The Leaving Cert German papers caught the spirit of our technological age, with plenty of refections on computers and mobile phones for the 9,730 pupils who sat the subject.
Unlike the French aural test earlier this week, the German tape was described as clear and "graspable". The written papers also drew a favourable response.
Dorothy Hughes, ASTI subject representative and a teacher at Ard Scoil na nDeise, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, praised the higher-level paper. "All my pupils were happy with the layout and the range of questions." They found the deep voice of one male speaker on the aural tape a "little difficult".
The first comprehension was challenging and question 4 on it was very tough, as in previous years. She said the other texts were relevant and fair.
In schriftliche produktion, there was a difficult question b on athletics and doping. Helmut Sundermann of the German Teachers Association, a teacher at St Killian's in Clonskeagh, Dublin, said pupils were satisfied with the higher-level paper. "The topics were relevant - for example, asylum-seekers and the virtual classroom."
The grammar section was similar to last year, he added. A section on "question pronouns" was testing, he said, because students had to make sure they were in the right case. "It was not as easy as it may have looked."
The ordinary-level paper was very fair, Hughes said. Students liked the text, Die Deutschen und ihre Haustiers, and found the questions manageable.
Text 3, about street children in South America, was more challenging; some students were unfamiliar with the culture and a little confused about the two boys featured in it, Manasses and Edvando.