Italian Continuers 2017 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• be prepared to respond to questions, within the theme of the Individual, with relevant information and reflect on and justify opinions by elaborating spontaneously to each question and not simply supplying yes/no responses or a list of names, places etc
• be comfortable with correcting themselves if they realise they have made a pronunciation or grammatical mistake
• ask, in Italian, for the question to be repeated, clarified or rephrased if they don’t understand the question
• not ask the examiner to translate words or questions
• not identify themselves, their teachers or school in the exam.

Students should expect:

• to be interrupted at an appropriate moment if they attempt to dominate the conversation with long, prepared responses as they are required to demonstrate their ability to respond to whatever is asked
• that giving a prepared response is unlikely to effectively answer the question that has been asked
• questions relating to past, present, future, conditional and hypothetical experience.

In better responses, students were able to:

• communicate with fluency and authenticity with in-depth responses to a range of questions
• engage effectively across a range of syllabus topics
• express ideas clearly and consistently, justifying opinions
• give responses that are reflective, not just descriptive
• manipulate language deftly and accurately, especially in third person
• manipulate tenses effectively and spontaneously and move between the tenses with ease and with minimal errors
• use a broad range of sophisticated vocabulary and a variety of complex structures
• use authentic vocabulary and expressions
• demonstrate authentic pronunciation and intonation
• use linkers and fillers effectively and appropriately
• use idiomatic expressions appropriately and authentically
• avoid using English syntax and Anglicisms
• know the correct word to use, for example, imparare vs insegnare, educazione vs istruzione; genitori vs parenti; soggetto vs materia
• correctly respond to Da quanto tempo?/ Quando OR Come l’hai conosciuto?/ Come mai?

Students should:

• use the Candidates’ Notes column to make notes and ensure all relevant information is incorporated into the final response
• express themselves well in English, where appropriate, using full sentences
• take care with translations of vocabulary and include inferred meaning rather than literal translations
• make use of their dictionary where possible
• refer to the title of the texts to give insight into responses for the text
• read questions carefully and answer what the question is asking
• provide global and relevant responses
• address all cues, those explicitly stated as well as those implied
• organise ideas in paragraphs to produce coherent texts
• paraphrase quotes in English and avoid quoting from the text in Italian without explanation
• communicate effectively in Italian, and be prepared to write on a variety of topics
• demonstrate understanding of audience, purpose and context of the task.

Students should expect:

• questions of varying difficulty for example questions that require them to describe, identify tone, evaluate, summarise information, explain and justify their understanding making reference to the text
• to write the approximate number of words as specified in the instructions
• to respond to comments, statements and/or specific information
• that not all cues to which they need to respond may be explicit questions (pay attention to structure and punctuation that denotes tone)
• to write about the past, present, conditional and future.

Students can prepare for this examination by:

• practising past HSC examinations under timed conditions
• practising using of a variety of contexts, text types, expressions, authentic vocabulary and language structures
• revising the correct use of past tenses, present subjunctive, conditional mood, future tense and hypothetical constructions
• listening to authentic Italian in a range of contexts
• practising dictionary skills and reading the definition given in the dictionary and applying the correct meaning for the context provided, rather than simply opting first entry
• broadening their vocabulary and revising grammar and vocabulary related to specific topic areas/themes
• building a bank of idiomatic expressions and their appropriate context
• reading a variety of authentic texts in Italian in order to enrich and develop their own ability to manipulate the language and express ideas.

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify the key elements and context of the text
• respond specifically to the question asked, linking ideas to the question, rather than transcribing the text into English
• use concrete evidence from the text as justification for their point of view
• express their ideas in a concise way and take the lines and mark value as an indication of the length of the response.
• abulary and sentence structure.

Part A

Question 9

In better responses, students were able to:

• give opinions and/or comments and provide relevant information when answering the questions
• link the relevant comments to the trend in Rosa’s blog, that is the need to maintain traditional Italian cuisine
• discern that ‘facevo parte’ is in the past
• understand that ‘come se fossi con mia nonna’ meant they were metaphorically with their grandmother; that ‘etichette’ was translated as labels, not ‘etiquette’; ‘tradizioni culinarie’ and ‘cucina’ as culinary traditions and cuisine; to link ‘la bilancia’ to the context as scales; ‘alla moda’ to be the latest trend, and not ‘to be in fashion’
• refer to the idea of Italian culinary traditions being lost, the concerning issue of sedentary lifestyles and obesity of today’s youth.

Question 10

In better responses, students were able to:

• comprehend that Claudio had quit his job
• show thorough comprehension of the past tense
• understand that posto fisso is a permanent position/job, fallito means failed in this context, not bankrupt;‘valore’ linked with Claudio’s worth, not ‘values’; ‘cameriere’ translate as ‘waiter’ and not as maid, servant, or waitress.

Part B

Question 11

In better responses, students were able to:

• address all cues in an organised, coherent manner
• provide a creative response by giving details of their own and not simply repeating the wording of the text
• use authentic language
• address the tone and purpose and respond appropriately.

Question 12

In better responses, students were able to:

• respond in a creative manner and manipulate the language authentically
• use a variety of tenses and provide reasons/justifications
• give opinions and/or comments effectively and appropriately
• use a variety of vocabulary appropriate to the task with only minor inaccuracies in grammar, vocabulary and sentence structure
• interpret tone from the sentence structure and punctuation.

Question 13

In better responses, students were able to:

• use a variety of tenses and provide reasons/justifications/persuasion
• address audience, purpose and context well
• give opinions and/or comments effectively and appropriately
• demonstrate a wide variety of structures relevant to the task
• respond with only minor inaccuracies in grammar, vocabulary and sentence structure.