History and French translate into fair papers

BOTH comprehension pieces in the higher level Leaving Certificate French exam yesterday were based in Brittany and the paper had an ecological theme.

Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) subject spokeswoman Mary Costelloe said one text passage was about a couple who took over an abandoned island as a holiday destination, while the second was about two young people almost caught shoplifting, which was a bit more difficult.

The written questions included issues around the internet and what students would do if they had to leave home. She believed most would have been prepared for the question about global warming.

Máire Ní Chiarba of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland welcomed interesting topics in the listening section, including mobile phones and a Lotto winner.

She said the higher level written exam contained a nice diary entry question, and a reasonable formal letter. The most difficult question in Ms Ní Chiarba’s opinion was one that asked students to write about the importance or otherwise of studying literature in school.

Ms Costelloe said the ordinary level paper presented a good range of topics, although directions to students about the opening comprehension section could have been made clearer. She welcomed the inclusion of engaging topics such as a rock festival and a student looking for a work placement.

Ms Ní Chiarba said the format of questions to be answered in French was familiar and that there was nothing unexpected in the written expression section.

In the higher level Junior Certificate French exam Ms Costello said candidates were tested on the past, present and future tense, and comprehension pieces were answerable with topics of interest.

The same exam, according to Ms Ní Chiarba, had some expected topics and an interesting piece about a bull that broke into a woman’s house, recalling a recent news story about a bull that ran loose in a Co Mayo supermarket. The written expression section tested students on three tenses as expected.

She said the ordinary level paper had interesting comprehension questions, with topics including a recipe, a Paris guidebook and an article.

For Leaving Certificate history students, TUI subject representative Dermot Lucey said the higher level exam began with a welcome question about the 1956 Montgomery bus boycott. He was pleased with the choice of essay topics, and particularly the “and/or” option in many questions. The one difficulty was a question asking why the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations were controversial.

He said the Johnson government and the Vietnam War was a popular case study question on the ordinary level paper, which had a good focus of questions elsewhere.

Mr Lucey said the higher level Junior Certificate history exam featured two interesting source paper documents, one about archaeology and the other about a British army officer serving in Cork during the War of Independence. He felt that the short questions were a bit harder.

He described the ordinary level paper as nice.