Year 9 Italian Criterion C Speaking Assessment Comprehensive Speaking Preparation Guide

Year 9 Criterion C Speaking Assessment Overview

• Task Scenario: You are participating in an exchange program at the "Liceo Classico Statale Francesco Vivona" in Rome. It is the first day of school, specifically a Thursday morning. You are in class waiting for the first lesson to begin and must engage in a conversation with your "compagno/a di banco" (table buddy).

• Conversation Objectives:

  • Introduce yourself and exchange basic personal information.

  • Discuss your school timetable, subject preferences, and dislikes with reasons.

  • Compare the Australian school system (specifically Norwood International High School - NIHS) to the Italian system regarding subjects and lesson frequency.

  • Discuss free time activities: what you do, when, how often, with whom, and why.

  • Utilize visual aids (photos/pictures) of free time activities as prompts.

• Linguistic Requirements:

  • Clear pronunciation and intonation.

  • A range of correct vocabulary and grammar.

  • Green: Use of basic factual statements.

  • Blue: Justification of opinions.

  • Red: Added complexity (comparisons, adverbs, conjunctions).

Prepared Conversation Script and Responses

• Greetings and Introductions:

  • Classmate: Ciao! Sei nuovo/a! Mi chiamo [Name]. Sono il tuo compagno (la tua compagna) di banco. Come ti chiami?

  • Student Response: Salve piacere mi chiamo Hamish.

  • Classmate: Benvenuto/a! Di dove sei?

  • Student Response: Sono di Adelaide in Australia.

• Timetable and Preferences:

  • Classmate: Cosa hai alla prima ora questa mattina?

  • Student Response: Alla prima ora ho Matematica.

  • Classmate: Ti piace Matematica? (Perché?)

  • Student Response: No, infatti odio la matematica perche secondo me è abbastanza difficile e noiosa.

  • Classmate: Quali materie ti piacciono/preferisci? (Perché?)

  • Student Response: La mia materia preferita è l’inglese. Questo è perche sono bravo e il mio professore è sempre gentile.

  • Classmate: Quali materie non ti piacciono? (Perché?)

  • Student Response: Mi non piacciono le materie matematica, scienze umane, e arte perche trovo proprio faticose.

• Cross-Cultural School Comparisons:

  • Classmate: Studiate le stesse materie in Australia?

  • Student Response: In Australia e Italia queste materie sono le stesse: Italiano, inglese, scienze umane, matematica e scienze. Però in Italia queste materie sono diverse: greco, latino, religione e scienze guccioner.

  • Classmate: Com’è diversa la tua scuola?

  • Student Response: In Australia non ci sono le interrogazioni e non c’è la scuola il sabato. Secondo me la scuola in Italia è estrememante difficile.

  • Classmate: Come si chiama la tua scuola?

  • Student Response: Si chiama NIHS (Norwood International High School).

  • Classmate: A che ora comincia/finisce la tua scuola?

  • Student Response: In Australia la scuola comincia alle $08:45$ e finisce alle $15:20$.

  • Classmate: C’è la scuola il sabato?

  • Student Response: Non c’è la scuola il sabato.

• Free Time and Conclusion:

  • Classmate: Cosa fai nel tempo libero? (Con chi? Quando? Quanto spesso?)

  • Student Response: Nel mio tempo libero non mi piace uscire invece amo rimanere a casa. Rimango a casa ogni settimana spesso, questa è perche sono un po’ introverso.

  • Classmate: Perché ti piace?

  • Student Response: Adoro rimanere a casa perche è sempre comodo e raramente faticoso.

  • Interruption: Arriva il prof! Fai silenzio e alzati in piedi perché il prof di Matematica è molto severo!

  • Closing: Va bene. A dopo.

Detailed Comparison: Italian vs. Australian School Systems

General School Structure

• School Types:

  • Italy: The majority of schools are public ($scuole pubbliche$). There are also specialized schools ($scuole specializzate$).

  • Australia: There is a mix of many private and public schools. There are no "specialized schools" in the same sense as the Italian system.

• Costs:

  • Italy: Public school is free ($gratis$).

  • Australia: Public school is not free.

• Academic Calendar:

  • Italy: The school year runs from September to June. It consists of two quadrimesters ($due quadrimestri$).

  • Australia: The school year runs from February to December. It consists of four terms ($quattro trimestri$).

• Holidays:

  • Italy: Approximately $3$ months of summer holidays. Total of $13$ weeks of holidays throughout the school year.

  • Australia: $6$ weeks of summer holidays. Total of $12$ weeks of holidays throughout the school year.

