Indonesian 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
• 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:

• use a wide range of language accurately and authentically
• provide clear responses to questions with minimal hesitation
• provide relevant answers to the exam questions rather than giving a prepared answer
• respond appropriately with correct intonation, including for English cognates, for example, universitas (university), karier (career), Biologi (Biology) Eropa (Europe)
• elaborate ideas and opinions using examples relating to past, present and future aspects of their personal world
• provide a variety of adjectives, for example, membosankan (boring), paling penting (most important), menarik sekali (very interesting)
• develop ideas by using connectives, adverbs of frequency and contrasting connectors, for example, lebih... daripada (more ... than), biasanya (usually), sering (often), walaupun (although), selain itu (apart from that).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using correct word order, for example, rumah saya (my house), teman baik saya (my best friend), penting sekali (very important)
• including prepositions within sentences, for example, belajar di universitas (to study at university), pergi ke luar negeri (to go overseas).

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:

• demonstrate an understanding of the text by drawing on relevant textual detail in their responses
• engage with the intention of the question (directive verb) to make a judgement and give reasons using details from the text.

Areas for students to improve include:

• knowledge of common vocabulary items, for example, empat puluh (forty), sepak bola (soccer), kakak (older sibling), adik (younger sibling), laki-laki (male), perempuan (female).

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:

• engage with the intention of the question and provide relevant details to support their responses, for example, for purpose questions , students must identify the verb, audience and purpose (content) (Q11)
• create a response using appropriate vocabulary items and cognates.

Areas for students to improve include:

• addressing the question, rather than giving a simple description/translation of the text, for example, students should compare Kate’s experiences using details from the text to support their response (Q12b)
• understanding vocabulary, for example, musim (season), seni (art), mencuci piring (to do the dishes), memberi makan kucing (to feed the cat)
• referencing the text in their own words, rather than quoting the text in Indonesian.

Students should:

• adhere to the suggested word count
• 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 before writing, and edit their work.

In better responses, students were able to:

• plan their responses and include relevant details to add depth to their ideas
• apply appropriate text type features, register, and structure. For example, use a range of language structures, rather than listing nouns such as subjects or places to visit in Australia (Q18, Q19)
• address the cousin and encourage them to come to the movies in various ways, such as, with free tickets or by nominating a favourite genre or actor (Q17)
• demonstrate control of vocabulary through the use of correct and varied sentence structures, for example, object focus construction (OFC), including first person OFC
• use correct spelling, for example, dengan (with), sekolah (school), mengunjungi (to visit), mendengarkan (to listen to).

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring handwriting is legible
• demonstrating knowledge of the meaning and use of conjunctions, for example, sehingga (consequently) and supaya (so that), and prepositions, for example, untuk (for/in order to), dengan (with), di (in/on/at a place), ke (to, a place), pada (in/on/at a time)
• using the appropriate language to express invitation, for example, tolong (please, when requesting something that will benefit you), rather than mau ikut? (want to come?), mau ikut ke...? (want to come to ...?) (Q17)
• demonstrating knowledge through application of affixation, for example, using abstract nouns, me-kan adjectives, differentiating between verb and noun forms, such as makan (to eat) and makanan (food)
• using simple word order, for example, bola voli (volleyball), bagus sekali (very good), makanan enak (delicious food), cuaca panas (hot weather)
• attempting all questions in Indonesian.