Chinese Beginners 2017 HSC exam pack

General feedback

Students should:

• be prepared to talk about a variety of ideas and opinions related to their personal world
• answer the examiner’s questions only with relevant information
• remember that neither the number of questions nor the number of topics are predetermined
• not dominate the conversation with long, pre-learned material. Students who memorise responses on topics and recite them, regardless of the actual questions being asked or the flow of the conversation, will disadvantage themselves
• respond directly to the question and demonstrate the capacity to extend their responses
• demonstrate their capacity to manipulate the language when expressing information, opinions and experiences
• remain calm and ask the examiner for clarification if needed.

Student strengths

In better responses, students were able to:

• converse effectively by using a range of vocabulary and grammar structures
• avoid repetition
• elaborate their response with relevant information
• have clear pronunciation and intonation
• demonstrate a  good control of pace.

Students should:

• make good use of the ten minutes reading time to read the questions and start mentally planning for the responses
• read each question carefully and make sure that they understand what it is asking them to do
• listen carefully for the general meaning of the texts as well as specific details
• use the Candidates’ Notes column to make notes and ensure all relevant information is incorporated into the final response.

Students can prepare for this examination by:

• familiarising themselves with the vocabulary and sentence structures on known topics
• actively participating in class activities
• using the acquired vocabulary and sentence patterns as frequently as possible
• practising past HSC examination papers
• listening to the audio files of the text books.

Student strengths

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify appropriate information from the audio texts (Q1-Q4)
• support their responses with adequate reasons or evidence (Q5-Q7)
• make appropriate reference to the audio texts to support responses (Q8 and Q10)
• demonstrate the ability to summarise (Q9)
• demonstrate their understanding of the audio texts rather than simply give a direct translation.

Student strengths

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of the reading texts
• identify relevant information, draw conclusions and support responses with specific references to the text (Q11-Q13)
• demonstrate the ability to analyse, compare and summarise the texts (Q14 and Q15)
• present an argument with relevant justification from the text (Q16).

Student strengths

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of the requirement of the topics
• use a variety of language structures and vocabulary correctly
• provide relevant and appropriate information for the topics
• display good organisation, lucidity and logical thinking in the development of the writing
• use the correct text types.