2009 HSC Notes from the Marking Centre – Ukrainian Continuers
Contents
- Oral examination
- Written examination
- Section I – Listening and Responding
- Section II – Reading and Responding
- Section III – Writing in Ukrainian
Introduction
This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 course in Ukrainian Continuers. 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 Ukrainian Continuers.
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 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 a guide 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
All candidates communicated confidently with excellent pronunciation and intonation. All responses showed an extensive vocabulary and a wealth of ideas, and candidates went beyond yes/no answers of their own accord. Most responses showed an excellent command of a variety of linguistic structures.
All candidates were able to converse on an extensive range of topics such as sport, cooking, travelling, transport, daily routine, family and hobbies. Those responses which lacked some accuracy did not impede comprehension or communication.
Discussion
The topics chosen provided candidates with the opportunity to engage in a discussion. They demonstrated a perceptive understanding of issues and a sophisticated use of language. It was evident that most candidates had researched their topics in depth. The vocabulary and terminology they used reflected the extent of the research done. Candidates and teachers are again strongly reminded that the discussion is not just an opportunity to research a topic of interest. The focus of the discussion must be to assess candidates’ ability to discuss a topic. Some ill-chosen topics made this difficult if not impossible.
Few candidates brought supporting objects to the examination. If candidates choose to bring such material, they are reminded that these should be such items as photographs, pictures and maps. Notes and cue cards are not permitted, and there must be limited written information or annotations, either in English or in Ukrainian, on the objects. Supporting objects serve only as a prompt and in no way contribute to the mark awarded.
Written examination
Section I – Listening and Responding
Part A
Question 1
Better responses included the profession perekladats’ka and Kry’s confidence in her choice after the consultation.
Question 3
This question revealed that the directive ‘to what extent’ needed to be more fully addressed by most candidates. Better responses provided relevant detail to the question. Retelling the facts only from the text does not earn full marks when responses must include an analysis of ‘to what extent’.
Question 4
Once again, simply restating facts from the text rather than focusing on how the personalities are conveyed, falls short of a full answer. Candidates must read the question carefully and respond to the directive terms in it.
Section II – Reading and Responding
Part A
Question 9(c)
Students are advised to review language techniques used in the various text types. Candidates are not picking up on formal/informal language, emotional and other language purposes of the text – for example, argument.
Part B
General Comments
It was impressive to see evidence of idiomatic language and expressions.
Section III – Writing in Ukrainian
In this section all candidates chose to answer Question 11. Candidates should be commended for eloquently expressing ideas using idiomatic phrases, eg Y ane mozu slovamy peredaty jak sumno meni na dushi … or Ya toho ne zamityv …
Candidates are reminded that the text type used should visibly reflect the format of the discourse, eg headings, paragraphing and columns as required.
2010175
NSW Government