Briefing Session for HKDSE Category C Subjects...Briefing Session for HKDSE Category C Subjects...

Briefing Session for HKDSE

Category C Subjects

HKEAA

Cameron Smart 12 September 2019

Rundown

• The exam: structure & constructs

• 2019 Results

• 2019 candidates’ performances

• 2020 exam

• Teacher support provision

• Oral examiner recruitment

• Q & A

2

Exam Structure (French, German, Japanese & Spanish)

Component Weighting Time

1. Speaking 30% 20 mins.

2. Reading & Writing 50% 1 hr. 45 mins.

3. Essay 20% 1 hr. 30 mins.

3

Exam Structure (Hindi & Urdu)




4

Structure of Component 1

Section Mark Allocation Time

1. Presentation 20 3 mins 30 seconds

2. Topic conversation 40 7 -8 minutes

3. General conversation 40 8-9 minutes

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Component 1: Timing logistics

– Examiners will use a visible timer

– It will be set at 20 minutes

– A 1-minute sign will be held up after 2 mins.

30 secs. of presentation

– Section 1 will finish approx. 16 mins. 30 left

– Section 2 will start at approx. 16 mins left

– Section 3 will start at approx. 9 mins left

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Component 1: Speaking

• Test constructs

– What is being tested?

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Section 1: Presentation (20 marks)

• Three domains:

– Content and presentation (10 maximum)

– Pronunciation and intonation (5 maximum)

– Language (5 maximum)


• Content and presentation (10 maximum)

– Coverage of topic

– Organization and coherence

– Opinions and facts

– Delivery

– Interest

– N.B. If no specific reference to society or cultural heritage of country where language spoken- half marks for this domain, i.e. max. is 5.


• Pronunciation & intonation (5 maximum)

– Accurate pronunciation and intonation

– Mother tongue influence / comprehensibility

– N.B. Not necessarily native speaker for full

marks. May have some hesitation and errors

for full marks.


• Language (5 maximum)

– Feel for language

– Fluency

– Accuracy

– Use of relevant idiomatic language

– Range of structures

– Range of vocab

– Clarity of meaning

Section 2: Topic conversation (40 marks)

• 5 domains

– Comprehension & responsiveness (10 max)

– Accuracy (10 max)

– Feel for language (10 max)

– Range of vocab & structures

(Providing info & opinion) (5 max)


(Seeking info & opinion) (5 max)


• Comprehension & responsiveness (10 max)

– Extent candidate understands examiner

– Naturalness in responses

– Spontaneity and initiative

– Ability to defend point of view


• Accuracy (10 max)

– Frequency of errors

– Understanding of grammatical usage


• Feel for language (10 max)

– Naturalness

– Fluency of expression

– Appropriate idiom

– Influence of or translation from mother tongue


• Range of vocab & structures


– Variety

– Confidence in use vs. limiting expression


• Range of vocab & structures (Seeking info & opinion)

– Ability and number of questions asked

– Spontaneity

– Initiative

– Accuracy and variety of question forms

– Comprehensibility

Section 3: General Conversation (40 marks)

• 5 domains

– Comprehension & responsiveness (10 max)

– Accuracy (10 max)

– Feel for language (10 max)




(Seeking info & opinion) (5 max)

Section 3: General Conversation (40 marks)

• Same as Section 2

Exam Structure





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Structure of Component 2

Passage Question Question type example Mark allocation

Passage 1 1 Vocabulary: seeking synonym in text

5

2 Grammatical manipulation 5

3 Comprehension questions 20 (15+5)

Passage 2 4 Comprehension questions 20 (15+5)

Passage 1 & 2

5 (a) Summary of details from both texts

(b) Personal response

20 (10 +5+5)

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Component 2: Reading & Writing

• Question 1 : Seeking a phrase: Do not to omit words or to include

extra words.

• Question 2: Rewriting phrases: Answers should fit back into the

original text, retaining the same meaning.

• Questions 3 and 4: Comprehension of texts. Answer in their own

words.

• Direct copying of four or more words from the text will usually invalidate

an answer.

• Question 5(a): Summary: Introduction, conclusions and vague

generalizations not required. Specific, relevant details attract marks.

• Question 5(b): Personal response: Give a point of view and, if

possible, offer ideas which have not appeared in the texts.

