YESTERDAY, higher level Leaving Cert students faced a demanding examination of the new Italian syllabus.
However, Ms Maura McCarthy president of the Italian Teachers Association, said students were relieved that it was not as difficult as the sample paper. The layout was good and more student friendly than in the past, she added. The tape for the aural was fine.
Some students reported difficulties with question I, section C, which was linked to the journalistic comprehension passage. The passage's topic - about young people in Italy and how they have changed over the years - was relevant but the language was a little difficult, she said.
In section B, students had a choice of answering questions on an unseen literary passage or on one of two prescribed novels. "Students would have had to have been quite good to deal with the unseen passage," she noted.
In the writing section, both letters were formal and the subjects of the letters were also a little difficult Ms McCarthy said. Students were asked to write to a car hire company in Sardinia or to write about a proposed holiday in Italy, a portion of which would be dedicated to the environment - topics a little outside most Leaving Cert students' experience, she noted.
Overall, apart from the difficulties with question 1, section C, and the letters, students should have been okay, she said.
At ordinary level, the paper was "very nice", according to Ms McCarthy, who teaches in St Joseph's College, Lucan, Co Dublin. It was student friendly, with topics appropriate to the age level of the students.
Italian