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2015 Notes from the Marking Centre – French Continuers

Introduction

This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 French Continuers course. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2015 Higher School Certificate examination, indicating the quality of the responses and highlighting their relative strengths and weaknesses.
This document should be read along with:

Oral examination

Characteristics of better responses:

  • a wide variety of grammatical structures with few inaccuracies was used
  • communication was in a natural manner and not forced
  • delivery was confident, with a steady flow of speech
  • both expected and unexpected questions were answered with ease
  • extended answers included opinions and justifications, and examples were given.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

  • inaccuracies in verb conjugations and agreements were evident
  • prepositions were misused
  • candidates were hesitant when answering, and required extended time to formulate responses
  • examiner’s questions either in meaning or tense were misunderstood
  • answers were short, with no elaboration or justification.

Section I – Listening

Questions 1–8

Characteristics of better responses:

  • clear and legible answers, without repetition, were provided
  • the role of career counsellors in providing advice about pathways was identified (Q2)
  • the challenge between the mother and son was identified (Q5)
  • the language technique was clearly identified, with an example given as well as an explanation of how the audience was encouraged to join the project (Q6)
  • a specific feeling was clearly named, with sufficient explanation provided (Q8).

Characteristics of weaker responses:

  • the Candidate’s Notes column was not used, or not all relevant information was incorporated into the final answer
  • the meanings of rater, une éducation supérieure, une bourse, les hauts talons, décontracté, les couleurs vives, rechercher, eau potable, ce milliard (Somalia), déçu, hotel de luxe, une vie plus saine, les chefs, un milliard were misunderstood
  • examples to support the comments made were not provided (Q3)
  • ‘encourages the audience to get involved’ was given as an explanation of a language feature , thus repeating the question (Q6).

Section II – Reading and Responding

Question 9

Characteristics of better responses:

  • clearly articulated and appropriate reference to the text was made
  • well-structured and legible responses were provided
  • key words in the question were identified and details provided were relevant
  • an analysis of the text was provided rather than a translation of the text (Q9c)
  • the key words of the question were clearly understood (Q9b)
  • quotes from the text were either translated or paraphrased into English (Q9c)
  • the quote was understood to refer to the therapist and the patient, rather than the therapy (Q9c).

Characteristics of weaker responses:

  • the same point was repeated and restated
  • the response did not address all aspects of the question (Q9c)
  • vocabulary was not correctly translated, for example, depuis cinq ans was interpreted as ‘from 5 years old’ rather than ‘opposed to for 5 years’, terminer as ‘terminate’ or ‘stop’ rather than ‘not finish’ or ‘complete’ and licence as ‘driver’s licence’ rather than ‘degree’
  • text was translated without any analysis and linking back to the question
  • details were restated or answers duplicated (Q9a,b,c).

Question 10

Characteristics of better responses:

  • concise and coherent answers, with clear expression in English were provided
  • a dictionary was used carefully
  • elements were compared with each other as opposed to providing just a list of words (Q10a)
  • the author’s intent to attract people to promote the town was clearly expressed and both nature and sport were explored (Q10b)
  • the title was clearly unpacked and continual reference to evidence to support both the concept of ‘window-display/ show-casing’ and ‘high culture’ was made (Q10c)
  • the term patrimoine was understood as being ‘heritage’ and short, specific examples that closely related to the concept were given to back up language techniques (Q10d).

Characteristics of weaker responses:

  • a lack of precision was evident and points were not supported with evidence from the text
  • reference to the correct part of the text was not made, even though the part was identified in the question (Q10b)
  • both parts of the title were not explored, that is, the concept of ‘window-display’ as well as ‘high culture’ (Q10c)
  • a list of irrelevant and overly complex literary devices was provided, with no meaningful supporting details (Q10d)
  • dictionary usage was poor or time was not taken to look up key words, for example, patrimoine was translated as ‘patrimony’ or ‘inheritance’ rather than ‘heritage’
  • the quality of English expression was poor, with errors in grammar and spelling making responses difficult to read.

Part B

Question 11

Characteristics of better responses:

  • a clear decision was taken as to whether to stay with aunt and uncle in France, and the correct register was used
  • reasons and explanations were developed by referring to the email from their parents as well as the attachment email from the aunt and uncle
  • reasons and explanations were comprehensive, relevant, logical and well organised
  • vocabulary, tenses and structures were carefully chosen to express their point of view and were natural and appropriate for an email to parents
  • a high level of accuracy was displayed; a variety of tenses were used accurately, language was manipulated authentically, genders, spelling, verb stems and conjugations were correct.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

  • reasons and explanations were expressed poorly and phrases from the stimulus were copied
  • ideas were not clearly linked to the stimulus and lacked development beyond cursory treatment
  • structure was lacking, ideas and explanations were not logical and/or organised
  • vocabulary was poorly chosen, not cross-referenced in the dictionary, often of an inappropriate register and vocabulary from the stimulus was often misused
  • a lack of accuracy in writing was displayed. Basic words were misspelt, tu and vous were confused, meaning was marred by poor conjugation of verbs, tenses were manipulated poorly, anglicisms were used with a reliance on English syntax, especially when attempting to explain the benefits of travel and becoming independent
  • common errors were evident, such as poor adjectival agreements, the misuse of gender and number, possessive pronouns, relative pronouns especially ce qui/ce que, superlatives, object pronouns.

Section III – Writing in French

Question 12

Characteristics of better responses:

  • language was manipulated with authenticity to clearly express a flow of creative ideas
  • sound grammatical knowledge was demonstrated using a variety of tenses and structures, and particular attention was paid to the conjugation of verbs and agreements
  • a detailed description of the activity was given, using task-specific vocabulary.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

  • language to clearly express ideas was poorly manipulated
  • frequent grammatical errors were evident, including spelling, agreements, conjugations, prepositions, object pronouns
  • basic vocabulary was used and a reliance on formulaic structures or dictionary was evident.

Question 13

Characteristics of better responses:

  • an excellent understanding of the task was demonstrated and the context and purpose (persuading readers of a point of view) remained the focus
  • the audience was addressed well and an appropriate language register was used throughout the answer
  • writing was effective and included well-selected and relevant details
  • a wide range of structures in correct and authentic French was demonstrated
  • ideas were sequenced coherently and effectively.

Characteristics of weaker responses:

  • more descriptive than persuasive language was used, indicating the purpose of the task was not substantiated
  • poor dictionary use led to no distinction being made between nouns, adjectives or verbs. The spelling of key words was often incorrect, for example, technologie, éducation, dépendre de
  • the required length was not adhered to, with some responses being far too short or too long. The lengthier responses deteriorated in consistency and accuracy
  • manipulation of the question to fit a prepared but unsuitable answer was evident, as was the addition of chunks of irrelevant, rote-learned material which did not address the topic.
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