[s2ophie]

Ok speaking is over and its now time to start thinking about the reading, writing and listening. :eek: What are you guys doing in terms of study and prepration for Italian?

I also thought that seeing i am the 'moderatore' of this forum i should do something useful. So i thought we should compile a list of practise writing exercises we can do. The ones here are the ones from HSC exams so you probably already know them. I'll look around and find my trials so we can post them aswell but we all did the ILTA paper i think so again nothing new.

Please post any practise things you have or if you have any questions you know someone will answer them!!

________________________________________________

HSC 2002

Question 11 (6 marks)
Answer ONE of the following questions. Write 100–150 words in ITALIAN.

(a) You have just been on your first date with someone who turned out to be completely different from what you expected. Write a diary entry about your date.

OR

(b) Write a letter to your Italian penfriend describing the ‘party with a difference’ you went to over the weekend.

Question 12 (9 marks)
Answer ONE of the following questions. Write 100–150 words in ITALIAN.
(a) A group of Italian students is researching school life in other countries. They have sent you an e-mail asking about the positive and negative aspects of school life in NSW. Write a report for them.

OR

(b) You are applying for a job in the travel industry where knowledge of Italian would be an advantage. As part of the interview process you are required to give a speech in which you explain why you would be the ideal person for the job.
Write your speech.

link to exam page:
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_exams/hsc2002exams/pdf_doc/italian_cont_02.pdf

______________________________________________
HSC 2001

Question 12 (6 marks)
Answer ONE of the following questions. Write 100–150 words in ITALIAN.

(a) You have just returned from a school camp which was a total disaster. Write a description of your experiences.

OR

(b) You have just spent a week with your Italian penfriend. Write a diary entry about how you spent your time together.

Question 13 (9 marks)
Answer ONE of the following questions. Write 100–150 words in ITALIAN.

(a) As a former student who decided to take a year off study after the HSC, you have been invited to speak to a school assembly. Write the text of your speech in which you reflect on the reasons for deferring tertiary studies.

OR

(b) You have received a letter from your penfriend who has recently started a new job and wants to resign as he/she is not enjoying it. Write back to offer some valid reasons why he or she should persevere.

[Hottieflossy]

these are from the 2002 Spanish Continuers exam:

Q12
a) you are applying for an overseas student exchange program. write a personal profile so that your particulars can be matched with those of a suitable host family.

OR

b) your italian class has been linked to another one overseas. you are required to write a letter to your chosen student penfriend about your hobbies, interests and what you enjoy doing in your free time.

Q13
a)an article in your school magazine has advised parents to discourage yr 12 students from engaging in part time work in order to focus on their studies. write a report in response to this article discussing both points of view.

OR

b) you have recently returned from a stay in italy. write the script of a talk to ur classmates in which you discuss the benefits of experiencing a diff life style

[s2ophie]

now there's an idea i didn't think of! we should flog them from all the other languages!

[Soma]

yeh,
ive been doing no work for italian lol
i've never really studied much for italian
except for the hsc speakings where i typed up all these mad phrases from every single booklet my teacher gave us. So i've got phrases on everything divided into stuff like sport/family/food/friends and suicide/generation gap/depression/ conformism etc. for 3u. I might look over a bit of grammar and try and do some writing tasks this week tho.

[iambored]

good idea to look for the other languages, and to put them here

study - i'm fixing my common errors, learning some phrases

next week i'll get into the writing, comprehension etc. for now i am focusing on my harder subjects

[s2ophie]

I'm writing some writing tasks at the moment. They are the previous years ILTA papers so as i e-mail them to my teacher i'll add them up here!

[iambored]

ok, if i come across any i will type them here, for the moment i have not done any writings, and i was just going to do the past hsc ones

[s2ophie]

This is the first one i did. its a 6 mark question.

You are sending your pen friend a photo of yourself and your family. Write an accompanying letter describing members of your family and the relationship you have with each of them.

It was a pretty easy question. I enjoyed making up a family that allowed me to show off fancy grammar!

