Dutch Continuers 2025 HSC exam pack

Before the exam

Students should:

• research and prepare information on all the syllabus prescribed topics
• gain insight into and understanding of all the syllabus prescribed topics from personal, community and global perspectives
• choose one syllabus prescribed topic for discussion in the oral exam
• ensure that their chosen topic can be addressed from a personal, community and global perspective
• be prepared to discuss other syllabus prescribed topics chosen by the examiner.

During the exam

Students should:

• communicate on their chosen topic and any of the other syllabus prescribed topics that the examiner introduces in the course of the discussion
• elaborate and provide relevant information and details to address the examiner’s questions
• provide information, express and justify ideas and opinions, and comment on topics from personal, community and global perspectives
• provide a response based on the requirements of the question and avoid using pre-prepared material that may be irrelevant to the question
• respond to questions using a range of vocabulary, expressions and language structures and features
• manipulate language to respond in a coherent and logical way to the questions asked
• be prepared to be interrupted by the examiner
• use Dutch to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a thorough understanding of 2–3 prescribed topics
• discuss and support their ideas and views on topics for discussion from personal, community and global perspectives.
• take an analytical approach to the topics discussed rather than using pre-prepared information that may be irrelevant draw insightful conclusions regarding issues connected with topics for discussion, for example, uiteindelijk vind ik dat…, ik ben bang dat het de verkeerde kant op gaat, wat echt belangrijk is, is…
• provide logical and well-structured responses to questions, for example, in Australië is sport belangrijk, maar in Nederland is sport gezelliger
• use specific vocabulary and expressions relating to the topics for discussion, for example, ik ben van mening dat …, ik heb het gevoel dat …, ik denk dat …, het voordeel/nadeel is …
• use complex sentences and suitable idiomatic expressions to strengthen and support their ideas and opinions, for example, ik ben erachter gekomen dat …, ik vertrouw het eigenlijk niet …, mensen die ik achterliet …, ik heb de neiging om …, mijn wortels zijn in Nederland
• respond using a high level of grammatical accuracy, and sophisticated vocabulary and expressions
• manipulate the language effectively to support their ideas and justify their point of view from personal, community and global perspectives. 

Areas for students to improve include:

• responding to the question with relevant information
• supporting their ideas with clear examples and in-depth information
• correcting themselves if they make an error
• using correct articles, for example, de, het, een, deze, dat, die, dit
• avoiding using incorrect sentence structures, such as ik denk hij vindt het heel leuk, rather than the correct form, ik denk dat hij het heel leuk vindt
• using correct past participles, for example, ik heb gereisd, rather than ik heb gereizen, ik heb ontmoet, rather than ik heb geontmoet, ik heb gewoond, rather than ik heb gewonen
• using Dutch vocabulary rather than Anglicisms, for example, ik heb het verzonnen, rather than ik heb het opgemaakt, de afgelopen maand, rather than de laatste maand, ik heb 8 jaar in Nederland gewoond, rather than ik heb voor 8 jaren in Nederland gewoond
• using correct prepositions, for example, we gaan naar Nederland met de kerst, rather than the incorrect, we gaan naar Nederland over kerst.

Feedback for the written exam can be found on the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority site.