Japanese 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
• use a variety of vocabulary, phrases and expressions to avoid repetition
• 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:

• use a wide range of language accurately and authentically
• provide clear responses to questions with minimal hesitation
• provide relevant answers to unexpected questions rather than giving a rehearsed answer
• respond appropriately with correct pronunciation and intonation, including for words in katakana
• use correct tenses in line with the content of the question
• conjugate and use a variety of verbs across past, present, future tenses and conditional forms, for example, masendeshita, tari tari shimasu
• elaborate and justify ideas and opinions using examples relating to past, present and future aspects of their personal world
• use a variety of adjectives beyond commonly used words such as omoshiroi, kibishii, tanoshii
• develop ideas by using connectives and adverbs of frequency, for example, amari with a negative, taitei, sore kara, shikashi, ga.

Areas for students to improve include:

• using the correct verb ending, for example, studying subjects benkyoushiteimasu
• using a range of adjectives
• using the correct conjugation form of tari
• correct use of particles, for example, ni/de, possessive no
• correct use of arimasu/imasu.

Students should:

• read each question carefully
• make notes in the Candidate’s Notes column on the right side of the page
• transcribe their responses 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:

• understand conversations in the plain form
• include dates and times in responses
• understand the structure of inviting someone to do something
• understand that another person’s words are being quoted
• explain someone’s decision for doing something or a reason why something has happened. For example, there is no snow on Mt Fuji in November, although normally there would be at this time
• provide relevant and essential information
• identify that Kento was made to eat healthy food rather than that he wasn’t allowed to eat ice cream (Q7)
• identify that Jack studies by himself online, including watching anime and listening to the radio for 3 hours from 5pm to 8pm every day (Q8)
• link the personality traits to the relevant details in the text. For example, Jack is social because he enjoys talking to Japanese people when he is in Japan now (Q8)
• identify that Jack is humble as he says he is not yet good at Japanese when complimented (Q8)
• understand that it was Hanako’s father who would be lonely, not Hanako (Q9)
• understand that the father’s final comment, ‘Well call me every day’, indicated that Hanako was successful in convincing her father (Q9)
• link the idea with the father’s concern, for example, that she will be able to travel around Europe with a friend, so that she will not be in the more dangerous position of travelling alone (Q9).

Areas for students to improve include:

• learning basic vocabulary, for example, days of the week and adjectives
• understanding how to express inviting someone to do something. For example, ‘eiga o mi ni ikanai?’
• revising important key structures. For example, expressing ability using plain form plus koto ga dekiru
• listening to the text and understanding all the information provided
• increasing the range of vocabulary understood and produced
• understanding different tenses, for example, kodomo no toki, meaning Kento was unhappy with the difference in the treatment of his younger sister compared to when he was a child, rather than currently (Q7)
• understanding that sore ni, heya wa kitanai means that her room is messy, rather than that she does not clean her room (Q7)
• answering the question by inferring meaning from the information in the text rather than providing a translation. For example, providing personality traits using the information provided (Q8)
• understanding katakana words. For example, Hanako’s plan was to live in England (igirisu), not Greece (Q9)
• understanding that Hanako’s plan was to move to England to improve her English, not just to study English (Q9)
• understanding adjectives, for example, sabishii, meaning lonely.

Students should:

• read the whole text(s)
• address all parts of each question
• use the lines, table, chart provided for their responses
• respond fully to the question by including required details
• support their responses with evidence from the text where indicated
• 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:

• write numerals clearly when writing the date (Q10a)
• respond with ‘flower arranging’ rather than ‘writing ikebana’ (Q10b)
• understand the noun suiei when written half in kanji (sui) and half in hiragana (ei) (Q11a)
• demonstrate that itteiru implies that Yuko and Sue go to the beach regularly (Q11a)
• refer to both reasons why Yuko is disappointed—that she had been sick and couldn’t go out, and that her English had not improved due to the large number of Japanese people in Hawaii (Q11b)
• explain that Mr Yamada was a parent who was asking the teacher to reduce the amount of homework being given to his daughter (Q12)
• identify that the text for (Q13) was aimed at Japanese people who often travel in Japan, not at people who travel to Japan
• read the question carefully and address the factors that influenced the author’s decision (Q14b)
• justify their ideas with specific information from the text.

Areas for students to improve include:

• recognising common nouns, for example, suiei, when they are written in a combination of kanji and hiragana
• recognising that there may be multiple reasons why the writer of the text is disappointed
• stating clearly that the purpose of the text is to ask the teacher not to give so much homework (Q12)
• supporting their responses with a range of information from the text.

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 correctly 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:

• structure their writing by using conjunctions. For example, sorekara, soshite, sono atode, dakara, demo
• use the correct register consistently throughout their response. For example, polite form (Q15) and plain form (Q16)
• write hosuto famirii in katakana correctly (Q15)
• clearly and succinctly explain the reasons for returning home late tonight (Q15)
• specify an approximate time of return (Q15)
• reassure their host family not to worry about them (Q15)
• correctly conjugate verbs, adjectives and nouns into the plain past form (Q16)
• write about an interesting restaurant experience as required by the question, as opposed to just using the word omoshiroi, or writing about eating ordinary food at a restaurant (Q16)
• write about going to the restaurant today (Q16)
• suggest going to the restaurant with a close friend (Q16)
• express feelings about their experience (Q16)
• use a wide range of vocabulary and grammatical structures accurately
• use a range of prescribed kanji
• demonstrate creativity and originality
• use the correct conventions of the required text type
• address all the elements of the question
• address the audience by using appropriate greetings at the beginning and ending. For example, minasan, ~ni tsuite hanashitai desu, kiite arigatogozaimasu (Q17, Q18)
• address the purpose by including activities on the weekend in the town (Q17), or today’s special schedule of activities at school, in a chronological manner (Q18)
• write the required ji-length.

Areas for students to improve include:

• addressing all parts of the question concisely and succinctly
• maintaining the correct register throughout their response
• using the correct spelling. For example, hosuto famirii, okaasan (Q15) and kyou, resutoran, issho ni (Q16)
• using the plain past form to describe a past experience, rather than describing an experience that will happen in the future (Q16)
• using a wide range of vocabulary and grammar structures
• using particles correctly
• using conjugations of verbs and adjectives accurately, for example, itta, tanoshikatta (Q16)
• using prescribed kanji correctly, for example, kazoku, okaasan, ie (Q15) and kyou, tabeta (Q16)
• addressing the audience by including all the conventions of a speech (Q17, Q18)
• writing the required ji-length.