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2010 HSC Notes from the Marking Centre — Chinese

Contents

Introduction

This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 courses in Chinese. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2010 Higher School Certificate examinations, indicating the quality of the responses and highlighting their relative strengths and weaknesses.

This document should be read along with the relevant syllabuses, the 2010 Higher School Certificate examinations, the marking guidelines and other support documents which have been developed by the Board of Studies to assist in the teaching and learning of Chinese.

General comments

Teachers and candidates should be aware that examiners may ask questions that address the syllabus outcomes in a manner that requires candidates to respond by integrating their knowledge, understanding and skills developed through studying the course.

Candidates need to be aware that the marks allocated to the question and the answer space (where this is provided on the examination paper) are guides to the length of the required response. A longer response will not in itself lead to higher marks. Writing in excess of the space allocated may reduce the time available for answering other questions.

Candidates need to be familiar with the Board’s Glossary of Key Words which contains some terms commonly used in examination questions. However, candidates should also be aware that not all questions will start with or contain one of the key words from the glossary. Questions such as ‘how?’, ‘why?’ or ‘to what extent?’ may be asked or verbs may be used which are not included in the glossary, such as ‘design’, ‘translate’ or ‘list’.

Beginners

Oral Examination

General comments

Most candidates performed satisfactorily. Those who performed well understood the questions asked, spoke with good intonation and provided relevant information.

Specific comments

In some weaker conversations, there was evidence that rote-learned answers were memorised as candidates did not answer the follow-up questions. Some candidates only responded with single words or just repeated the question asked by the examiner as an answer. Candidates are reminded that they may ask the examiner to repeat questions if necessary. The request should be phrased in Mandarin.

Written Examination

Section I – Listening

Question 1

In weaker responses, candidates left out information such as ‘holiday plans’.

Question 4

In weaker responses, candidates did not include all three aspects.

Question 6

In weaker responses, candidates could not highlight the principal’s main points.

Question 7

Some candidates just translated Mark’s lines instead of describing the way he responded.

Question 8

In weaker responses, candidates referred to some of the points made in the conversation but did not discuss what Peter will do after his conversation with Fang.

Question 9

In better responses, candidates provided detailed information about what mother and son said, but also pinpointed the reasons for the argument.

Question 10

In the better responses, candidates included all the details as to why Ms Wang recommended Li. They made reference to the manners that Li displayed at the beginning of the interview as well as the benefit for his future career. Most weaker responses did not include these two points.

Section II – Reading

Question 11

In the best responses, candidates understood the purpose of the advertisement. Some candidates, however, did not know the word ‘panda’.

Question 12

  1. In weaker responses, candidates did not refer to ringing Shanben beforehand. These candidates confused present and future tenses. Some candidates mixed up the identity of Shanben and Dawei.

Question 13

  1. In weaker responses, candidates concluded that Zhang should follow Li’s advice.

Question 14

  1. The term ‘nainai’ was unfamiliar to some candidates.
  2. In the best responses, candidates summarised the reasons instead of translating all the information contained in the texts.

Question 15

  1. In weaker responses, candidates confused the identity of Mr Wang and the blog writer. In better responses, candidates described Wang based on the information in the blog.

Section III – Writing in Chinese

General comments

In weaker responses, candidates either included irrelevant information or did not meet the minimum required number of characters.

Part A

Question 16

In better responses, candidates wrote a detailed birthday plan including activities, food provided and dress code.

Question 17

In better responses, candidates incorporated the information in the advertisement into an appropriate imaginary scenario. In weaker responses, candidates copied the information, either directly or partially rearranged.

Part B

Question 18

  1. In the best responses, candidates demonstrated an ability to organise ideas, use correct sentence structures and a variety of vocabulary items. Only in the best responses did candidates specifically address the ‘unexpected event’.
  2. In weaker responses, candidates did not compare China and Australia from the aspect of lifestyle, but only in terms of education.

Continuers

Oral Examination

General comments

Most candidates appeared well prepared, demonstrating a good understanding of the questions asked. Their answers were fluent and grammatically correct, demonstrating the ability to maintain good communication with some degree of authenticity and originality.

