French Beginners 2025 HSC exam pack

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
• demonstrate the ability to manipulate the language
• 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:

• use a wide range of language accurately
• respond to a range of questioning techniques
• provide clear responses to questions with minimal hesitation
• respond appropriately with correct intonation, including for English cognates such as famille, Internet, télévision, biologie
• use correct tenses in line with the intent of the question
• use past tenses with correct auxiliary verbs, for example, J’ai regardé un film and Je suis allée au cinéma
• conjugate a variety of verbs using a range of subject pronouns
• elaborate and justify ideas and opinions using examples relating to past, present and future aspects of their personal world
• use a variety of vocabulary such as adjectives, verbs and expressions
• demonstrate a good understanding of various grammatical points, including adjectival endings and use of modal verbs
• develop ideas by using connectives, adverbs of frequency and contrasting connectors, for example, qui, que, donc, alors, souvent, quelquefois, par contre, pourtant, vraiment, franchement, cependant.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating understanding of different structures and techniques of asking questions, for example, imperatives, parle-moi de..., rising intonation, et tes sports préférés? and specific question words such as comment, qui, quand, où, and combien
• responding with as much detail as possible, rather than waiting to be prompted
• demonstrating awareness of how adjective and noun gender affects pronunciation
• making comparisons, for example, tu préfères le basket ou le foot?
• using negative structures, for example, Je n’aime pas le foot.

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.

In better responses, students were able to:

• respond in an organised and clear manner
• respond concisely, being careful not to omit details
• write succinctly, rather than translate directly
• demonstrate understanding of vocabulary relating to hobbies, sports, subjects, holiday plans, and clothing.

Areas for students to improve include:

• interpreting cardinal numbers (Q2), ordinal numbers (Q4) and directions (Q4)
• demonstrating understanding of prepositions, for example, à, de, en face de (Q4)
• stating how two personalities differ, including clearly stating the two personality traits (Q7)
• summarising by providing the main information, for example, boosting reading confidence and improving wellbeing (Q8b)
• stating the extent clearly, for example, whether it is likely or unlikely and providing clear reasons from the text (Q9).

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:

• identify information relevant to the question, rather than translating everything in the text
• recognise common French expressions, for example, Ben meaning 'well', not a person's name (Q11)
• use the key word in the question as a guide to how to answer the question, for example, ‘explain’ (Q11b)
• differentiate between positive and negative statements, for example, c’est pas mon truc (Q11b)
• distinguish past and future tenses, for example, renouvelée et mise en place (Q12)
• state clearly the extent, for example, the likelihood of the program continuing, rather than describing it (Q12b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• translating or paraphrasing French quotes given in the question to demonstrate understanding, for example, Sourires à Hôpital (Q11a)
• using context to decide on the most appropriate translation from a dictionary, for example, crèche means 'childcare centre' not 'nursery’ (Q12).

Students should:

• write to the word count 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
• use varied expressions throughout the response
• use the dictionary correctly to access vocabulary and expressions that are meaningful in the context of their response
• plan their response prior to writing, and edit their work.

In better responses, students were able to:

• use connectives to produce a coherent narrative, for example, d’abord, ensuite (Q15, Q16)
• include a range of pronouns, rather than starting every sentence with je, for example mes parents pensent que, nous allons étudier à la fac ensemble (Q15, Q16, Q17, Q18)
• apply correct conjugation in a range of tenses such as present, passé composé and future tenses, for example, je rangeais ma chambre quand j’ai trouvé or je vais étudier, rather than je vais étudié (Q15, Q16, Q17, Q18)
• compare past to present, for example, nous étions plus proches (Q15, Q16)
• show reconnection with a cousin returning to Australia by using an appropriate greeting, for example, content de te revoir en Australie or bon retour en Australie (Q15)
• develop ideas for a range of activities for that evening (Q15)
• show reconnection with an old friend by using expressions such as Tu me manques! On était trop mignons (Q16)
• demonstrate control of language in response to the stimulus, for example, tu m’as donné ton dessin le lendemain; je viens de trouver… (Q16)
• show reflection on nostalgic elements, for example, including tu te souviens de...? Tu te rappelles de... ? Quand j’y repense (Q16)
• include exclamations, for example, c‘était le pied, c‘était inoubliable! (Q16)
• focus and expand on ideas related to the required context of university, for example, ideas relating to joining a club, part-time work, living on campus or staying with parents (Q17)
• include questions back to their friend (Q17, Q18).

Areas for students to improve include:

• conjugating verbs correctly, for example, je vais instead of je aller (Q17, Q18)
• translating effectively from the dictionary, rather than using word-for-word translations such as welcome back as bienvenue dos or I was cleaning as j ‘étais nettoyage (Q15)
• using avoir with age, for example, quand j’avais 8 ans, rather than quand j’étais 8 ans (Q16)
• recognising false cognates, for example, j’ai trouvé la photo, rather than j’ai fondé la photo
• adhering to the visual stimulus or writing about travel plans instead of going to university, rather than using rote learned passages (Q15, Q17)
• checking work thoroughly and paying attention to language structures, such as verb and adjective agreements, tense formation, gender, possessive adjectives, the use of ton, ta, tes, prepositions and adjectives versus adverbs.