• Total of 140 words / 280 Japanese characters for both parts in Question

5.

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Exam Structure





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Component 3: Essay

Word guide Mark Allocation

250–400 words (600–800 characters in Japanese)

40 marks total: • 24 marks: Quality of Language • 16 marks: Content

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Component 3: Set topics

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• 1 Human relationships

• 2 Law and order

• 3 Work and leisure

• 4 War and peace

• 5 Pollution

HKEAA website

• http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/HKDSE/assessment/subject_information/category_c_subjects/

http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/HKDSE/assessment/subject_information/category_c_subjects/



Results 2019 examination (in number of candidates)

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A B C D E U Total

French 9 8 6 5 3 6 37

German 1 0 1 0 1 0 3

Hindi 2 0 3 0 2 1 8

Japanese 164 68 33 17 11 10 303

Spanish 6 3 2 1 3 0 15

Urdu 11 3 3 2 0 3 22

Results 2019 examination (in percentages)

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A B C D E U Total

French 24.3 21.6 16.3 13.5 8.1 16.2 100

German 33.3 0.0 33.4 0.0 33.3 0.0 100

Hindi 25.0 0.0 37.5 0.0 25.0 12.5 100

Japanese 54.1 22.5 10.9 5.6 3.6 3.3 100

Spanish 40.0 20.0 13.33 6.7 20.0 0.0 100

Urdu 50.0 13.6 13.7 9.1 0.0 13.6 100

Results 2019 examination

30

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

French German Hindi Japanese Spanish Urdu

A

B

C

D

E

U

Results 2019: Japanese

31

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

A B C D E U

Results 2019: French

32

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

A B C D E U

2019 Candidates’ Performance





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2019 Performance: French Key messages • Important to express not only facts, but ideas and opinions in Presentation.

• In order to be eligible for maximum marks under Seeking Information and Opinions candidates’ questions should relate to the subject(s) under discussion.

General comments • Candidates were awarded a very wide range of marks, from near the upper

end to near the lower end of the range.

• Candidates at the lower end had greater difficulty in understanding the examiner and in constructing basic responses.

• Candidates at the upper end spoke fluently, accurately and idiomatically.

• Pronunciation was generally acceptable, but with a number of instances of first-language interference, which, in some cases, made comprehension extremely difficult.

2019 Performance: French Section 1: Presentation

• Most candidates able to speak for 3 to 3½ minutes; others needed encouragement to do so; a few were unable to do this

• A wide variety of appropriate topics was offered:

– Among the more unusual: Les Misérables, Les fêtes du feu du solstice dans les Pyrénées, Le sport et le hooliganisme

– Among the standard ones: La mode, La famille, L’éducation en France, L’environnement.

2019 Performance: French Section 2: Topic Conversation

• Candidates varied considerably in their ability to answer questions at different levels of difficulty

• All candidates made an attempt to develop the ideas of their presentation

• Nearly all candidates able to ask examiner questions to seek information and opinions. In some cases candidates were reminded or prompted.

• Questions were often poorly formulated, hard to understand and not always relevant to the topic under discussion.

• Quality of language varied considerably in terms of accuracy, range and Feel for the Language.

2019 Performance: French Section 3: General Conversation

• Wide range of topics used: sport, travel, the media, leisure, Buddhism, fake news, discrimination, stress, technology

• Most candidates asked questions, although not all focused on the subject under discussion

• Questions often poorly formulated or formulated without variation.

• In order to improve further, candidates need to widen their vocabulary, develop a firmer grasp of basic constructions, express more ideas and opinions, and have more practice in using the spoken language.

2019 Performance: German Key messages

• Presentation should clearly refer to culture of a German-speaking country

• Candidates expected to ask the Examiner questions and should not necessarily wait to be prompted to do so.

• When asking questions, candidates should make them relevant to topic.

General comments

• Candidates organised their material well

• All candidates able to sustain a further conversation on the same topic.

• In General Conversation section, they were mostly responsive, although some candidates did not understand all the questions or needed them to be rephrased.

• Most candidates had a question prepared, though some of these were not clearly expressed or not strictly relevant to the topic being discussed, and some candidates needed to be prompted to ask their questions.

2019 Performance: German

Section 1: Presentation

• Variety of topics was offered: renewable energy, human relationships and inclusivity in education.

• All candidates spoke for the required time offering both ideas and opinions.

