Russian Continuers 2023 HSC exam pack (archive)

Conversation

Students should:

• be prepared to communicate on 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
• express ideas and opinions to justify their point of view by providing depth and insight in their responses rather than only giving short pre-prepared responses
• elaborate using a variety of vocabulary, phrases and expressions suitable to the question asked
• use a range of tenses and be prepared to reflect on the past, present and future
• manipulate the language to fulfil the requirements of the question
• avoid the repetition of the same vocabulary, phrases, expressions and grammatical structures
• be prepared to be interrupted by the examiner
• use Russian to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• speak with clear pronunciation, word stress, syntax, register and intonation
• answer questions with minimal hesitation, allowing the conversation to flow at a natural pace
• respond to questions with relevant, in-depth information, for example, communicating feelings, providing opinions and justifying their responses
• elaborate on their responses without extra prompts from the examiner providing more details and references to the texts
• respond in full sentences, using compound and complex sentences
• use language structures and features such as grammatical cases, verb aspect, tenses and correct register effectively to enhance their responses, for example, Я планирую связать свою жизнь с…
• demonstrate knowledge of a wide repertoire of vocabulary, for example, Физико-математический факультет, моделирование
• accurately use tenses as required by the question
• use authentic and idiomatic expressions appropriately, for example, взять себя в руки, на одном дыхании.

Areas for students to improve include:

• revising gender of nouns and pronoun-noun agreement
• using correct case forms of nouns, adjectives and pronouns
• using wider vocabulary rather than repeating the words used in the question
• avoiding anglicisms
• responding to questions by expressing an opinion or justification
• avoiding single word responses and long pauses.

Discussion

In preparation for the Discussion

Students should:

• choose a topic with good quality reference texts and sources available
• prepare for the discussion by referring to at least three texts in their research
• ensure one of the texts used in their research is a literary source.

Students should:

• support their discussion with evidence from the texts sourced
• express and justify opinions and points of view on the in-depth study topic
• reflect on their research findings to help them express opinions or develop new perceptions about their in-depth topic
• manipulate language to respond in a coherent and logical way to the questions asked
• use a variety of relevant vocabulary, grammar, sentence structures and expressions
• address the question rather than responding with pre-prepared responses
• avoid relying on general knowledge about the topic of in-depth study.

In better responses, students were able to:

• ensure chosen sources were relevant to the topic of in-depth study
• compare the validity and reliability of their texts
• refer to their sources and comment on how each source contributes to their understanding of the in-depth topic
• discuss how their research impacts on their views and helps them gain a better understanding of the in-depth topic
• develop an analytical approach to texts studied rather than memorising information from the texts
• provide logical and well-structured responses to questions
• develop insightful conclusions regarding issues raised in their research
• use specific vocabulary and expressions relating to the topic
• use complex sentences and suitable idiomatic expressions to strengthen and support their opinions
• respond using grammatical accuracy, sophisticated vocabulary and expressions
• manipulate the language effectively to support their ideas and justify their point of view.

Areas for students to improve include:

• responding to the question asked rather than recounting information irrespective of the question
• creating information rather than just listing facts
• choosing texts relevant to the topic
• presenting their opinions about the issues raised in their research.