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2010 HSC Notes from the Marking Centre — Croatian Continuers

Contents

Introduction

This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 course in Croatian. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2010 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 relevant syllabus, the 2010 Higher School Certificate examination, the marking guidelines and other support documents which have been developed by the Board of Studies to assist in the teaching and learning of Croatian.

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 the knowledge, understanding and skills they 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’.

Oral examination

Conversation

In the best responses, candidates responded fluently to the questions and demonstrated depth of treatment by expanding on ideas and opinions without prompting. The language used demonstrated a high level of grammatical accuracy with correct pronunciation.

Weaker responses were characterised by simple sentences, with little expansion and a lack of ability to provide ideas or opinions. These tended to have limited vocabulary, with frequent Anglicisms and errors with endings, cases and incorrect register. Candidates need to go beyond a minimal response and provide details, expand on ideas, and give and justify opinions.

Candidates need to be prepared to manipulate language and respond to questions that are from all topics in the syllabus, within the bounds of their personal world. Those who had rote-learned responses found difficulty manipulating language to effectively answer some of the questions asked. Weaker responses showed attempts to use a rote-learned response, even when it did not satisfactorily answer the question.

Discussion

Candidates presented a variety of appropriate topics. Some of the topics were too broad and seemed to be based on general knowledge rather than research. Candidates are advised that in choosing the topic for the in-depth study, they should consider the aspect of the topic that will enable them to take part in a discussion. Topics such as a town, an historical figure or a youth issue need to be defined and researched. The research might focus on a place’s strategic significance, or a figure’s influence on society, or the way in which an issue has evolved or its effects, rather than a simple presentation of a town’s historical landmarks, the personal profile of an artist or a list of unemployment statistics. The research needs to be supported by resources and references.

Some candidates were unable to demonstrate an ability to ‘make detailed and perceptive references to the texts’ (Discussion marking guidelines). Candidates need to be reminded that preparing a topic for the Discussion requires 'the in-depth study of at least three texts, one of which will be a literary text, such as a novel, play, film or poem' (Assessment and reporting in Croatian Continuers, p 9). It is suggested that candidates use novels, films, poems and/or short stories to support the in-depth study as they provide a better platform for a discussion than WebPages, conversations with family members, travel brochures and personal experiences.

The best responses demonstrated both sophistication and depth. These candidates made specific and detailed references to texts, offering opinions based on them and using them to justify arguments. Weaker responses were characterised by a lack of understanding of the topic and limited ability to present and discuss issues, opinions and/or arguments.

Section I – Listening and Responding

Part A

Question 1

Most candidates answered the multiple-choice question correctly (C). Some candidates were confused by the word brijanje (shaving) and lacked knowledge of the word nakon.

Question 2

Weaker responses gave simplistic answers and a superficial recount rather than identifying the underlying issues.

Question 3

  1. Not all candidates identified the purpose of Josip’s visit. Better responses included that Josip spoke of his experiences and gave advice.
  2. Weaker responses included references to sport selection.

Question 4

  1. Generally well answered with evidence from the text provided as support in the responses.
  2. This question produced a variety of responses with many candidates writing about the relationship between Leon and Danijela, rather than their individual personalities. Weaker responses included a lot of information about Daniela but not Leon.

Question 5

Better responses explained and identified language techniques used to evoke emotions and nostalgia. Weaker responses listed details from the stanzas without referring to how the stanzas evoked emotions and nostalgia. They retold the content rather than using textual references to support the analysis.

Part B

Question 6

This question was generally well answered with most responses including the required information. Some candidates did not seem to understand what specific information should be included in the additional notes (dodatne informacije) section.

Question 7

  1. Most candidates identified Martin Barić as the young director from Australia but few described his personality.
  2. Some responses retold the content rather than using textual references to support an answer. Candidates need to ensure they answer in the target language.

Section II – Reading and Responding

Part A

Question 8

  1. Most candidates answered this question correctly.
  2. Some responses did not make specific reference to the purpose of sending this postcard. They provided generalised reasons.
  3. Most candidates retold what happened to Tomo. Better responses attributed these events to his personality and immaturity.

Question 9

  1. Most responses included as reasons for starting the chatroom conversation: Tomo’s postcard, a demand for an explanation of Franjo’s behaviour and Ivan’s concern about Tomo.
  2. This question was generally well answered, with candidates providing a number of reasons as justification for Franjo’s behaviour. The best responses were supported by textual references.
  3. The better responses included a good understanding of Ivan’s lack of experience and understanding due to his background and lifestyle. Weaker responses were characterised by misinterpretations, included references to the wrong person. Generally there was insufficient textual referencing to support responses.

Part B

Question 10

The effectiveness of the responses depended on the candidate’s ability to manipulate language authentically and effectively. The best responses demonstrated depth and breadth of treatment of relevant information, ideas and opinions.

Most candidates stated the point of view clearly. Better responses referred to the title of the article and included three or more points from the text. Weaker responses wrote about personal experiences rather than referring the points in the stimulus text.

Better responses demonstrated knowledge and understanding of vocabulary and sentence structure and the best candidates could manipulate language with some degree of authenticity and creativity. Weak responses had an elementary knowledge and understanding of vocabulary and sentence structure.

Candidates need to read the stimulus text carefully, highlighting the main points that they will respond to in their text. Candidates are also advised to practise a variety of text types making sure they are aware of text type features and language required as some candidates appeared unfamiliar with the text type.

Candidates should take more care in learning the correct forms of everyday verbs and should also be encouraged to read widely to enrich their vocabulary so that they can make more sophisticated responses.

Section III – Writing

Candidates who produced better responses were able to manipulate language with a degree of authenticity. They demonstrated a good control of language, grammar and syntax. Most candidates used the correct text type to answer their chosen question.

In weaker responses, candidates created texts which showed limited knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure. Candidates often moved away from the topic and at times referred to personal experiences loosely related to the topic. These responses showed an inability to sequence and structure ideas effectively and manipulate language authentically and creatively.

Candidates need to be familiar with different text types and the features of these so that their responses are appropriate to the genre of the text required.

20110095

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