Daily Life and Environment

• Clothing:

  • Italy: No school uniform in public schools ($non c’è la divisa scolastica$). However, young children wear a smock ($grembiule$).

  • Australia: There is a mandatory school uniform ($c’è la divisa scolastica$). Young children do not wear smocks.

• Technology:

  • Italy: Students cannot use mobile phones in class.

  • Australia: Students cannot use mobile phones at school.

• Schedule and Days:

  • Italy: There is "normal time" and "extended time" ($tempo prolungato$). Some schools are open on Saturdays ($aperte il sabato$).

  • Australia: There is a long school day ($tempo prolungato$). Schools are closed on Saturdays.

• Lunch Arrangements:

  • Italy: Students eat at home if they follow "normal time," or in the canteen ($mensa$) if they have afternoon lessons. Students are not allowed to bring lunch from home.

  • Australia: Students eat lunch at school and are permitted to bring lunch from home.

Academic Requirements and Assessment

• Subjects:

  • Italy: There are many subjects ($molte materie$).

  • Australia: There are fewer subjects ($meno materie$).

• Testing:

  • Italy: Features oral tests called "interrogazioni" for all subjects. There is a final exam at the end of middle school ($terza media$).

  • Australia: No oral tests (interrogazioni) and no exam at the end of middle school.

• Passing and Failing:

  • Italy: Students must repeat the year if they fail more than three subjects. The passing grade is $6/10$ ($60\%$).

  • Australia: It is generally not necessary to repeat the year. The passing grade depends on the school; usually $50\%$ is sufficient. At NIHS, a score of $4/8$ is sufficient.

• Behavioral Assessment:

  • Italy: There is a behavior grade ($voto di condotta/comportamento$). If this grade is insufficient, the student can be made to repeat the year.

  • Australia: There is no behavior grade, and students cannot be failed based on behavior.

Language Functions and Success Criteria

Vocabulary for Basic Factual Statements

• $Sono appassionato di...$ + noun (I am passionate about…)

• $Non sopporto...$ + infinitive verb (I can't stand…)

• $Amo/Adoro...$ + infinitive verb (I love…)

• $Odio/Detesto...$ (I hate/detest)

• $Ho.../Studio...$ (I have/I study)

• $Mi piace/Non mi piace...$ + infinitive verb (I like/I don't like)

• $Preferisco...$ (I prefer)

• $Con...$ + person (With…)

Justifying Opinions

• $Penso che sia...$ + adjective (I think that it is…)

• $Lo trovo...$ (I find it…)

• $Secondo me è...$ + adjective (In my opinion it is…)

• $È...$ + adjective (It is…)

Adding Complexity: Comparisons and Adverbs

• School Comparisons:

  • $Abbiamo più ore di...$ (We have more hours of…)

  • $Abbiamo meno ore di...$ (We have fewer hours of…)

  • $Abbiamo le stesse ore per...$ (We have the same hours for…)

  • $Invece di... abbiamo...$ (Instead of… we have…)

  • $Non studiamo... ma...$ (We don't study… but…)

  • $Non abbiamo.../Non andiamo...$ (We don't have…/We don't go…)

• Adverbs of Frequency:

  • High range: $a volte$ (sometimes), $ogni sabato sera$ (every Saturday night).

  • Medium range: $qualche volta$ (sometimes), $ogni giorno$ (every day), $ogni weekend$ (every weekend).

  • Low range: $spesso$ (often), $sempre$ (always), $ogni mercoledì mattina$ (every Wednesday morning), $non... mai$ (never).

Adding Complexity: Grammar and Connectors

• Conjunctions: $Inoltre$ (furthermore), $quindi$ (therefore), $così$ (so), $però$ (however), $siccome$ (since), $e$ (and), $ma$ (but), $perché$ (because).

• Verb Combinations: Combining infinitives with present tense (e.g., $Amo uscire con gli amici e usciamo insieme ogni venerdì sera$).

• Adjectives: Use a wide range of varied adjectives to add interest rather than repeating the same few.

Success Criteria Levels

• High Level Language:

  • Communicates all/almost all info clearly during interaction.

  • Uses a wide range of vocabulary and grammatical structures accurately.

  • Clear pronunciation and intonation; easy to comprehend.

• Medium Level Language:

  • Uses a range of vocabulary and grammar with a few errors that do not hinder communication.

  • Pronunciation has few errors but remains comprehensible.

• Low Level Language:

  • Uses basic vocabulary and grammar with errors that sometimes hinder communication.

  • Pronunciation errors sometimes hinder comprehension.