in French chosen from three, each linked to a different theme, in a text type you choose from the list in the exam instructions

SL: 1 hour 15 min | HL: 1 hour 30 min
SL: 250-400 words | HL: 450-600 words
Marked on language, message and conceptual understanding

Paper 2 - Listening

External Assessment
SL: 25%
HL: 25%

Comprehension questions on three audio passages in French

SL: 45 min | HL: 1 hour
Drawn from all five prescribed themes

Paper 2 - Reading

External Assessment
SL: 25%
HL: 25%

Comprehension questions on three written texts in French

SL: 1 hour | HL: 1 hour
Drawn from all five prescribed themes

Individual Oral

Internal Assessment
SL: 25%
HL: 25%

Presentation in French on a stimulus, a follow-up discussion with your teacher, then a general conversation on the course themes

12-15 min, after 15 min (SL) or 20 min (HL) of supervised preparation
SL: visual stimulus linked to a theme | HL: extract from one of the two literary works studied

Key Assessment Notes

  • A new Language B guide begins teaching in August 2027, with first exams in May 2029. Exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028 use the current guide.
  • Listening and reading are separate sections of Paper 2, each worth 25% of the grade.
  • French B has no Paper 3 and no written assignment in the current course.
IB French B grade distribution and average gradeHow students actually scored in the latest IB results: the share of each grade, HL vs SL, and how many got a 7.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about IB French B tutoring

French B is for students who have studied French before and want to build on it, at SL or HL. French ab initio is an SL-only course for beginners with little or no French. French A is for students who are fluent, usually native speakers, and is a literature and language course rather than a language acquisition one. Your school places you, but if your exams include a listening paper and a writing task of 250-600 words, you are on French B.

Yes. SL and HL share the themes and the three components, but HL asks for 450-600 words in Paper 1 instead of 250-400, has a 1-hour listening section instead of 45 minutes, and bases the oral on an extract from one of two literary works rather than a visual stimulus. Your tutor plans sessions around your level, your exam date and the component costing you most marks.

Five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organisation and sharing the planet. Schools choose the topics within each theme, such as health and well-being, migration, technology, education or the environment, and study them through texts from the French-speaking world. Every paper can draw on any theme. HL students also study two literary works written in French, which feed into the HL oral.

With timed mock orals in the real format. At SL you prepare a visual stimulus for 15 minutes, present for about 3-4 minutes, discuss it with your teacher, then move to a general conversation on other themes. At HL you prepare an extract from one of your literary works for 20 minutes. The oral lasts 12-15 minutes and is worth 25% of the grade. Your tutor gives feedback on accuracy, range, development of ideas and natural interaction.

The exam instructions list the text types you may choose for each task. Common choices include blogs, articles, speeches, formal and informal emails or letters, reports, reviews and brochures. Marks reward a text type that suits the purpose and audience, with the right register, for example tu or vous, and the conventions of that type. Your tutor helps you build a reliable plan for the types you will use most.

Yes. Listening is worth 25% of the grade, with questions on three audio passages in 45 minutes at SL or 1 hour at HL. Tutors practise predicting answers from the questions, noting numbers, names and opinions, and recognising the same idea when it is paraphrased. Regular practice with authentic French audio on the five themes also builds the speed and vocabulary you need for the reading section.

In May 2026 (IB provisional statistical bulletin), 16.5% of French B HL candidates and 12.6% of SL candidates got a 7, and the mean grade was 5.1 at both levels. The most common result was a 6 at HL (28.2%) and a 5 at SL (30.9%). French B is by far the largest IB French course, with 3,422 HL and 12,705 SL candidates that session.

Yes, if you want them to be. You can ask your tutor to run part of each session in French for speaking practice and switch to English for grammar explanations or feedback on written work. The balance can change over time, for example more French conversation in the weeks before your individual oral.

Yes, but not for current students. The IB's new Language B course starts teaching in August 2027, with first exams in May 2029. If you sit French B in 2026, 2027 or 2028, you follow the current guide: Paper 1 writing, Paper 2 listening and reading, and the individual oral. The IB says the new guide keeps the same assessment model, with Paper 1 and Paper 2 unchanged; only the wording of the individual oral descriptors for criteria B2 and C is revised. Tutoring follows whichever guide your exams use.

Yes. Close to the exam, sessions usually focus on timed Paper 1 writing with feedback, listening and reading practice on exam-style texts, and mock orals if yours is still to come. Most students are matched with a tutor within 24 hours, so you can start quickly and spend the remaining weeks on the paper that will move your grade most.

We offer a first session guarantee. If you're not satisfied after your first session, we'll rematch you with a different tutor or give you a full refund.

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