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Ireland's Leaving Cert Italian higher level ‘slightly more challenging than recent years’

August 18, 2023

Original Article: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/leaving-cert-italian-higher-level-slightly-more-challenging-than-recent-years/a1398650485.html

It may be the second last day of the Leaving Cert, but that doesn’t mean the papers get any easier for the candidates.
Italian was one of the five exams today and teacher Erika Capello described the higher level paper as ”challenging”, although adding that it was “very manageable for students who remain focussed”.

The challenges of the written paper were balanced by a very accessible aural exam, said Ms Capello, of The Institute of Education, Dublin.

The written paper opened with a journalistic comprehension piece on the subject of influencers, a topic that is so familiar that “everyone will have something to say about it”, she said

However, while Ms Capello thought the vocabulary was accessible and most of the questions required straightforward answers, “the grammar question would have caused some students a slight concern”.

“It was on the gerundive, which has never been asked on the paper. This wouldn’t be a game-changer, as the ensemble of questions was nice, but it was a peculiar challenge for the students,” she said.

Section B focuses on prescribed texts and Ms Capello said students would have been glad to see a pivotal moment from Bianca come il latte, rossa come il sangue (White as milk, red as blood) appear.

“This would be very familiar and well-prepared, so students would likely feel more confident here,” she said.

In Section C, students are required to write three compositions and the first linked to the reading comprehension theme of influencers.

Students had to choose three from a list of five required topics to cover in their piece, but Ms Capello said “some will have found topics difficult to discuss in their first language, never mind their second under exam circumstances”.

But “a calm student who reads through all the options will have found enough there to manage the questions effectively. The topic of influencers is so familiar to the modern student that everyone will have something to say about it”, she added.

She said guided composition was a typical holiday question “should not have upset anyone” but Option A of the formal letter section “might have caused a moment of pause for some”.

Ms Capello said that, typically, students cover four types of formal letter: thank you, application, request for information, and complaint, but this year “they were asked to write a ‘feedback’ letter – a style that has not appeared previously”.

While not inherently difficult, it meant that they did not have the comfort of familiar schemes or approaches, she said. She felt most students were more likely to have answered Option B, which was much more classic in its demands.

“Overall, this written paper was slightly more challenging than the most recent years as it incorporated less familiar elements of language and style into the exam.

“However, there was enough choice and accessible, traditional material that students would have been able to answer effectively.”

Other language subjects examined today were Russian - which, with 548 candidates entered, was slightly ahead of the 490 for Italian – and Latin, with only 53 candidates entered.

Meanwhile, more than 600 students were entered for Classical Studies, also held today.

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