Chinese Beginners 2024 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 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:

• use a wide range of authentic language accurately
• provide clear responses to questions with little hesitation
• elaborate on their responses without additional prompts from the examiner
• respond appropriately with correct pronunciation and intonation, including for English cognates, such as, 咖啡、派对、沙拉
• use a variety of verbs in past, present, future tense and conditional forms, for example, 毕业后，我会去中国
• elaborate and justify ideas and opinions using authentic and personalised examples. For example, 我的狗非常好动，我常常一边听音乐，一边带它散步
• demonstrate a good understanding of various sentence structures, for example, 一边……一边……、又……又……、除了……以外、不但……而且……
• develop ideas by using connectives, adverbs of frequency and contrasting connectors, for example, 通常、常常、平时、一般、比起……我更……
• use complements of degree to describe the main verb of the sentence, for example, 我哥哥篮球打得很好
• vary their responses by starting sentences with prepositional phrases of time or location, for example, 放学后，我和朋友常常去图书馆看书.

Areas for students to improve include:

• expanding ideas by incorporating a range of grammar points and diverse vocabulary instead of just using simple sentences
• further developing their knowledge of sentence structures to understand the questions correctly and respond appropriately
• using linking conjunctions appropriately, for example, 我家有四个人：爸爸、妈妈、妹妹和我, not 我家有四个人：爸爸和妈妈和妹妹和我
• making logical connections between sentences, for example, 我喜欢冷的天气，因为我可以穿好看的外套, not 我喜欢冷的天气，因为我会穿外套
• applying comparative forms correctly, for example, 他比我高, not 他比我非常高
• constructing sentences with correct syntax, for example, 走路要三十分钟, not 要三十分钟走路
• improving overall fluency and maintaining a natural speaking pace.

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 onto the lines, using the space provided for each question
• use the lines provided as a guide to the length of the response required
• ensure that their responses are clear and address all parts of the question
• use their own words and respond in English
• avoid translating text as part of their response.

In better responses, students were able to:

• extract all the essential information from the audio texts, focusing especially on the key words, for example, ‘birthday presents’ (Q1), ‘soccer, swimming, basketball’ (Q3), ‘Biology, History’ (Q6), ‘go to the airport together’ (Q8)
• provide a thorough explanation with detailed references to the text
• compare different ideas or opinions effectively, for example, the two speakers’ different work experience (Q10)
• respond to the questions directly and clearly.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing all necessary information that directly addresses the questions
• interpreting details with greater accuracy
• avoiding literal translations
• providing the adequate information required by the questions
• ensuring details are not mixed up between different people (Q10).

Students should:

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

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a thorough understanding of the texts by identifying all relevant details. For example, the main message of the notice (Q11), Xiaozhou’s true academic ability (Q12), and Huahua’s and Nana’s future plans (Q16)
• answer questions with references that are directly tied to the texts, for example, mention Xiaozhou ranked 5 out of 30, and include speaking Chinese is useful for a doctor’s career (12b)
• demonstrate the ability to identify (Q14a), explain (Q12b), and compare (Q15b) and address the questions judiciously.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding directly translating the texts
• using dictionaries to identify key words and avoid misinterpretation
• understanding the questions fully and providing relevant answers
• including all necessary information, for example, the proximity to the library causing disturbance due to noise (Q15b), and Huahua and Nana meeting last year at a tennis match in Melbourne (Q16a).

Students should:

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

In better responses, students were able to:

• address questions with relevant information and well-developed ideas
• present thoughts logically, for example, 妈妈说最近很累，你可以买药给她吗？(Q17), 因为我的男朋友是中国人，所以我想学汉语 (Q19)
• select the most relevant details when developing ideas
• use the correct tense in sentences. For example, 爸爸说，今年我的生日，他会给我买一部新手机 (Q17)
• employ linking words to create a coherent narrative. For example, 如果你们想来,可以坐火车到我的学校，只要一个小时 (Q18)
• apply a wide range of vocabulary and language structures accurately.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the questions thoroughly and responding with relevant information
• avoiding grammatical errors, for example, 我也打算学习中文在大学 (Q19)
• expanding vocabulary and the use of language structures
• avoiding using incorrect expressions, such as, 文化事件 for ‘cultural event’ ，and夏假 for ‘summer holidays’ (Q18).