2009 HSC Notes from the Marking Centre – Vietnamese Continuers
Contents
Introduction
This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 course in Vietnamese Continuers. It contains comments on candidates 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 Vietnamese 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
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
Section I – Conversation
General comments
Most candidates responded with spontaneity, initiative and originality. Most of the responses were well thought out, well expressed and straight to the point. There were few anglicisms used in responses. For questions that required candidates to express their own opinions or personal feelings about an issue, most were able to provide quick, frank and direct responses.
Strengths
- Candidates delivered their responses in a natural and conversational tone, eg stressing the key words, or using idiomatic expressions or dramatic pauses.
- Most of the responses were well constructed with linking words and, in some cases, sophisticated vocabulary.
- Candidates were confident and responded with initiative, spontaneity and originality.
- Most gave direct answers to the points raised and tried to expand as well as justify their responses.
- Most candidates presented their views frankly and directly to questions that asked for a personal opinion about an issue and justified their viewpoints with logical and well-founded arguments.
Weaknesses
- A few candidates relied on a set of pre-learned responses.
- Some candidates gave a long introduction before addressing the main point of the question, which resulted in unnecessarily lengthy and poorly structured responses.
- On the other hand, a few candidates answered in monosyllables or used very short sentences.
- Some candidates seemed to be able to express opinions or points of view, but responded in general terms to questions that required personal responses.
- A few candidates tried to steer the conversation to topics of their choice, by excessively expanding their responses without thinking about the relevance of the information.
- A few candidates gave irrelevant responses to some questions.
Section II – Discussion
General comments
Candidates chose a wide range of topics including science and technology, the environment, Vietnamese culture, and some controversial issues. Those who chose and researched a topic or issue that interested them, and then met the criteria, generally performed well.
Strengths
In the better responses, candidates:
- responded to questions in a well-structured and logical manner with relevant supporting arguments
- limited any presentation of their topic so that a discussion could occur
- researched their topic well and used information drawn from a variety of valuable resources such as the internet, magazines, newspapers and literary texts
- responded fluently with confidence, enthusiasm and originality.
Weaknesses
Some candidates:
- came to the examinations ill-prepared and had difficulty sustaining a discussion
- did not focus on their chosen topic or issue
- expected to deliver a pre-learned presentation
- recited reference texts rather than presenting personal views or feelings
- gave long introductions before addressing the main point of the question asked or responded in monosyllables or very short sentences
- addressed their topics either too generally or too narrowly
- chose topics or issues that were expository/explanatory rather than discursive in nature, which limited the opportunity for candidates to express their personal views or participate in a discussion
- used information gained in class debates or lessons without thoughtful selection or critical judgements. Information and ideas presented were often contradictory and, at times, incoherent
- expressed views that lacked any depth of understanding of the issue under discussion.
Recommendations
Conversation
In preparation for the conversation section of the oral examination, candidates should:
- take time to think about the topics in Theme 1 – Personal World, which includes Self, Lifestyles, Friendship, Family, Relationships and Future Aspirations. They should write down their thoughts and views and, more importantly, consider how they would justify their choices and opinions
- listen to their classmates’ performances and analyse the strengths as well as weaknesses of their responses
- pay attention to the teacher feedback on their oral presentation in class and try to identify their weaknesses, then work out strategies to improve their performance
- answer the questions directly and focus on the main points; unnecessarily lengthy introductions should be avoided. Responses and elaborations should be concise and relevant to the questions asked
- try to avoid answering in a general way; candidates need to be specific in their responses and clear in their views
- answer assertively and defend their views
- ask the examiner to repeat or rephrase a question if they do not understand something; seeking such assistance does not penalise a candidate in any way
- bear in mind that they are not judged according to the point of view they express but by the way in which they present and substantiate their views
- not try to steer the conversation in a certain way. Candidates should understand that they are assessed on their ability to communicate in Vietnamese and to present and support an opinion, not on their ability to recite pre-learned responses
- remember that it is easier to be yourself rather than pretending to be someone else; therefore, they should try to be sincere, independent and creative in their responses rather than regurgitating pre-learned material often only marginally related to the question asked.
Discussion
The aim of the discussion is to demonstrate the candidate’s ability to explore with the examiner the topic of the in-depth study the candidate has selected. During the discussion the candidate could be asked, for example, to identify issues, express ideas and justify opinions related to the chosen topic. In addition, the candidate will be expected to make reference to the texts read and resources studied.