• All candidates clearly referred to a German-speaking country.

• Pronunciation was acceptable or good.

• Some candidates made a good attempt at intonation and expression and some spoke fluently and accurately, using an adequate range of structures and vocabulary.


Section 2: Topic Conversation

• Candidates enthusiastic about their topics.

• They generally made a good attempt to develop ideas and were able to maintain either an acceptable or good quality of language.

• Candidates seemed capable of asking the Examiner more than one question, though only one candidate actually asked more than one successful question. If there is only one question, the maximum mark for Seeking Information and Opinions is three out of five.

• The quality of language varied in terms of accuracy and range, but was always at least satisfactory.


Section 3: General Conversation

• A similar standard was maintained in this section

• Some questions not immediately understood and had to be repeated.

• Topics covered included: advertising, tourism, equality, mobile phones, objectivity of news, unemployment and candidates’ plans for the future.

• Stronger candidates were able to ask more than one question and so gained more credit.

• They should have some general questions ready to use in any circumstances, such as Sind Sie der gleichen Meinung?.

2019 Performance: Japanese Key messages

• Candidates should be aware that Japanese uses a wide range of registers, and that the informal language they pick up from films, the internet or even their friends (such as ‘そりゃそうだけど’, ‘だけどね’) is unlikely to be appropriate for use with Examiner in a formal setting.

• Candidates should actively seek to engage the Examiner in conversation.

• Candidates should be encouraged to not only prepare their presentation, but also anticipate some of the directions the conversation might take.

General comments

• Most candidates had prepared well for the examination.

• Vast majority of candidates were able to sustain a conversation and maintained coherent pronunciation and intonation.

• Candidates are clearly preparing in a variety of ways. They should continue to seek as many opportunities as they can for using their Japanese.

2019 Performance: Japanese

• Section 1: Presentation

• Overall candidates had prepared very well.

• Candidates had clearly done their research: many knew specific facts and figures about their chosen topic which they used them appropriately.

• There seemed to be an increase in the proportion of candidates who sounded genuinely interested in their chosen topic.

• Examiners appropriately intervened to stop candidates where the presentation was too long.


• Section 2: Topic Conversation

• Most candidates were able to engage in conversation with the Examiner, but sometimes they lacked further material, depth in their answers, or any kind of evaluation of/opinion on the subject.

• Quite often candidates seemed unable to ask a natural question within the flow of the conversation and ended up asking unrelated questions such as ‘What are your hobbies?’ at the end of the conversation.


• Section 3: General Conversation

• Too many candidates simply gave a one-sentence answer without developing their answers any further, or grasping the opportunity to steer the conversation in a direction of their choosing.

• Candidates are advised to re-visit the more straightforward topics they have studied at the beginning of the course (such as hobbies, family,

school) to make sure that they are not stuck on the basic answers that

they learnt at the beginning of their study of Japanese, but that they can

contribute fuller, more mature answers, using a range of more advanced

grammar and vocabulary.

• Candidates should avoid trying to re-use the same sentences and ideas they have already presented in previous sections.

2019 Performance: Spanish

Key messages

• Choice of the subject for the Presentation should reflect a candidate’s own interest.

• Candidates should try to include a personal viewpoint in the presentation

• In the conversation sections, candidates should be prepared to offer their own opinions & justification for these

General comments

• Candidates made reference in presentations to the Spanish-speaking world.

• Most were able to clarify ideas in the following Topic Conversation.

• Some made comparisons between Hispanic context & their own experience.

• Most candidates remembered to ask the Examiner at least one question in each of the Topic and General Conversation sections.

• The quality of language varied somewhat.

• Pronunciation was generally acceptable or good, though some candidates found Spanish sounds difficult.


General comments (cont.)

• To improve, candidates should remember that they are outlining situations or topics to an uninformed but interested listener.

• They should:

– ensure they have sufficient material and ideas for the wider General Conversation

– speak clearly to allow the Examiner to take in the information being conveyed

– consider their own attitudes and opinions to issues

– adopt a strategy to deal with unexpected, unprepared questions

– be prepared to offer and defend an opposing view if necessary

– practise formulating questions naturally for use


Section 1: Presentation

• The topics offered were in accordance with syllabus requirements and dealt with Hispanic-related themes.

