Italian 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 language to fulfil the requirements of the question
• be prepared to be interrupted by the examiner
• use Italian 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
• respond appropriately with correct intonation, including for English cognates such as universitá (university). For example, L’anno prossimo vado all’universitá? (Next year I will go to university), difficile (difficult), Ho trovato la matematica difficile
• use correct tenses in line with the intent of the question
• conjugate and use a variety of verbs across past, present, future tense and conditional forms, for example, faccio (I do), ho fatto (I did), farò (I will do), vorrei fare (I would like to do)
• elaborate and justify ideas and opinions using authentic and personalised examples relating to past, present and future aspects of their personal world
• provide a variety of adjectives, for example, affidabile (reliable), disponibile (available), scocciante (annoying)
• demonstrate a good understanding of various grammatical points, including case endings, adjectival endings, and use of modal verbs, for example, le mie sorelle (my sisters), i miei insegnanti (my teachers), posso fare delle belle passeggiate (I can go for nice walks), devo concentrarmi sugli studi (I have to focus on my studies), voglio trovarmi un lavoretto dopo la maturità (I want to find a part-time job after finishing high school)
• develop ideas by using connectives, adverbs of frequency, and contrasting connectors, for example, sempre (always), mai (never), and ancora (still).

Areas for students to improve include:

• elaborating on topics with relevant information and opinions
• understanding interrogatives, for example, dove (where), quando (when), con chi? (with whom?)
• responding with fluency
• using the verb fare (to do/make) effectively in the present, past, and future, for example, Cosa facevi da piccolo? (What did you do as a child?)
• understanding questions, for example, Cosa fai dopo quest’esame? (What are you doing after this exam?), A chi assomigli? (Who do you resemble?), Ti mancherà la scuola? (Will you miss school?), Ti mancheranno i tuoi amici/i tuoi professori? (Will you miss your friends/your teachers?), Cosa fai nel tuo tempo libero? (What do you do in your free time?) (libero is often confused with libri (books))
• using correct pronouns, for example, mia sorella (my sister), mio padre (my father), i miei amici (my friends)
• elaborating on their answers, using full sentences with justifications, opinions, and/or examples, rather than responding with one-word answers such as ‘sì’ (yes) or ‘no’
• using possessives appropriately and applying third person and gender agreement when talking about family and friends
• using past tense structures accurately with the correct auxillary, essere (to be) or avere (to have) before the past participle, for example, sono andato in Italia (I went to Italy), abbiamo visto un film interessante (we saw an interesting film)
• including opinions by adding perché (because), for example, mi piace l'italiano perché è la mia vera passione (I like Italian because it is my true passion)
• listening to the examiner including for the tense used in the question and responding accordingly, for example, cosa facevi da bambino? (What did you use to do as a child?)
• using connectives when moving from topic to topic, for example, qundi (so) ho deciso di fare un anno di pausa l’anno prossimo quindi posso viaggiare all’estero e riposarmi (I have decided to take a gap year next year, so I can travel abroad and rest).

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:

• demonstrate understanding of ti ho preparato la cena (I have prepared dinner), but also il tuo piatto preferito (your favourite dish) (Q3)
• include all three items to be purchased, della frutta, verdura fresca e zucchero (fruit, fresh vegetables and sugar) (Q4)
• recognise vocabulary and structures, and support evaluations of Nicolo's character with evidence from the text, that is, him selling art to collect money and then donate to the charities (Q5)
• identify that the students were dell’anno dodici (HSC students), and not all students (Q6a)
• access the vocabulary effectively and accurately, for example, meditazione ... dà lezioni di cucina vegetariana (meditation ... to lessons of vegetarian cooking) (Q6b)
• provide detailed responses that demonstrate comprehensive understanding, particularly distinguishing between the issue and the reason, for example, L’arrivo della squadra nazionale di pallavolo...i tifosi...hanno bloccato l’entrata dell’aeroporto (The arrival of the national volleyball team... the fans... blocked the entrance of the airport) (Q7)
• recognise vocabulary that Salvatore is raffreddore (sick) and not freddo (cold) and also that he was talking about a stadio (stadium) and not studio (study) (Q8)
• identify that only one dress was being purchased, and it would be shared between the two girls, rather than one girl borrowing the other girl's dress, that is, Tu indosserai il vestito alla tua festa di fine anno venerdì sera, poi lo lavi e Lisa lo indosserà alla sua festa la settimana dopo (You will wear the dress to your end-of-year party on Friday night, then you will wash it, and Lisa will wear it to her party the following week) (Q9)
• demonstrate understanding and infer meaning, rather than just translating (Q10).

