Spanish Continuers 2023 HSC exam pack

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 that 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 Spanish to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• engage and sustain the conversation across a wide range of topics, providing well thought and appropriate information
• sustain a conversation by demonstrating sophistication and depth of ideas, and creatively include responses that comprise feelings, opinions and reflection
• consistently convey information using a variety of vocabulary and language structures, through the use of connectives, some learnt but authentic idiomatic expressions and accurate use of plurals and gender agreement
• provide responses with purpose, extend ideas and volunteer information, without being prompted, to show an insightful approach
• sustain the conversation with some independent contributions and consistently justify their responses with relevant information and detail in description and anecdotes provided
• use a range of tenses, move between tenses during a response and manipulate the subjunctive and hypothetical correctly
• take the opportunity to show their cultural knowledge by including information that provides cultural references. For example, making reference to some of the 21 countries that have Spanish as their official language
• speak clearly, with effective pronunciation, sentence structure, including word order and appropriate intonation.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding responses that are very short, purely descriptive or limited to listing information
• showing evidence of engaging in the conversation with the examiner and not relying on the use of prompts
• providing some relevant information and justifying their responses
• avoiding limited uses of tenses and grammar structure. For example, developing the conversation using the first person (I), ineffectively using the third person (he/she/they) and staying within present and simple past/future constructions. Instead, students should form conditional, subjunctive and other oratory structures such as reported speech
• demonstrating limited understanding and use of language structures. There were misuse of plurals and gender agreement, absence of prepositions, articles and connectives
• showing limited use of vocabulary or repeatedly using the same adjectives and information to answer different questions. Similarly, using the common simplistic adjectives such as 'interesante, divertido, muy bien, bueno'. These adjectives can be relevant but are overused and lack sophistication
• avoiding reliance on ‘false friends’ such as confidencia; accessable; compulsorio; reflejar; marca; farma; soportar; balancia; financias; facilidades; salvar; familia extendida, engrosar, asistir una persona
• using the verb 'gustar' excessively
• providing few cultural references within examples.

Listening and Responding

Students should:

• make notes in the Candidate’s Notes column on the right-hand side of the page
• read the question carefully and respond to all parts of the question
• support their responses with relevant evidence from the text
• transcribe their response on to the lines, using the space allocated beneath the question
• use the number of lines as an indication of the required length of the response
• support their responses with reference to relevant content and language, using their own words.

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify the purpose of a text (Q1)
• clearly identify implied feelings (Q2, Q8) and explain with reference to the text what caused those feelings
• match criteria to the suitability of a person to fulfil a task (Q3)
• identify detailed reasons to support a point of view (Q5, Q7, Q8).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing sufficient relevant detail to support the purpose of the text (Q1)
• including ‘when he arrives home from school’ or helping his sister ‘for an exam tomorrow’(Q3)
• linking what was required to their qualifications (Q5)
• ensuring all examples link information to the key words of the question to ensure it is fully answered. For example, how realistic is the advice? (Q7).

Reading and Responding

Part A

Students should:

• read the title, questions and the whole text before responding
• use only the lines or space beneath the question for the response
• support their responses with reference to content and language, using their own words
• be succinct in their responses, addressing the relevant details required by the question and avoiding repetition
• focus on key words in the question, for example, ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘explain’, ‘justify’ and respond in relation to the context of the text
• identify the key issue(s) and provide examples to substantiate their response when asked to analyse or evaluate information
• draw a conclusion or justify a point of view using their own words
• provide a succinct response of main points or ideas when asked to summarise
• avoid providing a literal translation of text
• use the dictionary appropriately to find the correct meaning of the word(s) or expressions in context.

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide detail in all responses to ensure they capture the relevant information
• correctly identify, quote and explain relevant language techniques in the text and select correct quotes that demonstrates each technique
• identify explicitly the opinion of the author as well as supporting it with language techniques and content. For example, his desire for the reader to take action on the decrease in studying languages with his use of inclusive language using ‘nuestras’ and ‘nosotros’ (Q10).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing a balanced comparison of points of view in a text not just a listing of one side and then the other (Q10c)
• identifying explicit feelings and emotions (Q10c)
• integrating more quotes rather than relying on paraphrasing content
• explaining the use of language techniques, with a quote, that is clearly linked back to the requirements of the question. For example, linking it to how it promoted the school (Q9c) or linking it to how it showed the author’s opinion (Q10).