[iambored]

French
2001
Question 13 (6 marks)
Answer ONE of the following questions. Write 100–150 words in FRENCH.
(a) Your teacher asks you to write a composition about your neighbourhood. Write a description of the people who have just moved in next door.
OR
(b) Write a report for the school newsletter on one of your leisure interests.

Question 14 (9 marks)
Answer ONE of the following questions. Write 100–150 words in FRENCH.
(a) You have just returned from a study tour to a French-speaking country, and have been asked to present a speech to your French class. Write the script of the speech in which you explain the benefits of the experience, and encourage the
students to take part in next year’s tour.
OR
(b) You have had a disagreement with your girlfriend/boyfriend where you believe you were correct. Write an e-mail to a mutual friend in which you explain what happened and express your point of view.


2002 HSC

Question 12 (6 marks)
Answer ONE of the following questions. Write 100–150 words
(a) Write a message to a friend explaining why you did not meet him or her in the afternoon as planned.
OR
(b) You have witnessed something that happened in the playground. Write a report about it for the school Principal.

Question 13 (9 marks)
Answer ONE of the following questions. Write 100–150
(a) You are about to start a week of work experience for a French company. Write a diary entry about your feelings and expectations.
OR
(b) Write an article for a school magazine explaining how you feel about wearing school uniform.



i'll probably download more language papers later, if not for us ( i don't know if i will have time to do many more writing tasks than like 10) i'll do it for next years hsc class.

[s2ophie]

These are 'borrowed' from the Japanese forum. Thanks Jap people!

(6 marks)
You have just returned from a school camp which was a total disaster. Write a description of your experiences.
OR
You are writing to a Japanese student who will visit your school on exchange. Write an email to him/her describing school life in Australia

(9 marks)
You are talking to a group of young Japanese high school students who are visiting Australia. They have asked you to tell them about what young Australian people enjoy doing in their spare time and how they keep fit. Write a script of your talk.
OR
You visited Japan recently for the World Cup Soccer tournament and are staying on in Japan in a homestay situation for a further 4 weeks. Write an email to your Japanese class telling them about your experiences in Japan and your impressions of Japanese customs and lifestyle.

[s2ophie]

OK so who has actually got around to writing stuff? I've done 1 and a half but they were only 6 mark questions.

[iambored]

nope, i should start 2day or tomorrow though with writing

[Hottieflossy]

i see every1 has taken my lead and borrowed writing questions from other languages..hehe

[s2ophie]

it was a very good lead to take!!

[iambored]

yeah it's a brilliant idea!

[s2ophie]

ok i have a question:

when you have to write an e-mail, how do you guys start it? i use OGGETTO, MITTENTE and just write the Date up the top. Does anyone do anything different?

Also other than letter, speech, article, webpage, email, can anyone else think of any other forms they could ask us to write in?

[s2ophie]

Oh and here is another 6 mark question:

You have just returned from a trip to Italy during which you spent some time living with an Italian family. Write an e-mail to a friend telling him/her about this experience.

[arls]

hey sophie,
i wouldn't worry too much about text type, as if theyre gonna go out of their way to try and confuse us with fancy new text types. I mean they're testing us on ITALIAN not on text types.

in answer to ure question, you've listed all the ones i can think of, i havent done any practice questions which are in diff text types.

btw, what does oggetto, or mittente mean?

i usually start off an email with Caro Daniello and the date??? im confused?

[Hottieflossy]

what if they ask you to write a formal letter, arls? because that differs from an informal one. so in that case you do have to worry about the text type because it defines the grammar and everything, does it not?