When deciding on the subject of the in-depth study, teachers and candidates should consider whether the topic provides an opportunity for the candidates to:
- study at least three texts
- present a point of view
- engage with the examiner in a discussion of issues.
Written examination
Section I – Listening and responding
General comments
In general, candidates performed equally well in Part A (answer in English) and in Part B (answer in Vietnamese).
Some candidates:
- did not understand or misinterpreted some questions or did not address them well enough
- did not appear to understand the meaning of some words
- just copied or listed the facts from the texts rather than answering the questions
- noted a lot of minor details without considering the relevance of the information to the question
- took a lot of notes but did not know how to use the information obtained to answer questions.
Part A
Question 2
Some candidates just listed down the personalities of Hai and Phuong but did not support their answers with reference to the text.
Some candidates did not describe Hai and Phuong’s personalities.
Question 3
Most candidates identified the important factor which contributed to Mai Linh’s success, ie to gather together young and old audiences by using the traditional musical instrument to perform modern songs.
Question 5
- Many candidates identified the change in artist Nguyen Hoai Bao’s work. However, few candidates recognised what made him change his expression in his art.
Part B
Some candidates answered in English rather than Vietnamese as required.
Question 6
Most candidates included three main points but did not relate to Huy’s situation as the question required.
Question 7
- Most candidates identified that the reporter was famous and conservative.
- Quite a few candidates identified all the evidence that showed that Van was a good referee.
Section II – Reading and responding
General comments
A significant number of candidates were still not sufficiently familiar with the requirements of questions that assess outcome 3.6 in relation to ‘inferring points of view, attitudes and emotions from language and context’. Many candidates did not refer to the texts in their responses.
Part A
Question 8
- Most candidates identified some of the techniques the poet used but they did not explain the purpose of the language used. Some candidates described what happened to the poet and/or how he felt but did not identify what techniques the poet used to describe his feelings. Some candidates included text from the poem but did not analyse the poet’s feelings in relation to the text selected.
Question 9
- Many candidates responded well to this question by using adjectives to describe Hung’s personality with evidence from the text. However, some candidates only described what Hung did after he got a new car.
Part B
Question 10
Many candidates included in their speech all criteria needed for this voluntary job and used a persuasive tone.
In the weaker responses, candidates did not answer the question and talked about their experience of charity work but they did not justify with evidence why they were the right person for this job.
Some candidates wrote an application letter rather than a speech.
Recommendations for Sections I and II
Candidates should:
- have a bilingual dictionary when sitting for the examination and be familiar with its use. In addition, candidates should use the context to find the correct definition if there are alternative translations of a word
- read questions and instructions carefully, and highlight or underline any key words
- in the Listening and Responding section, read questions and take down relevant information first, and then compose the response
- pay attention to the organisation and sequencing of ideas/information in the composition of their responses
- rephrase information from the text rather than copying down or translating the information word for word
- be aware of a range of adjectives to describe personality, ‘points of view, attitude or emotions’ (outcome 3.6)
- practise answering a range of specific questions. They may be required to go beyond a literal translation by interpreting information or explaining the use of language features
- for questions requiring analysis of a language feature, follow the three required steps: identify the language technique, quote a relevant example in the text, and analyse the effects of the technique on the audience or reader. This latter point is often neglected. Candidates should select only the relevant language techniques or quote relevant examples rather than reciting a list of language techniques studied without considering their relevance or appropriateness
- in Part B of Section II (response in Vietnamese), consider the response as composing an essay and take all the necessary steps recommended for this type of task, such as draft, main ideas and supporting statements. Candidates should analyse the task carefully to identify the required text type and content of the response.
Section III – Writing in Vietnamese
In the better responses, candidates:
- used the correct text type and conformed to the requirements of the topic and genre, both in terms of content and language features
- expressed their thoughts and feelings with supporting statements from personal experiences and/or others’ experiences
- demonstrated initiative and independence in their thinking, as well as the ability to manipulate language authentically.
In the weaker responses, candidates:
- misinterpreted the task
- did not demonstrate a good understanding of the convention of text types
- repeated their ideas or structured them poorly
- did not include relevant ideas and information
- focused too much on one idea or, on the other hand, mentioned superficially many ideas without sufficient analysis, expansion or elaboration
- relied on pre-learned material rather than giving their own opinion or point of view.
Question 11
- Quite a lot of candidates discussed their future career, how to become successful in the future and the challenges/difficulties in their life after finishing high school.
- Some candidates did not refer to what they should say to the deputy about their truanting and instead retold what happened.
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NSW Government