Part B

Question 11

Students should:

• read the whole text in order to respond fully to the question
• plan effectively to organise their thoughts, paying attention to context, purpose, and audience, and the type of text required in question
• respond to the question asked in relation to the text
• use the conventions of the type of text required by the question
• demonstrate understanding of the whole text in their response
• focus on all relevant information and key points raised in the text in order to respond to comments made, requests for advice, issues discussed, and observations made
• provide a creative and authentic response in relation to the text and question
• using the dictionary to find how to say key words needed in the response
• use the appropriate register throughout the response
• use a variety of vocabulary and expressions and a range of grammatical structures
• edit their work to ensure clarity of the response.

In better responses, students were able to:

• acknowledge the grandmother and show empathy as to why she might have needed help
• refer specifically to the cancelled plans and what Dani would do instead
• comment on the grandmother’s disapproval of dipping biscuits in hot chocolate
• give their opinion or a description of Marisa’s party
• state whether or not Jorge & Leticia were still together
• mention Eliza’s lack of internet access until today
• recognise that Eliza would be away for the entire holiday period
• respond to the questions raised in the stimulus in a creative manner.

Areas for students to improve include:

• responding to all the questions asked in the stimulus. For example, the alternative plans for Monday and Thursday
• elaborating the response rather than addressing the questions raised in the stimulus. For example, la fiesta de Marisa estuvo linda
• avoiding the inclusion of details that are irrelevant to the stimulus. For example, talking about what they did in their last holidays.
• ensuring verbs to describe a past event, such as Marisa’s party, are conjugated in the past tense
• making sure verbs are conjugated when needed
• including a sign off or greeting at the end
• taking time to understand the context. For example, why is Eliza in her grandmother’s house? Why does she need to cancel the plans?
• using a variety of adjectives, rather than repeating bueno and lindo.

Writing in Spanish

Question 12

Students should:

• address all parts of the question
• use the appropriate register and conventions of the type of text
• commence and conclude appropriately
• use the correct tense for the requirements of the question
• sequence their response logically for maximum effect
• use the dictionary effectively by selecting vocabulary to suit the context
• adhere to the suggested word length
• proofread and edit work.

In better responses, students were able to:

• refer to the plans outlined for the first day of the cousin in the country
• include an explicit reference to the fact the cousin was coming from overseas or far away
• describe the plans of the first day with a variety of vocabulary and tenses such as iremos, podriamos ir a…, que te parece si…cuando vengas…
• identify that the cousin was arriving in a week not the next day or next month
• include some emotive language and expressions to convey excitement for the arrival of the cousin or how much they are looking forward to seeing them, or wishing them a good trip.

Areas for students to improve include:

• reading all elements of the question carefully. For example, the fact the plans were referring to the first day, not a whole itinerary for a holiday
• including some reference to the fact the cousin is coming from overseas or has a long trip
• learning some sign off expressions to avoid ending an email abruptly, for example, adiós
• understanding the difference between emocionante (exciting) and emocionado/a (excited).

Question 13

Students should:

• read the question carefully and address all parts of the question
• plan their response to ensure a clear structure and sequence
• use the appropriate register and conventions of the type of text required
• commence and conclude appropriately
• manipulate the language to suit the requirements of the task
• use a variety of tenses, phrases and structures appropriate to the requirements of the question
• adhere to the suggested word length
• proofread and edit their work.

In better responses, students were able to:

• include a title for the article
• include features of the article. For example, an introduction and a conclusion, some quotes or statistics
• demonstrate a good understanding of the context, participating in the workshop and writing about the experience that has already occurred
• refer to all key elements of each question such as the correct text type is an article; it was in an event in which they participated; address the aim reflecting on improving fitness and teamwork skills (Q13a) or evaluating, both positive and negative elements a Student Travel Expo on Spanish-speaking countries (Q13b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• addressing the requirements of the question. For example, recounting an exchange or trip to a Spanish-speaking country rather than a Student Travel Expo on Spanish-speaking countries (Q13b), not including a reference to teamwork skills (Q13a)
• underlining or highlighting key words such as Student Travel Expo to ensure there are no misinterpretations such as an expedition  
• avoiding literal translations from English of sayings or phrases which do not exist in Spanish. For example, por una mano, as a literal translation of  'on the one hand' rather than por una parte or por un lado
• identifying ‘false friends’. For example, to attend an event is not atender un evento but participar or ir a un evento
• avoiding features of other text types. For example, thanking an audience for the invitation to give a speech when the question states it is an article.