French Beginners 2018 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• be able to use the past, present and future tenses. Many students confused these tenses often responding in the past to a future question
• answer the question asked and not respond with a prepared answer that does not answer the question
• avoid pausing and hesitating too frequently as this made it difficult to establish and maintain effective communication
• provide justification to their responses not just a ‘oui’ or ‘non’ answer
• organise information coherently.

In better responses, students were able to:

• vary their structures (‘Je voudrais, j’ai l’intention de, ce serait formidable’)
• use a variety of connectives to allow their responses to sound more fluent and authentic
• answer comparative questions with confidence
• manipulate the tenses in their responses using past, present, future, imperfect and conditional (‘Généralement je vais en ville mais le weekend dernier je suis allé à la plage parcequ’il faisait chaud’)
• manipulate other language features such as adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, comparatives, and negative structures to express ideas and opinions successfully across a range of topics.

Areas for students to improve include:

• the use of possessives, gender agreement especially when talking about family and friends
• correct use of grammatical structures. Often meaning was impeded through use of broken sentences
• pronunciation as poor pronunciation impeded meaning.

Students should:

• transfer all information from the candidate notes onto the lines provided
• revise tenses, for example, past and future tenses and future tense je vais acheter un nouveau sac
• know cultural information including main sporting events, for example, le Tour de France
• transfer all the key information from the text and reflect this accurately in the responses
• know numbers and 24-hour time, for example, treize ans, vingt et une heures
• know basic school vocabulary, examples include crayon (pencil); livre (book); argent (money)
• know pronouns and genders
• ensure they make efficient use of their dictionary to check the meaning of unknown words, in particular false friends, for example, garder (look after) and not to guard; demander (to ask) and not demand; principal (main) and not a school principal
• check requirements of the question, and do not include irrelevant information that does not answer the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide extensive detail in their responses
• summarise ideas in a logical manner
• answer the question asked
• clearly state and link their responses
• demonstrate a good awareness of the use of tenses.

Areas for students to improve include:

• regularly studying main grammar points such as verb tenses, gender pronouns
• practicing past HSC papers with transcripts to make connections between sounds they hear and written words.

Students should:

• ensure they make use of their dictionary to check meaning of unknown words, for example, ‘false friends’
• read the questions carefully to ensure their response addresses the questions
• re-read and edit their responses to ensure they make sense and actually answer the question
• use the information provided in the texts to support their responses
• avoid quoting from text in French and use English when referring to the text
• ensure they make use of their dictionary to check meaning of key words.

In better responses, students were able to:

• give accurate translations of details from the text
• provide all relevant details required in the response
• give responses that are well structured, concise and relevant to the question
• when comparing and contrasting, make definite links in a logical order and without repetition
• demonstrate a thorough knowledge of vocabulary and language structures.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing a diverse knowledge of vocabulary
• developing dictionary skills
• practising a variety of question types
• reading authentic French texts and being familiar with authentic French expressions.

Students should:

• plan their work time in order to complete all questions
• read the question carefully
• respect the type of text
• ensure their response has detail relevant to the question, for example, address friends (plural)
• choose the correct register for the task and don’t mix the tu and vous forms
• structure their work into paragraphs and use connecting words to link ideas
• reread their script to ensure accuracy of verb conjugations and adjective agreements
• be careful when using the dictionary and choose the appropriate word, for example, to clean (verb) = nettoyer and clean (adjective) = propre
• meet the word limit.

In better responses, students were able to:

• develop their answers to include an explanation, for example, in Q16 why they needed the money, or a comparison, for example, in Q16 how much pocket money their friends get compared to them
• remained consistent with the use of tu and vous
• used diverse language structures and vocabulary accurately and consistently, for example, avoid listing the chores or repeating the same structures such as, Je vais faire la vaisselle, je vais faire le repassage
• demonstrate accurate knowledge of present and future tenses
• use past tenses accurately and appropriately, even though they are not specifically called for in the question, for example, in Q16 chores they did already and new chores they will undertake
• accurately manipulate other grammatical features such as pronouns, articles and adjectives
• attempt to incorporate authentic expressions into their responses
• use language conventions appropriate to the type of text, for example, Chers papa et maman and A plus tard
• develop reasons for their friendship with the birthday person without simply listing (Q17).

Areas for students to improve include:

• revising present tense verb conjugation of regular verbs and irregular verbs especially être, avoir, aller, faire and venir
• revising future and past tense verb conjugation and usage
• revising basic vocabulary such as days of the week, other expressions of time and prepositions
• practising written responses which include a variety of text types that demonstrate their language skills
• practising their dictionary skills to avoid misuse
• learning to be able to adapt known phrases for a different context.