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2009 HSC Notes from the Marking Centre – Serbian Continuers

Contents

Introduction

This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 course in Serbian. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2009 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 2009 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 Serbian.

Teachers and students are advised that, in December 2008, the Board of Studies approved changes to the examination specifications and assessment requirements for a number of courses. These changes will be implemented for the 2010 HSC cohort. Information on a course-by-course basis is available on the Board’s website.

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 mark 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 far beyond the indicated space 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

There was a generally high standard of fluency and grammatical accuracy, and many candidates showed the ability to give extended responses to questions on a variety of topics using sophisticated vocabulary. Weaker responses, while maintaining communication, tended to be shorter with candidates using a limited range of vocabulary and grammatical structures. In particular, a lack of competency with cases with some reliance on English constructions and words, and literal translations were evident. Candidates need to be encouraged to expand their ideas for each of the topics covered in the conversation.

Discussion

In the discussion, there was a range of interesting topics that involved research and allowed candidates to discuss issues, express opinions and debate different sides of an argument, and demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the topic. A lack of preparation was evident in weaker responses. Theses candidates tended to speak from general knowledge and experience and could not refer to sources in any depth. Their responses lacked depth of treatment. Students are advised to avoid topics like sport that could tempt them to rely on their own experiences rather than research, and to avoid topics that are superficial and only factual.

Students are advised to be specific when defining their chosen topic. The following social issues lent themselves well to a depth of treatment through the development of ideas and opinions:

  • generation Y
  • genetically modified food
  • violence in sport
  • adoption
  • choosing the sex of a baby
  • alternate sources of energy.

Written examination

Section I – Listening and responding

Part A

General comments

Responses which demonstrated analysis rather than just identifying information were particularly good. Some students even attempted to provide an analytical response when it wasn’t required by the question. On the other hand, questions which appeared less demanding and only required understanding of the information (eg Question 5) proved more challenging for candidates.

Advice to candidates

Candidates should:

  • read all questions and instructions carefully
  • ensure that ALL relevant information is transferred from the Candidate’s Notes column to the lines provided for the response. Information in the Candidate’s Notes column is not considered part of the answer
  • realise that the number of lines indicates the required and appropriate length of the answer
  • ensure their answers are consistent with the questions asked.

Question 1

This question proved challenging for some candidates as they did not understand the main reason parents of school children go to the St Sava Club – to hear representatives of the Department of Education talking about the educational system in Australia. While there were a number of reasons given to encourage people to attend, it was the main reason that candidates were required to provide.

Question 2(b)

In the weaker responses, candidates did not justify why Dejan was feeling upset. Some analysed language and tone, which was not required by the question.

Question 3

The weaker responses lacked analysis of the attitudes and retold the information instead. In a few weak responses, candidates presented their own opinion about who was the more dedicated supporter of the football team, which was not the intention of the question.

Question 4(a)

In the weaker responses, candidates did not understand the word director (principal) and others understood call as a telephone call only, where in Serbian it may also mean to invite. This lack of understanding influenced the quality of their responses to some extent.

Question 4(b)

In the weaker responses, candidates did not demonstrate an understanding of the mother’s personality beyond the very basic, and/or provided inaccurate statements, such as the ‘mother is a laid-back person’. Others did not respond to the personality question at all, focusing rather on the relationship between mother and son only.

Part B

Question 5

In the weaker responses, candidates did not understand that the reason for Mira Bobic’s talk was to discuss genetically modified food. The majority understood her appeal to listeners to sign a petition for compulsory labelling of GMF. In the best responses, candidates understood that most of her address was about labelling GMF, the reasons for this, and the reasons big companies and politicians were against it (eg the expense). It was not about her views in regards to the quality and impact GMF had on people’s health and the planet in general.

Question 6

In weaker responses, candidates retold the events rather than interpreting Branko’s actions and behaviour and commenting on the extent to which the decision was justified.

Section II – Reading and responding

General comments

The best responses demonstrated an understanding of language analysis when required.

Advice to candidates

Candidates should:

  • read the questions before reading the passage. This will allow them to have a general understanding of the topic of the text
  • not repeat the same information in more than one question
  • realise that the number of lines indicates the approximate length of the answer
  • a question worth –four to six marks will be likely to require some analysis, interpretation or evaluation
  • ensure their answers are consistent with the questions asked.

Part A

Question 7(a)

Many candidates did not recognise that there was conflict in the family as a result of Dragan’s decisions, and focused instead on Dragan’s decisions (not continuing with his studies and moving out of his parent’s home) and his own reaction to it.

Question 7(b)

In the weaker responses, candidates did not reflect on the language features and retold the text with an occasional comment on Dragan’s state of mind.

Question 8(a)

The main reason for the article was the publication of a new book. Weaker responses referred only to its content.

Question 8(c)

The best responses linked the two texts and demonstrated a perceptive understanding of the specific advice the psychologist would give Dragan’s parents. In the weaker responses, candidates reflected on the advice related to Dragan’s issues only, but did not mention advice relevant to his parents (to appreciate the time they have for themselves, to do things they could not while children were at home). Others looked at the advice the psychologist would give to parents in general. rather than referring to Dragan’s parents’ situation.

Part B

Question 9

Most candidates mentioned lack of communication as the cause of the problem and recommended a compromise as a solution to the problem. Some of them listed their own experiences to draw conclusions or give advice.

Most responses demonstrated a sound knowledge of vocabulary and sentence structure. Other language structures, morphology in particular, showed some irregularities, such as verb endings in the plural written separately from the verb, radi te instead of radite.

Some errors related to orthography were quite frequent, as in previous years, such as writing negative forms of verbs incorrectly. Commas were not always used effectively.

Section lll – Writing

Candidates are reminded to indicate the number of the question they attempt as it was sometimes unclear which one had been selected.

Generally, responses were better in terms of content and treatment of information than in the use of language. This does not mean that language use – grammar, structures, vocabulary – were below expectations, rather that responses demonstrated creativity, breadth and depth in the treatment of the topic.

In terms of language, the most frequent errors were negative forms, punctuation, commas in particular, separation of the ending in some verbs radi te instead of radite, wrong endings in some verbs volu instead of vole, case endings and conjugation.

Responses generally demonstrated an ability to sequence and structure information and ideas very well.

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