Coal is only black spot in accessible paper

Exam Times/Leaving Cert German: The 8,500 Leaving Certificate students who sat yesterday's higher level German exam were presented with an accessible yet challenging paper, according to teachers.

Unlike Tuesday's French exam, they reported no difficulties with the quality of the tape used in the aural exam, with one teacher welcoming the clear dialogue used.

However, there was criticism of the second reading comprehension section, which teachers described as dull and unimaginative.

According to Ms Susie Hall, incoming president of the ASTI and a German teacher, the section which referred to brown coal-mining and its effects was unlikely to be of much relevance to students' lives.

While she was "happy enough" with the other sections of the paper, she pointed out the marks for the question were the equivalent of the total marks for the oral exam.

"It is not in any way relevant to a German teenager, never mind a foreign one," she said. "The language was difficult and the theme was boring . . . it seems way out of style with current themes (in other language papers.)

"It could well have unnerved a good students who has put in a lot of work," she said. "There are a lot of things young people worry about, but one of them is not brown coal."

Mr Feargal Ó'Giolláin, subject representative with the TUI, said yesterday's paper was "do-able and accessible," although certain aspects of the paper would have been difficult and challenging for students.

The "expansion of a theme" section, which included a question about the use of coal in energy production, was somewhat dull, he said, but students could choose not to answer that question.

Ms Orla Ní Fhuílleabháin, a teacher at the Institute of Education in Dublin, said her students were very happy with a paper which was fair yet demanding.

The major complaint, she said, was the grammar section, which was seen by many students as difficult. However, overall, there were few surprises.

At ordinary level, she said the paper had been very well received by her students. She welcomed the use of material which was relevant to students' own lives. "It was well laid out with no major surprises," she said. " Most students were very happy with paper."

Mr Ó'Giolláin said the text at ordinary level was both manageable and fair. Although the section containing the picture sequence would have demanded quite a high level of language, the paper overall was "pretty straightforward."

Ms Hall said the paper was quite fair overall, with examples which were generally more relevant to students' experiences than at higher level. "Relevance to students lives is the key," she said.