Specific comments

The weaker conversations lacked depth. Better responses included appropriate use of grammar, and these responses were often creative and logical. Candidates performed especially well when rote-learned content was avoided and the question was answered in some depth.

If the candidate is unsure of any question’s meaning, the candidate should request the examiner to clarify the question.

Written examination

Section I – Listening and Responding

General comments

Most candidates demonstrated some understanding of the main ideas of the texts. Weaknesses were evident when skills in summarising and analysing were required. This was particularly true of Questions 4, 7 and 9. Candidates are advised to avoid direct translation unless specifically required.

Question 3

Weaker responses did not include the information about whom to see.

Question 4

Although most candidates demonstrated some understanding of the text, only in the best responses were candidates able to identify his parenting style or personality.

Question 5

Weaker responses omitted reference to ‘the coming holiday’.

Question 7

In better responses, candidates linked the changes in emotion to the language used by the passenger.

Question 9

In the best responses, candidates linked Xiao Li’s resentment towards Peter at the beginning of the conversation to her changing attitude throughout the conversation with her brother. These candidates identified the brother’s negativity towards Peter, as well as how this contributed to Xiao Li’s reassessment of their relationship.

Section II – Reading and Responding

Part A

Question 10

  1. The best responses included some reference to the Year 12 students’ involvement in the concert.
  2. In better responses, candidates compared and contrasted the points of view instead of only focusing on the fact that ‘Year 12 study had been disrupted’. The best responses identified the difference between the abrupt tone of Wang’s writing and the milder one in Li’s writing.

Question 11

  1. In the best responses, candidates linked the stage directions to the unpleasant nature of the conversation that followed.
  2. This question was particularly challenging.
  3. In most responses, candidates understood the language used in the text, but only in the best responses did candidates explain the implications of the changing nature of Martin’s language. Direct translation of Martin’s words was common in answering this question.

Part B

Question 12

Most candidates responded to the question perceptively by addressing at least two or more issues raised in the text. Unfortunately, quite a few candidates responded either from a parent’s point of view or by writing to a parent.

In weaker responses, candidates demonstrated a limited understanding of the text and responded with insufficient information.

Section III – Writing in Chinese

Question 14

  1. In better responses, candidates expressed themselves well using the report format. In a few responses, candidates did not refer to the ‘survey’ that they had conducted.
  2. In weaker responses, candidates recounted their work experience without reflecting on the experience.

Extension

Oral Examination

In some weaker responses, candidates focused on aspects of the general topic unrelated to the question. For instance, some candidates focused on the advantages and disadvantages of the use of the computer rather than agreeing with the phenomenon or not. Another error was the fact that some candidates did not link their points to the examples they presented and as a result the argument was disjointed and poorly structured.

Candidates should conclude their responses after the second warning bell rather than the first one. Candidates are reminded to analyse the question carefully in their preparation time and avoid a lengthy introduction and/or conclusion.

Written examination

Section I – Response to Prescribed Text

Part A

Specific comments

Question 1

  1. In better responses, candidates included details depicting Teacher Jiang’s affection for ‘her’ by analysing his words, his vivid memory of her, his keeping her manuscripts and the fact he remains single etc.
  2. In better responses, candidates supported their discussion of the statement with supporting evidence from this scene. The weaker responses translated part of the extract without analysis.
  3. In better responses, candidates demonstrated a depth of analysis on the issue of social division. A link to another scene either by comparison or contrast was included.

Part B

Question 2

In the best responses, candidates maintained an ability to persuade using evidence from the scene.

Section II – Writing in Chinese

Questions 3 and 4

In general, better responses were well structured and well argued. In addition, a variety of vocabulary items and sentence structures was exhibited.

Most candidates supported the statement in Question 4 and discussed the impact on family relationships from the perspective of the negativity of a modern lifestyle.

In weaker responses, candidates interpreted the topic in a very narrow way and did not support their arguments with enough evidence.

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