Chinese Beginners 2022 HSC exam pack

Conversation

Students should:

• be prepared to communicate about a variety of topics relating to their personal world
• elaborate and provide relevant details to address the questions in a way that engages with the examiner
• use a range of vocabulary, expressions and language structures to respond appropriately to the questions
• provide information, express ideas and comment on their personal world
• be prepared to respond to questions from a different perspective
• be prepared to respond to questions that relate to past, present and future aspects of their personal world
• avoid the repetition of the same vocabulary, phrases and expressions
• manipulate the language to fulfil the requirements of the question
• be prepared to be interrupted by the examiner
• use Chinese to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• make comments, express opinions and elaborate on ideas about their personal world effectively
• use particles such as 了 and 过 that indicate past experience accurately
• use a variety of vocabulary relevant to the topics, for example, 中国城、长城、兵马俑  for tourist attractions
• use conjunctions and other useful phrases to express meanings with complexity, for example,  如果……的话、虽然 ……但是……、对我来说、给、或者、对……感兴趣、比如、先……然后、一边……一边……
• use comparative words effectively, for example, 比、比较、更、跟……一样
• speak confidently and fluently, maintaining a good flow to express their ideas clearly and coherently.

Areas for students to improve include:

• further developing their listening skills so they can understand the questions asked, for example, 说说你的妈妈 or你妈妈长什么样？
• responding in full sentences rather than giving only single words as an answer
• supporting their responses with appropriate information to extend their answers
• paying attention to the position of a time phrase or a location word in a sentence, for example,  我今天下午打篮球, not 我打篮球今天下午；我想在图书馆工作, not 我想工作在图书馆
• avoiding the use of negation adverbs such as 不 and 没有  incorrectly, for example, 不去过中国
• addressing the 吗 question first before providing other relevant details, for example, 你喜欢打篮球吗？我不喜欢打篮球，我喜欢踢足球  not 我喜欢踢足球
• using linking words such as 也 and 和 correctly.

Students should:

• read each question carefully
• make notes in the Candidate’s Notes column on the right-hand side of the page
• transcribe their response on to the lines, using the space provided for each question
• use the lines provided as a guide to the length of the response required
• ensure their responses are clear and address all parts of the question
• use their own words and respond in English.

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify the key information from the audio texts, especially the key words needed for responses, for example, ‘car breakdown’, ‘take the train’(Q1); ‘concert’ (Q3)
• demonstrate their ability to summarise the text, for example, ‘pay by phone, no cash needed’; ‘beach is windy, take a jacket’ (Q8)
• respond to the questions and justify their responses with detailed information from the texts, for example, mother’s feeling changes from ‘surprise’ to ‘pleased’ to ‘worried’ to ‘compromised’ (Q9).

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring to include all the notes made in the responses
• providing adequate and appropriate information required by the questions
• avoiding literal translations.

Students should:

• read the whole text(s)
• address all parts of each question
• use the lines, table or chart allocated for the response
• provide all necessary details to respond to the question fully
• support their responses with evidence from the text where required
• use their own words rather than giving a literal translation
• use their dictionary appropriately to find the correct meaning of the word(s) in context.

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify all relevant information required for the questions (Q13b), for example, ’famous Chinese restaurant’; ‘singing and dancing’; ‘eating birthday cake and like the present’
• draw conclusions with detailed reference to the texts (Q16b), for example, going to university ‘can make new friends’; university will be an issue as ‘she does well in the exams’; ‘will have a good job attending university’ and using an example to try to convince her sister
• compare and contrast opinions to draw conclusions (Q15b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding irrelevant information or personal details in the responses
• avoiding literal translations.

Students should:

• write to the word length required
• address the context, purpose and audience required by the question
• apply the conventions of the type of text indicated in the question
• use correct register consistently throughout the response
• use a range of tenses, sentence structures and a variety of vocabulary
• avoid repeating the same expressions throughout the response
• use the dictionary carefully to access vocabulary and expressions that are meaningful in the context of their response
• avoid listing
• edit their work.

In better responses, students were able to:

• organise information and ideas in a sequential and orderly manner
• use authentic Chinese expressions appropriately, for example, 百花争艳，感受很深，收获很大
• use a wide range of grammatical structures with high accuracy
• use extensive vocabulary and show high accuracy in writing characters
• use adjectives and conjunctions effectively.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the questions and providing relevant responses
• using conjunctions, adjectives to improve overall writing
• providing depth in ideas, avoiding using rote-learnt responses.