assessment | critical thinking | English A | IB DP | inclusivity | language and literature | supplemental resource

Kognity Launches New IBDP English A: Language and Literature Supplemental Resource

We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new IB-aligned supplemental resource designed to empower students and teachers in English A: Language and Literature.

This skills-focused, dynamic new resource is crafted to help students excel in analytical thinking, critical reasoning, and assessment-focused skills.

To celebrate this launch, we spoke with the brilliant minds behind the course: Anna Lifvergren, Curriculum Leader; Ingrid Honeth, Curriculum Content Specialist; and Natalia Font, Implementation Specialist.

We asked them to share their vision for a resource that not only supports the IB curriculum but transforms the way students engage with language and literature.

A Resource That Fills a Critical Gap

The IBDP English A: Language and Literature course is celebrated for its flexibility, but this can also be a challenge for teachers seeking a structured, high-quality resource. We asked our team to address this head-on:

What critical educational gap does this resource address, and how will it transform teaching and learning in this area?

Ingrid Honeth explains that while the English A: Language and Literature curriculum allows for significant flexibility, there is often a lack of resources that support this level of adaptability.

“This resource is designed to meet that need,” Ingrid says. “It follows a clear and logical progression from foundational concepts to assessment-focused content, but it can also be used modularly. Teachers and students can move through the material sequentially or access individual sections as needed, aligning with their approach and goals.”

This balance of structure and flexibility allows teachers to deliver effective instruction without being prescriptive, while students can engage with the material at their own pace.

A Groundbreaking, Learner-First Approach

This isn’t just another textbook. It’s built on a “living foundation of contemporary pedagogical research,” weaving together active learning and multimodal engagement. We asked Natalia Font to elaborate on this innovative approach.

How does this resource integrate the latest research and pedagogical approaches to create something truly groundbreaking?

“At its core lies an active pedagogy: students don’t passively consume information, they build knowledge through inquiry, iteration, and meaningful practice,” Natalia explains.

The resource positions learners as “protagonists in their own development” by incorporating cognitive apprenticeship, which models expert thinking before gradually handing over the reins to learners. This includes providing templates for analysis and planning, which scaffold students as they develop their own interpretations and cultivate independence.

The design philosophy is also deeply rooted in learner-centred methods. The course follows a “Learn and Apply” loop that operates on two levels. For example, Topic 1 provides foundational concepts, while Topics 2 and 3 feature “learn” sections to build skills and “apply” sections where students put those skills into practice with new texts. This ensures that active learning is embedded throughout.

Inclusivity and Integrity as a North Star

When it came to content, the team’s guiding philosophy was simple yet unwavering. We asked about the principles that guided the team’s content decisions.

What was your North Star principle when making decisions about content inclusion and presentation?

“Our North Star was simple, yet unwavering: inclusion and representation with integrity,” Natalia shares. “Every decision—every text selected, every voice amplified—was guided by the belief that students deserve to see the vastness of human experience reflected in their learning.”

The course carefully balances canonical works with underrepresented perspectives across media, text types, genders, geographies, and generations.

“We wanted students not just to analyse texts, but to be moved by them, to question them, and to feel seen within them,” Natalia adds. This commitment ensures that students engage with language and literature as a “living, contested, and profoundly human conversation.”

A Companion for Growth, Not Just Exams

Natalia, a former IBDP English A teacher herself, drew her inspiration from seeing how powerful it can be when students are given meaningful experiences, not just content. This led us to ask her about the course’s ultimate goal.

What inspired your approach to developing this resource, and how did your background and expertise shape its unique qualities?

“I wanted to create a resource that doesn’t just prepare them for assessments—it prepares them for life,” she says. This vision is at the heart of the resource’s approach to assessment. While fully aligned with IBDP standards, the focus is on building the skills and habits of mind that make learners ready for the exam and for life.

Natalia further explains: “Assessment in this resource is woven through every section, not as a final gate, but as a formative thread.” Students have ample opportunities for formative assessment through knowledge checks, reflection prompts, and scaffolded activities.

A Global Team, A Shared Vision

The resource’s international mindset is a point of personal pride for Natalia, who led the project as a non-native English speaker from Uruguay. We asked her about the impact she hopes to see.

How do you envision educators transforming their practice through engagement with this resource?

“I envision this resource becoming a trusted companion in the art and craft of teaching,” Natalia says.
With its flexible design and thoughtfully curated materials, this resource empowers teachers to make intentional choices. They can select texts that resonate with their students while designing instruction that strikes a balance between clear structure and creative exploration.

Natalia believes it will foster a classroom culture where learning is collaborative, reflective, and alive, transforming practice into something “more inclusive, purposeful, and joyful.”

For educators looking to get started, we asked for a key piece of advice.

What one piece of implementation advice would you give to educators to maximize the impact of this resource in their unique contexts?

Natalia advises: “Begin by exploring the table of contents with intention—it’s designed to help you map your course thoughtfully and identify the sections that will most powerfully support your teaching goals.”
She also suggests using Topic 2 activities for a flipped classroom approach to free up time for richer in-class discussion.

The team plans to gather user feedback through in-platform tools and direct conversations to ensure the resource remains responsive to the needs of teachers and students. As Ingrid Honeth puts it, “This feedback cycle is essential to us because it ensures the resource remains responsive to teacher and student needs.”

The Kognity team is incredibly proud to offer this new supplemental resource and is confident it will become an essential tool for English A: Language and Literature classrooms around the world.

Read more about Kognity’s IB DP English A: Language and Literature supplemental resource.