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding key vocabulary, clarifying that caldo (hot) is not cold (Q2), terracotta (terracotta) is not ricotta (Q5), meditazione (meditation) (Q6) is not medicine, and severo, antipatico (strict, unfriendly) (Q10)
• comprehending tenses to support their responses, including terms like diventerai (you will become) (Q5), indosserai (you will wear) (Q9), indosserà (he/she will wear) (Q9), dovresti (you should) (Q10)
• addressing the question using their own words (Q4, Q5, Q10)
• formulating judgements with supporting evidence, rather than listing information (Q5, Q6)
• identifying the plural to ensure a proper understanding of the context (Q7)
• correctly identifying both perspectives of the speakers and comparing the two points of view (Q10).

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 that Renzo was an ambientalista (environmentalist) and the connection to the mode of transport (Q13a)
• connect the relevant information in their response, and identify the finer nuances (Q13b)
• demonstrate why the advice was not relevant, identifying specific detail with reference to the text (Q14a)
• compare between both attitudes equally, demonstrate a thorough understanding of the opposite belief systems, the love and hate relationship with animals, their various contrasting experiences and conclude with the notions of being brave and fearful (Q14b)
• provide details from the text, demonstrating an understanding of a lifelong dream, the loss of employment and the notion of Italian origins (Q15a)
• understand both the main idea and supporting details within the text, and identify the concept of transformation connecting the cause and the effect (Q15b)
• use supporting details to explain the statement not just provide translation (Q15c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using dictionaries to clarify definitions, for example, fattoria (farm) (Q15b), bambini, fuori, compagnia (children, outside, company) (Q14a), sacco a pelo (sleeping bag) (Q13a)
• reviewing their answers to ensure cohesion and clarity in their English expressions, particularly in relation to the skill of comparison (Q14b)
• accurately interpreting phrases like un pezzo di casa lontano da casa (a piece of home away from home), ensuring their responses make sense in English (Q15c)
• understanding the context of the blog, identifying the parameters and how the advice was irrelevant (Q14a)
• providing sufficient inference in answers, particularly regarding an understanding of concepts (Q14, Q15)
• interpreting vocabulary accurately, for example, solo meaning ‘alone’ and not ‘only’ (Q13a).

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
• use varied expressions throughout the response
• use the dictionary appropriately 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:

• address context, purpose, and audience effectively, including the invitation (Q16) and the email text type (Q18, Q19)
• provide relevant information clearly addressing the topics of home, neighbourhood and proposed activities (Q18)
• organise their ideas into coherent paragraphs for clearer communication (Q18, Q19)
• explaining exactly what they did wrong and how they proposed to make up for it (Q17)
• use pronouns correctly, for example, voglio invitarti (I want to invite you), fammi sapere (let me know) (Q16)
• use colloquial expressions, for example, ti va di venire? (do you feel like coming?), nonvedo l'ora (I can't wait), che ne pensi? (what do you think?) (Q16, Q18)
• use a variety of tenses, including conditional forms such as ti piacerebbe (would you like), imperfect forms such as ero (I was), gerunds such as sto scrivendo (I'm writing) (Q16, Q17)
• demonstrate knowledge of linking words, for example, inoltre (furthermore) and quindi (therefore), to enhance coherence
• use agreements correctly, for example, il problema (the problem), cara Maria (dear Maria)
• demonstrate knowledge of pronouns, for example, vederti (see you), conoscerti (meet you) (Q18).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using accurate vocabulary for the scenario, for example, (Q16) or prossimo (next) instead of vicino (neighbour) (Q18)
• using reflexive verbs correctly, for example, vestirti (to dress oneself), rather than vestirsi (Q16)
• using correct spelling, for example, mamma (mum), papà (dad) (Q17), spiaggia (beach), ristorante (restaurant), bagno (bathroom), parchi (parks) and other plurals (Q18)
• using articulated prepositions, for example, nella (in the), instead of in la (in the) (Q16, Q17, Q18, Q19)
• using the correct definite article, for example, lo zio, instead of il zio (the uncle), il problema, instead of la problema (the problem), l'imbarazzo, instead of il imbarazzo (the embarrassment) (Q17)
• using the tu form when addressing one parent and the voi form when addressing both parents throughout the whole script (Q17)
• using correct grammatical structures, for example, subject/verb agreement in phrases such as caro Maria (dear Maria) and ensuring correct gender agreement vestito rosso (red dress), instead of rosso vestito (Q18, Q19)
• conjugating verbs to maintain grammatical accuracy
• using future and conditional tense accurately, for example, saremo (we will be), instead of saremmo (we would be), ci divertiremo (we will have fun), instead of ci divertiremmo (we would have fun) (Q16, Q18)
• avoiding the use of false friends, for example, carattere (personality) for character (Q16)
• using relevant information, rather than phrases that do not answer the question (Q18, Q19)
• engaging in careful editing to ensure clarity and correctness throughout their work.