Modern Greek 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
• demonstrate the ability to manipulate the language
• be prepared to be interrupted by the examiner
• use Modern Greek to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• use a wide range of language accurately
• provide clear responses to questions with minimal hesitation
• provide relevant answers to unexpected questions, rather than giving a rehearsed answer
• respond appropriately with correct intonation, for example, πανεπιστήμιο, βιολογία, μπάσκετ, διώροφο
• use correct tenses in line with the intent of the question, that is, if the question is phrased in the past tense, the response must also be in the past tense, for example, Πού πήγες στις διακοπές; Τον Ιανουάριο πήγα στην Ελβετία με την οικογένειά μου και κάναμε σκι
• conjugate and use a variety of verbs across past, present, future tenses, for example, πήγα, πηγαίνω, θα πάω
• elaborate and justify ideas and opinions using examples relating to past, present and future aspects of their personal world, for example, στο μέλλον θέλω να γίνω γιατρός σαν τον μπαμπά μου
• provide a variety of adjectives with correct agreement, for example, αστείος φίλος, καλόκαρδη γιαγιά, διασκεδαστικό χόμπι
• demonstrate a good understanding of various grammatical points, including case and adjectival endings, for example, τον μπαμπά μου, στο κέντρο της πόλης, είναι έξυπνοι και πιστοί
• develop ideas by using connectives, adverbs of frequency and contrasting connectors, for example, αλλά, συνήθως, μερικές φορές, όμως.

Areas for students to improve include:

• expressing likes and dislikes, for example, μου αρέσει το ποδόσφαιρο, δε μου αρέσουν τα Mαθηματικά
• using correct articles before nouns, for example, η ιταλική κουζίνα
• using case correctly, for example, την αδερφή μου τη λένε Μαρία
• responding in full sentences or complete phrases, rather than giving single word responses, for example, Σου αρέσει το δωμάτιό σου; Ναι, είναι μικρό αλλά άνετο
• using correct accentuation, for example, σινεμά, καθηγήτρια
• using personal pronouns correctly, for example, μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους
• using derivatives of numbers 3 and 4 correctly, for example, δεκατριών χρονών, πενήντα τεσσάρων χρονών.

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:

• identify school subjects, numbers, and countries, for example, Physics and French (Q2), 13 November (Q3), Japan (Q5)
• give specific information in response to the question, and rather than listing and translating the audio, explain that Christos is likely to take up the activity because... (Q6)
• correctly answer 'how’ questions with specific reference to the text, for example, mentioning how the grandmother's moussaka compared to the one baked in class, noting that the grandmother added eggs to the cream and put salt on the eggplant (Q8)
• qualify each adjective used in the response with an appropriate example from the text when responding to a question that requires description of character or personality. For example, Amalia is a loyal and helpful friend who has always been there for the speaker both in school and in everyday life (Q10).

Areas for students to improve include:

• taking notes effectively while listening to the audio and during the pauses
• answering the question, rather than translating and recounting information
• differentiating between similar sounding words, for example, χορός, χώρος and ζώα, ζωή
• demonstrating understanding of the context of the word when using the dictionary, for example, γυμναστική means ‘exercise’ not ‘gymnastics’ (Q6).

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:

• recognise a wide range of vocabulary in context, for example, διώροφο, επόμενο, περασμένο, αυλή, δεύτερο, αύριο, απόψε
• recognise verb conjugations and the subject of the action, for example, recognise that Yiannis is going to watch his team play basketball (ομάδα ... που παίζει), rather than him playing basketball (παίζω) (Q11)
• identify the requirement of the question, for example, identify the instructions given by the teacher, rather than translate the entire message about the students attending an excursion on Friday (Q12)
• identify the meaning of the passage and read for overall comprehension, rather than looking for a word-for-word translation, for example, recognise the house was ‘booked’ rather than misinterpreting that the house was 'locked up' (κλείσαμε) (Q15)
• demonstrate understanding of the tenses used in written texts, for example, δούλεψε σκληρά is in the past tense, indicating that the father has worked hard and wants his children to take over the family business in the future (Q16b)
• deduce character traits of the speaker and link to specific evidence from the text. For example, the discussion reveals that Grigoris is determined because he wants to follow his dream, rather than listening to his father (Q16c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• responding to questions with appropriate information and reference to the text, for example, comparing the views of Themis and Marina requires both their similarities and differences in opinion (Q14b)
• using the dictionary effectively to find the correct meaning of words in the appropriate context, for example, έκπτωση in the context of the question means 'discount', not 'sale' (Q15)
• editing responses to avoid repetition.

Students should:

• write to the response 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
• avoid listing
• plan their response prior to writing, and edit their work.

In better responses, students were able to:

• incorporate common vocabulary and phrases from syllabus topics, for example, πήγα ταξίδι, έκανα ηλιοθεραπεία
• use appropriate tenses and differentiate between simple and continuous past tenses
• use article, adjective, noun agreement effectively, for example, τα κρυστάλλινα νερά, ο καλύτερος καθηγητής
• organise and structure their response, developing an idea and writing it in the text type required.

Areas for students to improve include:

• learning the use of common connectors and time phrases, for example, επίσης, επιπλέον, φέτος, χθες, πέρυσι, του χρόνου
• using the consonant for the desired sound δ/θ, μ/π, χ/ξ/ζ, πσ/ψ
• recognising the requirement of the question and responding according to the text type
• spelling commonly used words correctly, such as Γεια σας, είμαι, γιαγιά, ευχαριστώ
• using idioms appropriately, for example, περάσαμε καλά, δενέχω χρόνο.