[iambored]

formal letter can't be asked in 2u, so don't worry



and what is mittente?
oggetto means subject
i just do to, from subject and date, like at the top of our e mail page
Originally posted by arls
i wouldn't worry too much about text type, as if theyre gonna go out of their way to try and confuse us with fancy new text types. I mean they're testing us on ITALIAN not on text types.

but careful because you do need to show you can write in the text type, and u will get marked down for writing wrongly

um, those are the only text types i can think of as well

[s2ophie]

another text type i thought of is diary entry

mittente is sender

i think text type is important (also my teacher stresses it all the time) If they ask you to write an article and you don't have a title you can't really get full marks because it shows you haven't really understood the question. It doesn't havet o be anything detailed (mittente probably isn't necessary) you just have to show you understand what the text type is

[iambored]

oh, i can't believe i forgot the diary entry!! i think all the text types we have to know are set written in the syllabus, i just can't be bothered to find mine

webpage would be a hard one, i have never done one of those.

yeah, make sure you set it out as the text type they are asking for

[s2ophie]

here are some more questions:
6 marks
(a) your Italian penfriend has written saying that she is thinking of coming to Australia for a holiday. Write back to her explaiing why Australia would eb the ideal place for her holiday.
OR
(b) Imagine you have just come back from a holiday in Italy. Write an article for your school's newletter in which you describe the things you experienced.

9 marks

(a) For "The year of the Outback", you are entering a competition where you have to present a speech on the advantages of living in the country. Write out the script, making sure tou persuade the audience into seeing the benefits of country life as opposed to living in the city.

OR

(b)
You are applying for a job you saw in the newspaper as a tour guide around Australia. Write the accompanying letter to your Curriculum Vitae. Remember you must be convincing that you are the most appropriate person for the job

[s2ophie]

i was just looking at the syllabus. these are the text types we have to know. the asterisk means we could have to write them in an exam

advertisement
form
play
announcement
formal letter
poem
article
informal letter*
postcard*
chart
interview
recipe
conversation*
list recount*
description*
message*/note*
report*
dialogue
narrative account*
song
diary entry*
news item
speech/talk (script)*
documentary
notice
table/timetable
e-mail*/fax*
novel/short story
film
personal profile*

the URL for the syllabus is:
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/italianc_syl.pdf

[iambored]

yes, conversation is a big one


narrative account could be hard, so could note because it would have to be1-150 words

[arls]

i wasn't saying that text type is NOT important, i meant that i wuldnt be concerned bout it too much. Cause its pretty basic and obvious that an informal letter uses informal language. also if your writing an article, just like in english you must have a heading of course. all im trying to stress, is that its more important to practice grammar, put in idiomatics, and answer questions asked if its letter for example etc rather than the specifities of a text type.

[rhinoivory]

just study ur speaking notes and adapt it to the question... no problem

i would like a telephone conversation..... they havent done that yet

[iambored]

i'm doing that actually, it's so much easier

[Kakie]

se4e converstations sarebbero facile xke abiamo sempre conversazioni in italiano quia questo forum! enuf italian!

whast idont get is that y teacher told me that u use the remote wen ur talking baout like dante x esempio - dante apri` la porta - however i was reasding that danielle steel book and they had the remote every two senteces... is that part of the plu perfect rule? and if so can someone explain it to me please?

[iambored]

what's remote? passato remoto?

[Marianna]

Originally posted by iambored
formal letter can't be asked in 2u, so don't worry



and what is mittente?
oggetto means subject
i just do to, from subject and date, like at the top of our e mail page

but careful because you do need to show you can write in the text type, and u will get marked down for writing wrongly

um, those are the only text types i can think of as well

you will get marked down rather harshly!

I did 3u italian by correspondence last year

and as there aren't many italian hsc markers got to meet a few through my correspondence course and they will mark you down

[s2ophie]

my teacher is a marker and he always tells us to read the wuestion, answer in the right text type and structure your response appropriately

[iambored]

yeah, we also get told to make sure we use the correct text type, and i have got comments before telling me i didn't do a good job of the text type!

[s2ophie]

the comments that i always get are that i didn't structure it right. and sometimes that i didn't answer the question right! oops!

