Japanese Beginners exam papers
Japanese Beginners 2020 HSC exam pack
2020 Japanese Beginners HSC exam papers
Japanese Beginners HSC Exam paper - transcript - audio 2020
Marking guidelines
Marking guidelines are developed with the examination paper and are used by markers to guide their marking of a student's response. The table shows each question and the criteria with each mark or mark range.
Sample answers may also be developed and included in the guidelines to make sure questions assess a student's knowledge and skills, and guide the Supervisor of Marking on the expected nature and scope of a student's response. They are not intended to be exemplary or even complete answers or responses.
Marking feedback
Select from the link(s) below to view feedback about how students performed in this year’s examination.
Use the feedback to guide preparation for future examinations. Feedback includes an overview of the qualities of better responses. Feedback may not be provided for every question.
Feedback on practical examination
Oral examination
Conversation
Students should:
- be prepared to communicate about a variety of topics relating to their personal world
- answer the question asked rather than presenting pre-prepared responses
- 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 the 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 Japanese to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.
In better responses, students were able to:
- manipulate language effectively and accurately to address the question asked
- respond to the question’s key word(s) and elaborate responses using relevant and appropriate information
- use the opportunities provided to demonstrate their knowledge of a wide and sophisticated range of vocabulary and sentence structures
- use conjunctions such as, soshite, demo, dakara, sorekara, to link ideas
- use tense and particles correctly
- respond in complete sentences
- provide clear, confident and fluent responses, with correct pronunciation and intonation.
Areas for students to improve include:
- understanding of words in the question, such as dare, itsu, doushite, dochira, doko, douyatte, donogurai and donna
- not confusing the following words: imasu/arimasu, ikimasu/kimasu, otousan/otoutosan, otousan/okaasan, chuugoku/chuugaku, eigo/eiga, nihongo/nihon
- understanding how to use the correct form of the verb/adjective/noun before some grammar structures such as, verb stem + tai; plain form + to omoimasu; past plain form + atode/koto ga arimasu; plain form verb + maeni/tsumori
- ensuring that the correct tense is used in their responses
- using correct particles, for example, ni/de
- listening to the question carefully to ensure that responses are relevant
- answering the question directly, then expanding with relevant information
- ensuring that there is a variety of advanced language structures in their responses
- pronouncing katakana words correctly
- ensuring that verbs are nominalised correctly, where appropriate, for example, shumi wa ongaku wo kiku koto desu.
Feedback on written examination
Section I
Listening
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 on to the lines, using the space provided for each question
- use the lines provided as a guide to the length of the response required
- ensure 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
- edit their work.
In better responses, students were able to:
- recognise key vocabulary, for example, katakana words keanzu (Q1) apaato, geemu (Q2) and furaitoattendo (Q9); kaze ga tsuyoi, chikaku, taiikukan (Q4), megane wo kakeru (Q5)
- understand grammatical structures, for example, no hou ga… yori (Q5), the days of the week (Q4, Q6), shiai,kibishii (Q6), gomibako (Q7), aisatsu, taisetsu (Q8), ryokou, kyoumi, okyaku (Q9), nedan ga yasui, dentouteki (Q10)
- provide detail to answer the question comprehensively and justify their answer
- infer meaning to explain a point such as in Q4 – movement to higher ground is inferred in order to leave river area during typhoons
- link Emily’s experience to club expectations Q6
- create an argument and support it with a lot of information from the text Q6 -10.
Areas for students to improve include:
- carefully writing names in romaji, for example, ko not co, ri not li
- stating clearly if you agree or do not agree, or if a situation is likely or unlikely, and support your decision
- translating words correctly, for example, kibishii is strict, not ‘difficult’
- giving as much detail as possible to support your argument
- learning the names of the four main islands of Japan
- learning basic numbers and dates.
Section II
Reading
Students should:
- read the whole text(s)
- address all parts of each question
- use the lines, table and/or chart allocated for the response
- provide all necessary details to respond fully to the question
- support their responses with evidence from the text where required
- use their own words rather than giving a literal translation.
In better responses, students were able to:
- understand a range of kanji, for example, 車 (Q11), 時 金 (Q12), 週間 水 (Q13), 電話 (Q15)
- recognise key vocabulary, for example, katakana words hausushittaa (Q12), openingu seremonii, jimu (Q13) and sandaru (Q15); cultural expressions, for example, obon, (Q12) and bunkasai (Q15); shujin, michi ga konde iru (Q11) yotei, otoshi yori, niwa, untenmenkyo (Q12), hajimete, shiai, mushiatsui (Q13), onna no ko, ottoko no ko, aite iru, shimatte iru, kikai (Q14), jiyuu ninaru, kinpatsu, muttsu, kawarimasen, sanka, undoukai (Q15)
- identify the main subjects of a complex sentence, for example, in Q11 the mother was confused with the husband
- clearly and succinctly summarise the key information is the passage (Q13)
- refer to specific vocabulary in their responses relevant to the question, such as isogashii (Q11), hajimarimasu (Q12)
- discuss features of the two gyms using comparative language such as ‘however’, ‘as opposed to’, ‘bigger’ and ‘compared with’, rather than just translating the text (Q14)
- read the text for detail and correctly identify which school rules had changed and why (Q15b)
- understand which school rules had stayed the same, rather than guessing from key words (Q15c).
Areas for students to improve include:
- reading the passages more quickly.
- writing more legibly
- attempting all questions
- reviewing common Kanji
- summarising succinctly
- reading the question properly and understanding what is required in the answer, for example ‘compare’
- correctly translating Kanji numbers, and not attempting to convert Japanese currency to dollars (Q14)
- understanding sentences with relative clauses (Q14)
- reading for detail, rather than just picking up isolated words and making assumptions (Q15b).
Section III
Writing in Language
Students should:
- write to the word length required
- address audience, purpose and context required by the question
- apply the conventions of the type of text indicated in the question
- use correct register throughout the response
- use a range of tenses, sentence structures and a variety of vocabulary
- avoid repeating the same expressions throughout the response
- use the dictionary carefully to access vocabulary and expressions that are meaningful in the context of their response
- avoid listing
- edit their work.
In better responses, students were able to:
- use the speech format, including a greeting to the audience, introducing the topic of the speech and ending the speech
- organise ideas in a logical manner and sequence
- use a wide range of grammar structures with high accuracy, such as relative clauses and nominalised verbs
- use multiple advanced grammar structures in one sentence
- consistently use correct particles
- correctly use negative/past form of verbs and adjectives
- present all/most syllabus kanji
- use conjunctions effectively
- use extensive vocabulary and shows high accuracy in spelling.
Areas for students to improve include:
- using effective time management strategies
- using the correct text type format; a speech format, not a letter or a message was required in this question
- staying on topic (popular Australian leisure) instead of talking about personal hobbies and preferences (Q19)
- providing depth in ideas, for example, giving reasons for the popularity of the leisure mentioned
- using squared paper correctly
- using all prescribed Kanji
- spelling accurately, particularly the basic words like konnichiwa, ohayougozaimasu, minasan.etc
- writing the required length of the speech – 250ji is required
- addressing the required topic instead of talking about something else first
- writing commonly used katakana words correctly, such as Oosutoraria.
HSC exam resources
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Japanese Beginners Syllabus
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