French Beginners 2020 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• be prepared to communicate about a variety of topics relating to their personal world
• answer the question asked rather than presenting pre-prepared responses
• 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 French to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• answer the question and provide additional information and justifications without needing to be asked
• respond using a variety of correctly formed tenses
• use opinion expressions such as, je trouve que, je pense que, à mon avis, selon moi
• respond using some sophistication in their vocabulary and expressions, for example, ma sœur est têtue et agaçante rather than ma sœur et difficile
• use expressions such as, cependant, par contre, malheureusement, à cause de
• use time markers and adverbs to add complexity to answers, for example, de temps en temps, souvent, hier, l’année dernière, la semaine prochaine, vraiment, chaque weekend, d’habitude.

Areas for students to improve include:

• revising the pronunciation of sœur, parents, et, beaucoup, ennuyeux, famille, je préfère, temps, aussi, j’ai
• using the correct verb to state an age, for example, j’ai 18 ans, mon frère a 12 ans
• revising the conjugations of common regular and irregular verbs such as j’étudie, je fais, je vais
• revising the formation of tenses such as, je vais aller, je suis allé
• avoiding giving one-word answers such as oui, non, rather always using full sentences with justifications, opinions and/or examples
• revising the correct use of pronouns, ma soeur, elle est timide, not il est timide
• using the word voyager not travailler when referring to travel
• preparing detailed answers to possible open-ended questions about syllabus topics such as family, friends, school, free time and future plans.
• revising the use of negatives and particularly their placement in the passé compose, for example, je n’ai pas vu.

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
• avoid translating text as part of their response.

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide specific details such as banning phones and putting them in a school bag (Q8a)
• articulate with precision and succinctly express all the information necessary to support their answers
• sequence their responses in a logical manner by detecting the sequencing in the original text, d’abord, puis, enfin
• recognise worth of each question and give adequate depth in responses to match the value.

Areas for students to improve include:

• noting what the question asks, for example, 24-hour time
• acquiring prescribed vocabulary such as, directions, weather, time, numbers
• reading questions carefully, for example, identify ‘who’ not ‘what’ in the question and checking responses
• stating the obvious such as ‘koala’ to provide a complete response
• paying attention to the wording in questions such as ‘decisions’ implying that there is more than one item required.

Students should:

• read the whole text(s)
• address all parts of each question
• use the lines, table, chart etcetera 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:

• interpret the question and select relevant parts of the text to answer it, for example, discussion of the benefits, not description of le s’cool bus (Q10)
• provide accurate translation of the expression in French, such as translation of onéduque aussi les papilles gustatives and identify its relevance to educating outside the classroom (Q12c)
• answer questions with precision such as, reference to the aim of the week as other countries’ foods and not comparison of Australia and France in general terms (Q12c)
• refer to the whole text in summative questions to support responses (Q14c)
• use dictionaries effectively to provide accurate and consistent spelling.

Areas for students to improve include:

• using evidence from the text instead of relying on personal assumptions and general knowledge to respond, for example, differences between school lunches in Australia and France (Q12a) and general comments about mobile phones (Q14)
• proofreading their responses to avoid incomplete answers in English, such as, ‘educate about the taste buds’ not ‘educate taste buds’
• avoiding repetition of the same content in multiple responses and being aware that each question requires a different answer
• avoiding quoting in French, always providing English equivalents in their responses
• writing answers within the lined space provided, not above the question or in the text only.

Students should:

• write to the word length required
• address audience, purpose and context required by the question
• apply the conventions of the type of text indicated in the question
• use correct register 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:

• use appropriate expressions creatively to convey feelings and describe why they do not want to go to university/on a family trip
• provide detailed reasons for their decision, such as, alternative plans, with justifications
• use a range of tenses (perfect, present, future) conjugated with different pronouns, not just je
• structure their response in a logical manner and elaborate on key points, such as discussion of feelings and reasons for decisions
• use appropriate conventions of the diary entry including cher journal, paragraphs and an appropriate ending.

Areas for students to improve include:

• correctly using basic present tense conjugations, regular, irregular and modal verbs, for example, je dis, je veux aller, and a range of tenses
• avoiding using English syntax, such as je veux à tomber en amour
• eliminating repetitions in vocabulary and in sentence structure, for example je veux visiter, je veux voyager, je veux ...
• using the dictionary effectively to provide a better lexical range, accurate spelling of infinitives and past participles
• planning and organising ideas before writing with careful attention to the question itself (Q18 asked to discuss feelings, not future plans), then check and proofread at the end with focus on conjugations and agreements.