German Beginners 2016 HSC exam pack

Characteristics of better responses:

• relevant comments and opinions were provided
• good pronunciation and intonation were used
• a wide range of vocabulary and a variety of sentence structures were used
• good control of grammatical points, knowledge of cases, a variety of tenses, several subordinate clauses, correct adjective endings, subject verb inversion and modals were demonstrated
• responses to challenging questions were provided
• expressions such as tod langweilig, total faul were used to make the conversation sound more natural.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

• verb endings, both first and third person, were incorrectly used
• past tense was not used or incorrectly formed
• a limited range of vocabulary was evident
• the use of different sentence structures was limited
• information and vocabulary such as interessant, nett, ich finde, Haare und Augen, were repeatedly used
• an answer on the topic rather than the question was provided
• English words and syntax were used
• long pauses were evident and incomplete sentences were used
• vocabulary including bekommen, magst/ machst, wer ≠ where, gesund, was misunderstood
• vocabulary including kochen, Küche, Kuchen, Haus/Hause, was mispronounced.

Characteristics of better responses:

• relevant specific details were provided
• relevant responses were presented in a logical manner
• tense was correctly used
• specific vocabulary items were interpreted and reflected a perceptive understanding.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

• the intent of the text was misunderstood
• students merely translated and did not demonstrate a global understanding of the text
• responses were limited to one or two items of vocabulary from the text
• the depth of response did not correspond to the value of the question
• vocabulary including Vekehrsfunk, vor, heute Nachmittag, ausgesehen, empfehlen and wütend, was misunderstood.

Characteristics of better responses:

• relevant details from the texts were included to support the response when necessary
• a global understanding of the entire text was demonstrated
• specific details were provided where appropriate
• responses were well-structured and sequenced
• tense was correctly used.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

• specific and relevant details were lacking
• understanding of the texts was limited
• the dictionary was not used or incorrectly used
• tenses were misunderstood
• a reason why an emotion or feeling occurred was not provided
• vocabulary including liefen, Umkleiderraum, Strafe, Frösche, Rheinfahrt, Lastschiffe,jeder, auch in Chemie, Konservendose, Vorteil, gereist, Gefängnis, unterstützen, einander, klingt, Forscher, seltene, Kakteensammlung, giftigen, Geschenk, solch and Krach was misunderstood.

Characteristics of better responses:

• planning of responses was evident
• ideas were relevant.
• a variety of sentence structures, vocabulary and correct grammar and punctuation were used
• use of the word limit for all questions was appropriate
• a range of relevant vocabulary was used
• multiple tenses and modals were attempted.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

• the word limit was not met
• English syntax and English words were used constantly
• verb conjugation and placement was limited
• the dictionary was incorrectly used
• phrases were copied from the reading texts
• tenses were misused, making the text difficult to understand
• use of more complex structures or varied tenses was limited.