Croatian Continuers 2019 HSC exam pack (archive)

Students should:

• be prepared to talk on a variety of topics relating to their personal world
• answer the question asked rather than presenting pre-prepared responses
• express their ideas and opinions and justify their point of view
• be prepared to respond to questions from a different perspective
• elaborate using a variety of vocabulary, phrases and expressions suitable to the question asked
• use a range of tenses and be prepared to reflect on the past, present and future
• manipulate the language to fulfil the requirements of the question
• avoid the repetition of the same vocabulary, phrases, expressions and grammatical structures
• be prepared to be interrupted by the examiner
• use Croatian to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• respond to questions on a range of syllabus topics relating to their personal world
• give extended responses and appropriate details to answer the question(s)
• respond to questions using a variety of vocabulary, sentence structures and grammar
• offer opinions and support their points of view by describing, explaining and justifying
• respond in a fluent and confident manner in standard Croatian.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding the use of  a dialect or variation of Croatian in responses.

In preparation for the Discussion

Students should:

• choose a topic that has good quality reference texts and sources available
• prepare for the discussion by referring to at least three texts in their research
• ensure that one of the texts used in their research is a literary source.

During the Discussion examination

Students should:

• support their discussion with evidence from the texts that they have sourced
• express and justify opinions and points of view on their in-depth study
• reflect on their research findings to help them express opinions or develop new perceptions about their in-depth study
• manipulate language to respond in a coherent and logical way to the questions asked
• use a variety of relevant vocabulary, grammar, sentence structures and expressions
• avoid responding with pre-prepared responses that do not address the question asked
• avoid relying on general knowledge about the in-depth study.

In better responses, students were able to:

• use vocabulary and expressions specific to the in-depth study
• give details of research and align knowledge obtained to sources and texts
• present a point of view and support it with evidence from the texts
• demonstrate the link between research and comments made about issues raised in their research
• evaluate information researched and use it to support their point of view
• demonstrate a high level of grammatical accuracy and use a variety of vocabulary and sentence structures.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring selection of appropriate texts to support their discussion
• revising specific vocabulary and expressions relevant to their in-depth study
• avoiding generalisations or simply recounting information obtained from texts.

Students should:

• 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 allocated beneath the question
• read the question carefully and respond to all parts of the question
• respond in English or Croatian as required by question
• use the number of lines as an indication of the required length of the response
• support their responses with relevant evidence from the text
• support their responses with reference to relevant content and language, using their own words
• avoid translating the text as part of their response
• edit their response to ensure clarity of meaning.

Part A

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify that the purpose of the advertisement was to persuade the audience to support Croatian manufacturers (Q1a)
• identify that there two benefits to the customer, not only obtaining 25% discount but also the idea that they were buying authentic Croatian products (Q1b)
• provide both modes of travel (Q2a)
• provide all the arguments that Eva used to convince Marko to hire a sailboat and refer to specific language to support their response, for example ‘Forget … daily packing of luggage’; ‘It’ll be more comfortable …we won’t have to worry about who’s going to drive and get tired’; Imagine waking up and your first sight of the blue Adriatic’ (Q2b)
• identify the correct time that foreign filmmakers started to use Croatia for film production (Q3a)
• summarise the main benefits of filming in Croatia in a concise and succinct way and exclude extra information not needed in summary.

Part B

Part A

Students should:

• read the title, questions and the whole text before responding
• use only the lines or space beneath the question for the response
• support their responses with reference to content and language, using their own words
• be succinct in their responses, addressing the relevant details required by the question and avoiding repetition
• focus on key words in the question, for example, ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘explain’, ‘justify’ and respond in relation to the context of the text
• read the whole text in order to demonstrate understanding of relevant information and ideas
• identify the key issue(s) and provide examples to substantiate their response when asked to analyse or evaluate information
• draw a conclusion or justify a point of view using their own words
• provide a succinct response of main points or ideas when asked to summarise
• avoid providing a literal translation of text
• use the dictionary appropriately to find the correct meaning of the word(s) or expressions in context.

