German exam asks some tough questions

LEAVING CERTIFICATE GERMAN - HIGHER AND ORDINARY:STUDENTS OF German faced an uphill struggle yesterday on a higher level paper characterised by dense vocabulary and tough questioning in places.

The expected topics of the Beijing Olympics and cultural diversity failed to surface.

This was a paper to challenge even the strongest students, said one teacher.

"Both Leaving Cert higher comprehensions were quite challenging and tested even the better student," said Orla Ní Suilleabháin of the Institute of Education in Dublin. "The two comprehensions gave some scope to all levels but the level of vocabulary in certain parts demanded a good grasp of the language."

Students at the Institute of Education reported finding question four on comprehension two "very difficult".

"This would have been a problem for the weaker candidate," Ms Ní Suilleabháin said.

However, students found the second comprehension, on inline skating, relevant and stimulating in content, according to teachers.

It was accessible to students but required a good overall understanding of the text to answer some questions, said one.

There was trouble for students relying on compositional set pieces. "The productive written section of this paper gave little scope to show off any work or topics students may have prepared. None of the obvious topics came up," Ms Ní Suilleabháin said.

"Students found the written topics challenging and would have required a good general ability in the language to cope with these."

In a compositional section on the role of water in our lives, students were asked to consider water wastage and conservation measures and it questioned whether Ireland's water was fit to drink. In another section, students were questioned on the sedentary lifestyles of Irish children.

The aural section of the paper was more popular with students than the reading and compositional sections.

One in three students takes German at ordinary level.

The ordinary paper was deemed fair and accessible to all levels. The comprehensions reflected the interests of candidates, according to teachers.

The productive written sections were praised for offering great scope to students, particularly the letter and note. The listening was managed well by most.