JUNIOR CERT GERMAN:AN EXCELLENT Junior Cert German exam was slightly let down by another proofreading failure in yesterday's higher level paper.
While the mistake was not as serious as those that occurred on Tuesday’s business paper, teachers were left hoping that their students were not put off by the error that turned up in the letter section of the exam.
The students were required to read and respond to a letter from a German pen-pal.
TUI subject representative Scatha Ní Fhearghaill said, “The letter was fine apart from the final line where the German pen-pal writes how he or she thinks it would be lovely if the reader could come to Ireland.
“It should have read Germany and I’m just hoping that students weren’t left doubting themselves because of it.”
It was an unnecessary blot on what was otherwise a fair and accessible exam, according to Ms Ní Fhearghaill.
The recordings for the aural exam were well-paced and clear. “They were fair to both levels,” Ms Ní Fhearghaill said.
“The questions were accessible and properly pitched at both levels as well.”
The higher level written exam covered a broad range of topics. Students were required to read and identify some signs and advertisements. “There was nothing out of the ordinary there,” Ms Ní Fhearghaill said.
Comprehension passages were clear and accessible. The first was about a horse-riding holiday, there was another about pets, a third dealt with mobile phones for children, while the final one told the story of two boys who got into an accident while playing in the snow.
“They were very much of the standard you’d expect,” Ms Ní Fhearghaill said.
Apart from the letter blunder, the written expression section was “fine,” according to Ms Ní Fhearghaill.
Just over 9,000 students sat the Junior Cert German exam yesterday, with more than two-thirds doing so at higher level.
Ordinary level students were met with a “lovely” paper.
“There was nothing unexpected on the paper,” Ms Ní Fhearghaill said. “It was very much in line with what students had done in past papers.”
Comprehension topics included a children’s media festival and students’ weekends. “The letter was fine at ordinary level,” Ms Ní Fhearghaill said. “Students really shouldn’t have had any difficulty with it.”
