Modern Greek Beginners 2023 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
• 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
• use Modern Greek to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question
• be prepared to be interrupted by the examiner.

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide depth and extend response by giving an opinion and justification, for example, θέλω να σπουδάσω ιατρική γιατί θέλω να βοηθάω τους ανθρώπους
• use cases, and adjectival endings correctly, for example, μου αρέσει να βλέπω τηλεόραση, η αδερφή μου είναι αστεία, ωραία παραδοσιακά φαγητά
• use complete sentences with correct verb endings that match the subject, for example, ο πατέρας μου κατάγεται από την Τρίπολη
• use subordinate clauses and conjunctions with correct word order, in particular clauses with γιατί, for example, θέλω να βρω δουλειά στο κέντρο της πόλης γιατί θέλω να έχω τα δικά μου χρήματα για να μπορώ να βγαίνω με τους φίλους μου
• use the future tense correctly, for example, Θα πάω στην Ελλάδα και θα δω τους συγγενείς μου
• use the simple past tense correctly, for example, Πρώτα πήγαμε στη Ρόδο και μείναμε με τους συγγενείς μας
• demonstrate an excellent control of a variety of vocabulary and language structures, for example, κατάγομαι, απολαμβάνω, ψυχική υγεία
• use the verb ‘μου αρέσει’ correctly, for example, Ερώτηση: Τι σας αρέσει να κάνετε σαν οικογένεια; Απάντηση: Μας αρέσει να πηγαίνουμε στο αγαπημένο μας εστιατόριο.

Areas for students to improve include:

• revising vocabulary and expressions relating to topics associated with the student's personal world
• responding in a full sentence or a complete phrase rather than giving single word responses, for example, Ερώτηση: Είσαι καλός μαθητής / καλή μαθήτρια; Απάντηση: Ναι πιστεύω ότι είμαι καλός μαθητής / καλή μαθήτρια γιατί πάντα κάνω τα μαθήματά μου
• paying attention to agreements between articles, nouns and adjectives, for example, στο κέντρο της πόλης, το δωμάτιό μου είναι πολύ μεγάλο, το σπίτι μου εχει δύο σαλόνια και τέσσερις κρεβατοκάμαρες
• using formal language when required to, for example, Γεια σας, τι κάνετε;
• responding with the appropriate tense form of the verb required by the question, for example, Ερώτηση:Έχεις πάει στην Ελλάδα; - Απάντηση: Ναι, έχω πάει στην Ελλάδα. Πήγα πέρυσι με την οικογένειά μου. Ερώτηση: Τι θέλεις να κάνεις όταν τελειώσεις το σχολείο; - Απάντηση: Όταν τελειώσω το σχολείο θέλω να πάω στο πανεπιστήμιο για να σπουδάσω.
• using the verb μου αρέσει correctly, Μου αρέσουν τα σουβλάκια, μας αρεσει να παίζουμε ηλεκτρονικά παιχνίδια
• using personal pronouns correctly, for example, μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους.

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.

In better responses, students were able to:

• link information in the text to demonstrate understanding. For example, the milestone/50^th birthday, the aunt’s important role and attendance of cousins (Q8); the family/child friendly restaurant that is closed on Sundays (Q9)
• demonstrate understanding of sophisticated and specific vocabulary, for example, να γνωρίσετε για πρώτη φορά αυτά τα αρχαία μέρη (Q6), τα παιδιά πέρασαν υπέροχα (Q9), έκθεση (Q10)
• identify the correct context of words. For example, πέρυσιfor last year as opposed to last week/last Sunday (Q7) and για ώρες μέχρι να βρω πάρκινγκ for no need/to look for parking as opposed to there not being any parking (Q4)
• provide opinion based on the information in the text. For example, respond to the questions, how likely and support their answer with relevant examples from the text (Q9)
• infer personality traits of the speaker and support and link these with references from the text. For example, Amalia’s determination is evident in the fact that she refuses to take a paid job on the advice of others, but rather pursues her dream of being a photographer (Q10).

