Indonesian Beginners 2024 HSC exam pack

Conversation

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
• avoid 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 Indonesian to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate consistent knowledge and skills across the range of topics
• develop their responses through adding appropriate opinion and comments
• sequence and add context to their responses through the use of conjunctions, adverbs of frequency and comparatives, for example, sebenarnya, pada masa depan…, akan tetapi, walaupun begitu, baik X maupun Y, sering, sebaiknya
• engage effectively with the question and respond to follow up questions, rather than relying on rehearsed responses and attempting to fill their response with as much pre-prepared content as possible, regardless of whether it is relevant to the original question
• use a wide range of vocabulary and language structures, rather than relying on the vocabulary from the question to formulate their response
• provide clear responses to questions with minimal hesitation
• use correct pronunciation and intonation, ensuring the stress is in the correct position, particularly for words such as menyenangkan, ke, karena, teman-teman, guru, kadang-kadang, mengerjakan, matematika, belajar, olahraga, mendengarkan, Eropa
• respond to more abstract and less predictable questions, for example, ‘Apakah sifat-sifat Anda cocok untuk karir Anda?’, Apakah keluarga Anda bekerja di…”, “Mata pelajaran apa yang paling penting untuk karir Anda?”, ‘Di keluarga Anda, siapa paling rajin?’, Anda mau bekerja sebagai X di Austalia atau di luar negeri?

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating knowledge of a range of vocabulary, especially words and phrases with similar sounds and meanings, for example, cita-cita, rencana, pelajaran, pekerjaan, belajar, belanja, masa depan
• understanding affixation, especially in the case of noun/verb forms, for example, bahasa/berbahasa, bermain/pemain, sehat/kesehatan
• understanding Indonesian syntax, noun + adjective/possessive, for example, guru bahasa Indonesia, orang Indonesia, ruang kelas
• using prepositions appropriately, especially ‘di’, ‘ke’ and ‘pada’, for example, tertarik pada, pergi ke, tinggal di
• avoiding the use of English in responses, either as a single word or to express misunderstanding
• avoiding reliance on the vocabulary from the question to formulate the response, especially not changing the personal/possessive pronoun from Anda to saya
• understanding the full range of question words, for example, Apakah …?, yang mana? Berapa lama …? Mengapa …? Bagaimana …?
• expressing talent or to be good at something, for example, pandai + noun/adjective (pandai matematika).

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
• avoid translating text as part of their response.

In better responses, students were able to:

• integrate relevant details to strengthen the effectiveness of their written response, without quoting the text in Indonesian
• respond to the requirements of the question and directive verbs, for example, ‘Why does Budi leave this message?’ requires identification of the verb (inform) (Q1), audience (mum), purpose (content) and ‘How likely is it that Maria will accompany Beni to the Gold Coast?’. State a position and then give detail from the text, for example, ‘Not very likely because …’ (Q9).

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding repetition of the same detail within their response and lengthy introductory sentences that just rewrite the question
• providing a balanced response including supporting details from the whole text, for example, identifying what decision the speakers were making (Italian or Japanese food) before identifying how they reached their decision (Q4), and providing details from both Rini and Ali’s work experiences (Q7).

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:

• respond to the question requirements through applying relevant details from the whole text, for example, by referring to all three blog posts in their response (Q11b)
• state their position at the start of their response to frame their argument when drawing conclusions or making a judgment (Q12) and (Q14d)
• use only relevant details from the text in their response, not inference based on their personal experiences or learning.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding the inclusion of irrelevant details or quotes, especially without translating from Indonesian to English to show understanding of the language
• summarising information from texts and using the single line provided as a guide (Q13), understanding that summaries are brief statements or accounts of the main point(s)
• identifying feelings/benefits/assumptions at the start of their response when asked to account for or explain why (Q14b,c).

Students should:

• write to the word length 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
• avoid repeating the same expressions throughout the response
• use the dictionary correctly to access vocabulary and expressions that are meaningful in the context of their response
• avoid listing
• plan their response prior to writing and edit their work.

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify the question they had chosen in the space provided for questions with options (Q17, Q18)
• plan their responses and include relevant details, register and structure, for example, forming an Indonesian study group (Q15)
• apply a range of vocabulary and language structures with accuracy, for example, third person object-focus construction (noun + di-verb + subject), first and second person object-focus construction (noun + pronoun + baseword-verb)
• organise ideas and information logically and coherently through the use of conjunctions, for example, selain itu, walaupun, lebih … daripada …, oleh karena itu
• use words such as ini, itu, adalah and prepositions di, pada, ke correctly.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding Indonesian affixation, in particular noun and verb forms, for example, membeli/pembeli/pembelian, teman/berteman
• spelling of vocabulary items, in particular words that include the soft ‘h’ sound, for example, tahu, sudah, sekolah, kasih, mudah; and words that do not include the soft ‘h’ sound, for example, terima, kursus
• avoiding overuse of Indonesian dictionaries, especially if they are not confident using them and understanding the abbreviations, for example, ‘kb.’- kata benda (noun),‘lih.’ (lihat - see another entry); and, when looking up verbs, ensuring that the noun/object to which the verb applies is appropriate for the intended application or context, for example, memasang is used for electrical goodsand menanam is used in reference to gardening
• understanding the characteristics of text types, for example, a note or message should not start with selamat pagi but should begin by addressing the recipient directlysuch as nenek dan kakek, or kepada nenek dan kakek, and a speech should begin by formally addressing the audience
• selecting and maintaining appropriate register throughout their response, for example, aku/saya, kamu/Anda
• avoiding plagiarising texts and phrases from the Reading Section of the HSC examination paper in their written responses.