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify and explain all the aspects that make Zlatni ‘unique’ using their own words without transcribing irrelevant information that was not ‘unique’ to the place (Q7b)
• correctly identify the ‘change in opinion’ of the locals towards the foreign workers and explain the ‘change’, for example at first the locals were worried and sceptical about the growth in population and how the workers would get on with the locals. Then they were pleasantly surprised that the foreign workers adapted easily (Q8a).

Areas for students to improve include avoiding:

• inserting general knowledge about the content of the text that is actually not in the text provided in the examination paper
• simply translating the text as part of the response.

Part B

Students should:

• respond to the question asked in relation to the text
• read the entire text in order to respond fully to the question
• use the conventions of the type of text required by the question
• demonstrate understanding of the whole text in their response and not just respond to questions asked in the text
• focus on all relevant information and key points raised in the text in order to respond to comments made, for example requests for advice, issues discussed and observations made
• use the appropriate register throughout the response
• provide a creative and authentic response in relation to the text and question
• use a variety of vocabulary and expressions and a range of grammatical structures
• edit their work to ensure clarity of the response.

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of both the email to the friend and the information in the job advertisement
• demonstrate that applying for the position could be part of their travel plans to Croatia the following year
• provide a range of the skills, experience and reasons why they should be chosen for the position
• write convincingly about their skills and experience and why they should be considered for one of the positions available.

Areas for students to improve include:

• applying correct punctuation and use of paragraphs to assist clarity of information
• referring to the stimulus text without rewriting the information in the text.

Students should:

• read the question carefully and address all parts of the question
• plan their response to ensure a clear structure and sequence their response logically for maximum effect
• use the appropriate register and conventions of the type of text required
• use the conventions of the style of writing required by the question
• use language appropriate for the context, purpose and audience of the question
• support their ideas and opinions with appropriate examples
• manipulate the language to suit the requirements of the task
• use a variety of tenses, phrases and structures appropriate to the requirements of the question
• use the dictionary effectively by selecting vocabulary to suit the context
• proof read and edit their work
• adhere to the suggested word length.

In better responses, students were able to:

• address the audience ‘the teachers’ appropriately, for example Poštovani uičitelji, Dame i gospodo and use the formal case Vi (Q10)
• use appropriate techniques for engaging an audience, for example rhetorical questions, statistics, exaggeration, exclamations, for example Nije li vrijeme? Krajnje je vrijeme za promjene … (Q10)
• refer to innovative teaching throughout the speech and providing examples of how it helps improve student engagement in learning throughout the speech, for example Tehnologija, Ipads, Slobodno vrijeme, osobne odluke jer svi učimo drugačije (Q10)
• start the diary appropriately, for example Dragi dnevniče (Q11)
• express how they felt attending the forum, for example Bila sam skeptična ali nisam se pokajala što sam išla, emotive phrases - bilo mi je drago, oduševila sam se, nism ni znala za neke stvari (Q11)
• use the language of evaluation to discuss their expectations of the forum, for example Ispunila su se moja očekivanja, zadovoljna sam, dobar i zanimljiv seminar; Bila sam skeptična ali je seminar bio poučan i koristan
• present a range of issues faced by young people in the 21^st century and evaluate how the forum dealt with them, for example korištenje droge, mentalne bolesti, manjak novaca, problem s roditeljima, ovisnost o društvenim mrežama i manjak sna (spavanja) (Q11)
• use the past tense correctly throughout the diary entry, for example bila, sudjelovala, oduševljena, naučila, prisustvovala sam, očekivala, razmatrala (Q11).

Areas for students to improve include:

• addressing the intended audience at the beginning of the speech (Q10)
• maintaining the purpose for giving the speech from start to end (Q10)
• identifying innovative strategies to engage students rather than speaking in general about how students learn (Q10)
• applying the conventions of punctuation for a speech (Q10)
• using paragraphs to organise ideas (Q10)
• focusing on the topic and not including irrelevant events (Q11)
• identifying issues faced by young people and offering a range of possible solutions or strategies to resolve them (Q11)
• expressing opinions and evaluating experiences about the forum (Q11)
• avoiding being repetitive(Q11)
• punctuating and using paragraphs to organise ideas (Q11).