[Kakie]

yeh by remote i meant passato remoto sorry :)

[iambored]

well i doubt we need to know that. you only use it when you are talking about something that happened centuries ago, something that has no connection with the earth today. like, if you were talking about shakpspeare's life

[Lexicographer]

To Sophie: I don't spam your forum you lying yet attractive mod with oh so wonderful teeth!

[iambored]

haha i read the teeth comments!

[s2ophie]

go away lexi you're scaring me

[arls]

hey guys.. ive returned to italian forum.. any1 done anyting for italian?? ive been focusing on modern history and maths next week.. and havent touched italian apart from maybe 2 hours in the hols once. shit! oh well. italian is that kinda subject you have to study all year round, and just brush up closer to the time of exam... i hope this is correct or im screwwwwedddd!

[arls]

crapppy having bio on the same day isnt it???? oh and also.. italian exam is on at exactly the same time as melbourne cup! im soo pissed cause stacks of my mates are going down the pub for mc arvo.. and i have to do italian! not fair!

[Lexicographer]

Originally posted by s2ophie
go away lexi you're scaring me It's what I'm best at. Enough accusations in the mod forum though ;) Be glad psycho_mushy hasn't started on you! :p


[goes back to Japanese]

[Hottieflossy]

i dont think i will necessarily study for italian. i've been watching the italian news every morning and then the italian radio in the evening. thatz for listening. for reading i buy the italian newspaper...la fiamma...thatz basically the only study i will do...oh, wait...i might have to revise some of the grammar and verbs

[Lexicographer]

You should all go to Norton Street! You'll get more study than you bargained for. :p

[iambored]

yeah... at norton, speaking eng?

i will study maybe from this wednesday, i have done a bit but i do agree it is a year long effort

[s2ophie]

It definately sucks having bio on the same day as Italian. I will be soooooo tired that night! And i didn't even realise the melbourne cup was on then! We should do the VCE, they have the day off from exams for the cup. I have done a bit of studying for Italian. i have a lot of practise listening things since 1991 that i am meant to be doing but i hate listening! i have done quite a few practise writing things so everything should be ok. i'll do some more listening this week and brush up on my grammar.

[arls]

i hate listenin too! its soooo boring and is always so stupid. any1 noticed how dumb the listening exercises are? its like "oh i booked accomodation at this hotel and my car broke down!" "Oh, maybe you can find another hotel!" or "Im feeling sick at the moment, i need some medicine" doctor ; "here is the medicine, take it every two hours until you feel better" or " a bird feel out of the tree, what should i do to make it feel better?"

arrrggghhh.. couldnt the listening tapes be more interesting and topical?

[iambored]

haha yeah they are about nothing at all

[arls]

Im actually looking forward to the italian exam.... i know its dumb to be looking forward to an exam but i find italian the most enjoyable. no sore wrists cause your only allowed to write a specific amount. and the comprehensions are usually pretty interesting. doesnt mean ill do well.... but i certainl have fun!! anyone else feel the same??

[rhinoivory]

I'm dreading Italian. My assessment mark is really good, and I've got to work really hard in these next 6 days! ARGH! Study is as follows; watch italian television/talk to my nonna/mum in italian...

[Nupil]

does anyone go over the limit they are sposed to write? cos i have HUUUUGE issues wityh doing that!!!

[s2ophie]

i might sometimes go maybe 50 words over but not usually. In the standards package there was one that was nearing on 500w. Just remember, you can't go wrong within the world limit and the more you go over, the more mistakes you make.

[iambored]

i'm looking forward to italian more than my others, because it's easier, but it's so hard to get everything done in time.

i try and stick to the limit, under exam conditions i usually don't have enough time to write much more anyway.

[Kakie]

italiano sarebbe la mia materia preferita!! percio` lo trovo facile
e per me anche sara` il mio ULTIMO ESAME!!!
yeah so excited!!!

[arls]

Originally posted by Kakie
italiano sarebbe la mia materia preferita!! percio` lo trovo facile
e per me anche sara` il mio ULTIMO ESAME!!!
yeah so excited!!!

sei proprio fortunata! Avro' 2 esame di piu dopo L'Italiano... sono l'englese extensione e la storia extensione.. arrrgghhh!! non sono i tipi semplici!! Beata te!

