THIS year saw the old format Italian examination taking its final bow at both higher and ordinary level, marking the end of the most traditional of the modern language examinations. From next year, the papers will be more of a progression from the Junior Cert examinations.
Ms Maura McCarthy, president of the Italian Teachers' Association and a teacher in St. Joseph's College, Lucan, Co Dublin, described the higher level paper as "quite manageable and student friendly. There were no surprises or shocks in it."
Mr Aidan Farrell, a teacher in Scoil Eoin CBS, Athy, Co Kildare, said the higher level paper was "fair enough", though, he noted, the translation piece in section A was "a little abstract in content. I just thought it was a little indefinite, though it wasn't difficult to translate as such."
Ms McCarthy agreed that it was a bit abstract but also felt that there were no words which students would have had great difficulty in working out.
In section B, Ms McCarthy said there was an element of overlap between the questions on the novel, Leonardo Sciascia's A ciascuno il suo. Mr Farrell described the questions as "fine" and as what would be expected by students.
In section D, the letter writing section, Ms McCarthy said the letter of complaint was "okay" but that the informal letter, telling a friend that you were unable to meet him at the airport, offered little scope to students to write since there was not a lot to say - and it was not a very realistic letter for a young person to write, she said.
There was nothing unusual in the grammar section, Ms McCarthy said. "It was demanding enough but they always find it very difficult."
The short story topic, on a lottery ticket, also came up in the oral, so students would have been prepared for it, she said.
Mr Farrell described the ordinary level paper as "okay", with a straightforward translation. The first comprehension piece was easy, the second less so. He said students should also have been well able to handle the letter option.
Ms McCarthy said the translation, in particular, can be difficult for ordinary level students. "Even though the translation was mainly in the present tense the vocabulary was quite demanding," she said.
In the comprehension section, she said, the second piece was also difficult, particularly since the questions were in Italian and their wording could pose difficulties.
Similarly, while students would have been prepared for the letter and conversation sections, they were still difficult - and the grammar section was very time consuming.
Mr Farrell said the aural test was a lot more difficult than in previous years. "The questions were harder and the information required was quite specific," he said.
Students would usually be eased into the tape by some less difficult pieces but this year the six announcements contained at the start of the tape were all difficult, he said.
Of the conversations, the second one, concerning a traffic accident, was particularly difficult, in Mr Farrell's view. "Ordinary level students could have found it very hard," he said.
Ms McCarthy said there were a number of unusual words on the tape which might have given difficulty, and she described the phrasing of some of the questions as "a bit vague", in that they did not relate exactly to what was on the tape.