• Candidates were able to speak for the required time. Presentations were generally well organised and provided opinions, ideas and issues that could be followed up in the Topic Conversation.

• Some candidates tended to recite their material and this at times affected the quality of delivery or impeded effective communication.


Section 2: Topic Conversation

• Most candidates were ready to develop in the Topic Conversation matters introduced in the Presentation.

• At the top of the range, ideas and opinions were conveyed and good interaction was maintained with the Examiner.

• Weaker candidates struggled with unexpected questions or in going beyond their prepared material.

• Candidates asked the Examiner relevant questions, but some needed prompting to do so. Weaker candidates tended to ask all-purpose questions of a general nature that did not clearly follow in the course of the conversation.

• In relation to language, most candidates were competent when answering predictable or prepared questions, and used a variety of tenses and appropriate register of language.

• Accuracy was generally adequate, though fluency and immediacy of response varied quite widely.


• Section 3: General Conversation

• Candidates coped reasonably well with questions of an everyday, personal nature, though weaker candidates struggled when going beyond prepared, descriptive material.

• Discussion covered a wide range of interests, including experience of life in their own and other countries, education, politics, technology, the environment, cultural differences, family, relationships and future plans.

• At the higher range, candidates offered relevant factual information and were confident in developing ideas and opinions.

Exam Components





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Component 2: Reading & Writing - Key messages

• Question 1: the word or words chosen as the answer must be interchangeable in every respect with the word or words given in the question. Additional or missing words invalidate the answer.

• Question 2: start the sentence with the prompt provided and be careful with the consequent grammatical changes in the new sentence. Do not alter vocabulary or meaning unnecessarily.

• Questions 3 and 4: candidates should not simply ‘lift’ items unaltered from the text. They need to manipulate or re-phrase the text in some way.

• In Question 5, candidates should respect the word limit. Any material in excess of the published word count is ignored. Candidates should not write a general introduction.

• Question 5(b): candidates should express their own ideas (instead of merely copying ideas from the text).

Exam Components





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Component 3: Essay – Key

Message • Select the title with which they feel most comfortable.

• Write a response that is clearly relevant, well illustrated, coherently structured and well informed.

• Use target language which is accurate and of a suitably advanced nature, as well as demonstrate a good use of idiom and appropriate topic-related vocabulary.

• Use sentence patterns which show some evidence of complexity in a style which is easy to follow.

• Leave some time at the end of the examination to check for avoidable language errors.

• Stay within the prescribed word limits (250-400 words / 600 – 800 Japanese characters).

• Do not to use transliterations of English words instead of the appropriate vocabulary items in Hindi / Urdu.

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2020 Examination

No of candidates French 60 German 5 Hindi 13 Japanese 356 Spanish 14 Urdu 31

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2012-20 Candidate Numbers

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2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

French 88 89 65 59 64 61 61 37 60

German 3 1 4 12 8 9 4 3 5

Hindi 10 8 6 12 0 8 11 8 13

Japanese 135 114 140 199 203 213 305 303 356

Spanish 9 20 14 7 11 14 16 15 14

Urdu 5 13 16 15 30 19 27 12 31

TOTAL 250 245 245 304 316 324 424 378 479

2012-20 Candidate Numbers

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

French German Hindi Japanese Spanish Urdu

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2020 Exam (Nov. 2019 series)

• Dates:

– Component 1 (Nov. series)

• 5 October – 20 October 2019

– Component 2 and 3

• 1 October – 31 October 2019

http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/Exam_Timetable/Cat_C_Nov_2020_Timetable_E.pdf

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http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/Exam_Timetable/Cat_C_Nov_2020_Timetable_E.pdf

Teaching support provision

Other Languages Resource Corner (OLRC):

https://334.edb.hkedcity.net/new/en/index.php

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http://334.edb.hkedcity.net/EN/other_languages_resources.php




Teaching support

• Education Bureau

• Curriculum Development:

– Ms Lam Wai Kuen

– [email protected]

– Tel: 28926403

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mailto:[email protected]

Oral examiner recruitment

• Berenice Kwok:

– [email protected]

for application form.


Examination support

Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority

• Exam logistics:

• Christine Lee: [email protected]

• Speaking exam administration:

• Cameron Smart: [email protected]

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Briefing Session for HKDSE Category C Subjects...Briefing Session for HKDSE Category C Subjects...

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