[mei_ling03]

finsco il mio ultimo esame giovedi (la chimica).. poi, andro' alle discoteche!! temo l'esame di biologia :( ho sentito che solo 2% degli studenti riescono >90%
sono confusa: se, in genere, la maggioranza dei studenti che fanno l'italiano fanno anche le materie come l'inglese 3/4U, la storia, ecc.. perche' cosi tanti studenti fanno la biologia? perche' e' talmente popolare?

[mei_ling03]

Originally posted by arls
sei proprio fortunata! Avro' 2 esame di piu dopo L'Italiano... sono l'englese extensione e la storia extensione.. arrrgghhh!! non sono i tipi semplici!! Beata te!

ohh non farei mai la storia/ la storia estensione... c'e' troppo da ricordare!! per quanto riguarda l'inglese extensione, non ti preoccupare... e' facile, non e' vero? (non la faccio, ma i miei amici me la dicono)

[rhinoivory]

mei-ling... secondo me, línglese extensione non e facile, e proprio dficile, specialmente le domande che vogliono sapire "genre theory"(faccio crime fiction). Tutti i miei esami finiscono a venerdi. Non vedo lóra che posso (is this right) mettere i miei piedi in aria! Sono sicuro che alle fine del mio ultimo esame saro tutto emozionato!

[mei_ling03]

hehe.."genre theory".. mi pare come una scienza! probabilmente i miei amici dicono che l'inglese 3U e' facile perche' sono proprio intelligenti..veramente non ho nessun'idea! anche mi hanno detto che e' piu' facile rispetto a l'inglese avanzato.

"the sweet is not as sweet without the sour" - mi piace. mi fa pensare di John 'the savage' di Brave New World (un libro che avrei dovuto leggere per l'inglese).. yay... non piu' l'inglese per meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

um penso che si dica: non vedo l'ora potere mettere

[iambored]

Originally posted by mei_ling03
"the sweet is not as sweet without the sour" - mi piace.

um penso che si dica: non vedo l'ora potere mettere
anch'io mi piace
e pensavo che era detto non vedo l'ora quando posso mettere :confused:

[mei_ling03]

hmmm non lo so..
in un'esame ho scritto "non vedo l'ora per quando..." e la mia professoressa mi ha detto che non ho avuto ragione

[iambored]

hmmm, non so
alcune volte e' un po' difficile!

[arls]

Originally posted by rhinoivory
mei-ling... secondo me, línglese extensione non e facile, e proprio dficile, specialmente le domande che vogliono sapire "genre theory"(faccio crime fiction). Tutti i miei esami finiscono a venerdi. Non vedo lóra che posso (is this right) mettere i miei piedi in aria! Sono sicuro che alle fine del mio ultimo esame saro tutto emozionato!
sono lo stesso di te! crime fiction e' diventata noioso adesso.... e non e' facile! devo solo (english.. i have to just crack to formula of manipulating questions around the question.. then it will be okay!) spero che sara un scritto creativo come una storia come in change.. sarebbe molto facile no?! ma me ling.. non penso che sia piu' facile d'englese avanzato... forse per qualche persona! ma secondo me l'englese avanzato e semplice e molto divertente! 3unit... pero' e qualcosa diversa! (per me)

beh... non fa nulla! gli esami sono quasi finiti!
sono d'accordo con te me ling.. e' molto strano come molti studenti fanno biologia.. ma non posso spegnare perche'? forse.. va bene.. per me volevo fare una scienza, ma chimica/fisica/etc erano troppo difficile e non sono brava in matematica, biologia invece bene per la mente piu linguistiche (is that even a word!) e piu' facile e divertente... come una storia piu' di matematica.

questo e' la mia analogy(don know the word for)

beh.. e' tardi e devo proprio dormire.... ci vediamo qui domani forse?