Areas for students to improve include:

• transferring notes accurately from the Candidate's Notes column into their responses
• reading questions carefully and providing all the relevant information required to answer the question. For example, including the reason for her attitude changing and the result of this being the conflict with the parents/arguments and hence the realisation that school comes first (Q5)
• expressing their judgement and justification clearly by linking adjectives/ideas/opinions to the examples from the text, including that family comes first before friends as opposed to seeing relatives and cousins (Q8)
• avoiding misinterpretation of words. For example, αρχαιολόγος archaeologists as opposed to architect (Q6), εικαστικές τέχνες – Visual Arts as opposed to technology (Q10).

Students should:

• read the whole text(s)
• address all parts of each question
• use the lines allocated for the response
• provide all necessary details to respond to the question fully
• support their responses with evidence from the text where required
• use their own words rather than giving a literal translation
• use their dictionary appropriately to find the correct meaning of the word(s) in context.

In better responses, students were able to:

• understand and interpret vocabulary correctly to assist in providing detailed responses, for example γνωστός – known (Q13), σώμα – body (Q13), κοινωνία – community (Q16)
• place the words in the correct context, for example, κοινωνία – community as opposed to communion (Q16)
• identify the purpose of the text rather than translate the text. Identifying that the topic of conversation is the opinions of their trip rather than Yianni’s trip (Q14a), Mihali wrote this article to tell his mother’s story and to show his admiration (Q16a)
• deduce personality traits of the speaker and link to specific evidence from the text. For example, Mihali’s mother is courageous because she travelled to a foreign country on her own and was able to overcome adversity and hardship and become a doctor (Q16c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using the dictionary effectively to find the correct meaning of words in the correct context, for example, γνωστός – known rather than γνώστης – expert (Q13), κοινωνία – community κοινωνία – communion (Q16)
• reading the whole text to gain a holistic understanding before answering questions. For example, where only the first speech bubble was translated to answer the question (Q14a)
• ensuring they have answered the ‘why’ and ‘how’ components of the question instead of simply translating the text. For example, showing how each person felt about their holiday experience rather than translating (Q14b)
• interpreting texts, vocabulary and expressions correctly to make judgements about a person or a situation. For example, identifying that the most important reason was not to be afraid to be different (Q15b).

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 correct text types, that is, message (Q17, Q18), and letter (Q19, Q20), for example, γεια σου φίλε and informal letter
• correctly use conjunctions in their sentences, for example, επίσης, γι’αυτό, γιατί
• manipulate language to suit the purpose and context of the task, for example, explaining why your suburb is the best suburb to live, in connection, to the friend looking for a rental apartment (Q18)
• use a range of different tenses, sentence structures and a variety of vocabulary, for example present, το πάρτι μου είναι το Σάββατο and future tense, θα χορέψουμε, θα φάμε
• show understanding of adjective and noun agreement, for example, οι γείτονες είναι φιλικοί (Q18)
• conjugate verbs correctly, for example, η μαμά μαγειρεύει νόστιμα φαγητά, πρέπει, χρειάζομαι.

Areas for students to improve include:

• using the dictionary appropriately to find the correct meaning of words in the correct context. For example, using προσφέρω – I offer instead of προσέχω – to look after (Q17), πάρτι – party instead of κόμμα – the political party (Q19, Q20)
• using a greater range of expressions in their responses, for example, θα περάσουμε πολύ ωραία, τα λέμε
• using the correct use of homophones, for example, για/γεια, πιο/ποιο, πολύ/πολλοι/πολή
• ensuring that nouns, adjectives and cases agree
• avoiding anglicisms and translating literally, for example, θα είναι πολύ διασκέδαση (Q19)
• revising and not confusing the letters of the Greek alphabet for example, φ / δ / θ, χ / ξ, π / μ ψ, instead of πσ.