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2013 Notes from the Marking Centre – Modern Greek Beginners

Introduction

This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 Modern Greek Beginners course. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2013 Higher School Certificate examination, indicating the quality of the responses and highlighting their relative strengths and weaknesses.

This document should be read along with:

the Modern Greek Beginners Stage 6 Syllabus
the 2013 Higher School Certificate Modern Greek Beginners examination
the marking guidelines
Advice for students attempting HSC languages examinations, and HSC Languages oral examinations – advice to students
Advice for HSC students about examinations
other support documents developed by the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW to assist in the teaching and learning of Modern Greek in Stage 6.

Oral examination

Characteristics of better responses:

language was manipulated effectively in response to a range of questions
vocabulary and language structures were used
relevant information was given and opinions were well expressed with good intonation
candidates manipulated tense appropriately.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

single words, listing in answers and long pauses were used
incomplete sentences were often used
there was a limited knowledge of vocabulary and language structures
there was a lack of grammatical agreement in articles, adjectives and nouns
there was a lack of knowledge of verb conjugations and of the verb, I like.

Written examination

Section I – Listening

Characteristics of better responses:

responses were not simply a translation of the text
candidates were able to identify relevant pieces of information according to the requirements of specific questions
candidates demonstrated perceptive understanding of texts
relevant details from the text were included to support opinions and arguments.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

responses often only provided some relevant information
candidates could not demonstrate how Betty convinced Kosta to change his mind (Q.5)
candidates did not provide a thorough explanation of Vasili’s concerns and did not provide references from the text to support their argument (Q.7)
candidates did not identify all of the arguments that Markos used to justify his decision to Mrs Rouvas (Q.8).

Section II – Reading and Responding

Characteristics of better responses:

candidates provided all the necessary information required to demonstrate a good understanding of the texts
appropriate examples were included
candidates provided a thorough understanding of Irene’s mixed emotions and supported their answers with examples from the text (Q.12)
candidates identified the change Antigone underwent and clearly identified the shift from negative to positive experiences (Q.13)
candidates provided a perceptive understanding of Aunt Lena’s personal qualities, with examples from the text (Q.14b)
candidates justified who they would likely choose as a friend – either Niko or Anna – and provided detailed references from the text (Q.15c).

Characteristics of weaker responses:

candidates often summarised the text without actually relating their answer to the specific question asked
candidates only provided some relevant information and often did not provide examples from texts to support answers
candidates did not provide any comparisons between Niko and Anna and therefore were unable to substantially develop their answers (Q.15c).

Section III – Writing in Modern Greek

Characteristics of better responses:

candidates communicated ideas and information appropriate to the audience, purpose and context
a good knowledge of Greek vocabulary and language structures was demonstrated
candidates provided relevant details of the event place, time and date (Q.17)
candidates organised information and ideas coherently and used appropriate language structures and vocabulary (Q.18)
candidates presented and developed original ideas, information and opinions that were relevant to context, purpose and audience (Q.19)
the letter was written in a coherent manner with some knowledge of a variety of vocabulary, language structures and features (eg ‘Το ξενοδοχείο δεν είχε θέα’, ‘το φαγητό ήταν χάλια’, ‘ο καιρός ήταν κρύος …’) (Q.19).

Characteristics of weaker responses:

some knowledge of Greek vocabulary and language structures was demonstrated
there was inconsistent use of register and lack of grammatical agreement
candidates displayed a basic level of communication and limited evidence of ability to organise their ideas coherently and creatively (Q.17 and Q.18)
candidates presented some information relevant to the task but with some knowledge of vocabulary, language structures and features (eg «Πίγα στιν Ινδία» ‘… στο πτήση είναι πιο χαλαρώ και δεν έχω τίποτα. Ούτι τιλεόρασι ουτι τίποτα!’) (Q.19).