[arls]

Originally posted by mei_ling03
hmmm non lo so..
in un'esame ho scritto "non vedo l'ora per quando..." e la mia professoressa mi ha detto che non ho avuto ragione
anch'io....

so che questo e' coretto. "non vedo l'ora di finire l'ultimo giorno di scuola." ma non sono sicura riguarda questa situatzione! e troppo difficile!

[mei_ling03]

oohhh mi ricordo: si dice "non vedo l'ora di potere mettere" - sono sicura questa volta..

Originally posted by arls
ma me ling.. non penso che sia piu' facile d'englese avanzato... forse per qualche persona! ma secondo me l'englese avanzato e semplice e molto divertente! 3unit... pero' e qualcosa diversa! (per me)



hmm non direi che l'inglese e' semplice, anzi sono al contrario.. ci sono troppo testi ricordare! ho contato di bruciare i miei appunti per l'inglese ma ho deciso e' meglio sia venderli che di essere precettore l'anno prossimo :)

Originally posted by arls
per me volevo fare una scienza, ma chimica/fisica/etc erano troppo difficile

hmm strano.. per me, il mio trial per la chimica era piu' facile che quello della biologia!

[arls]

siamo due tipi diversi me ling! aparte d'Italiano non abbiamo niente in commune!

[mei_ling03]

hehe probabilmente hai ragione
pero', il mondo sarebbe un posto noioso se ognuno e' lo stesso :)
alla stessa ora, i miei punti di vista sono un po' strani a volte...

[arls]

Originally posted by mei_ling03
hehe probabilmente hai ragione
pero', il mondo sarebbe un posto noioso se ognuno e' lo stesso :)
alla stessa ora, i miei punti di vista sono un po' strani a volte...

eheheh E' proprio vero! Il mondo sarebbe un posto orribile se tutte le persone erano lo stesso... che noioso! Preferisco d'avere un mondo di tanti tipi di persone come abbiamo! Pero'... sarebbe meraviglioso se non c'era i schifosi capi dei poltici.... Potrono essere come miali qualche volta... questo e' qualcosa che cambirei se potessi... ma non e' una possibilita! Una persona sola non potrono cambiare il mondo! E' impossibilie! Dobbiamo provare ad migliorare la situazione della zona in giro di noi, ed io penso che sia la sola cosa che possiamo fare per supererare il mondo... basta per me adesso.. devo studiare un po' per Biologia.

come va La Biologia mei Ling.. ? Soph? iambored? Ed le altre che fa Biologia.? Sto trovando che c'e' cosi tanti da ricordare, e spero che riceviamo un bel'esame! specialmente il 8mark domande!

ciao a tutti! Godetervi studiare!:)

[rhinoivory]

E la prima volta che sento sicuro con italiano. Spero di andare bene domani. Ho fatto un mucchio di esame oggi, e ho trovato che la parte piu dificile e "listening".

[mei_ling03]

Originally posted by rhinoivory
E la prima volta che sento sicuro con italiano. Spero di andare bene domani. Ho fatto un mucchio di esame oggi, e ho trovato che la parte piu dificile e "listening".

si sono d'accordo... il listening e' sempre il piu' difficile. ma trovo che ogni anno gli esami per l'italiano diventano piu' facile... speramente sia lo stesso domani! ho studiato poco per l'italiano perche' c'e' moltissimo ricordare per la biologia e non avevo abbastanza tempo studiare tutte a due le materie.
in bocca al lupo a tutti! non penso che abbiate i problemi nell'esame perche' mi pare che scrivete piutosto bene!

[rhinoivory]

crepi lupo :D

[iambored]

sophie - i just saw you in another thread, and thought i'd post this here
just that i was going through past listening papers before the hsc and saw your custom status!! haha, and recognised it

[s2ophie]

haha! yay! someone got it! Its the funniest voice whe the guys says it and my class laughs every time we hear (heard!!) it!

[iambored]

haha yeah i thought it would be something like that. i must say though that i was wondering for at least a month where you got the saying from