HSC Indonesian Beginners cheat sheet

The HSC Beginners listening paper is played as a whole-class recording; each item is heard twice, with a pause before the second playing and time afterwards to write, so answers are drafted on the first hearing and confirmed on the second.

Question stems and options are printed in English or Indonesian depending on the item; the response language is signalled by the stem, so a stem asking 'What did the speaker decide to do?' expects an English answer even when the recording is Indonesian.

Listen for the discourse marker that carries the answer: 'tetapi' and 'sayangnya' introduce contrast or bad news, 'jadi' and 'oleh karena itu' introduce a conclusion, and 'sebenarnya' signals a correction of an earlier statement.

Numbers, prices, times and dates are the most common distractors: a speaker often mentions two figures, and the correct answer is the one attached to the final decision, for example 'tadinya dua puluh ribu, tapi sekarang lima belas ribu'.

Time expressions shift the answer: 'kemarin', 'besok', 'minggu depan', 'sudah' and 'belum' change whether an action happened, will happen, or has not happened, so a question about the past cannot be answered with a future plan.

Register markers reveal the relationship between speakers: 'Anda', 'Bapak' and 'Ibu' indicate formal or service encounters, while 'kamu', 'aku' and first-name address indicate friends, which affects how polite or casual the correct paraphrase should be.

Negation is frequently double-layered: 'tidak ada yang datang kecuali Sari' means only Sari came, and 'bukan karena mahal, tapi karena jauh' means distance, not price, is the reason.

Announcement texts (airport, school, shop, radio) usually place the key information after 'Mohon perhatian' or 'Kepada penumpang'; the action requested comes last, so keep listening after hearing the topic.

Indonesian has no tense inflection; time is carried by adverbs and auxiliaries such as 'sudah', 'telah', 'sedang', 'akan', 'belum' and 'baru saja', so identify the time word before choosing an answer about when something happened.

Affixes change meaning systematically: 'meN-' verbs are active (menulis = to write), 'di-' verbs are passive (ditulis = is written), and 'ter-' often marks accidental or superlative meaning (terbuka = got opened; terbaik = best).

The prefix 'ber-' commonly forms intransitive or stative verbs and nouns of possession: 'belajar' (to study), 'berjalan' (to walk), 'bersepeda' (to ride a bike), 'berdua' (the two of them).

Reduplication signals plurality or variety: 'buku-buku' (books), 'anak-anak' (children), 'membeli-beli' (to buy repeatedly), while 'rumah-rumahan' or 'kecil-kecil' adds a descriptive nuance rather than simple plural.

The suffix '-nya' is not only 'his/her/its': it can mark definiteness ('harganya mahal' = the price is expensive) or function as a pronoun object, so translate it by context rather than mechanically.

Connectors carry argument structure: 'karena' and 'sebab' give cause, 'sehingga' and 'akibatnya' give result, 'walaupun' and 'meskipun' concede, 'selain itu' adds, and 'sebaliknya' contrasts.

Question words map predictably: 'siapa' person, 'apa' thing, 'kapan' time, 'di mana' place, 'mengapa' reason, 'bagaimana' manner or condition, 'berapa' number or price, 'yang mana' which one.

In notices and advertisements, imperatives and prohibitions dominate: 'Dilarang merokok' (no smoking), 'Harap antre di sini' (please queue here), 'Hanya untuk anggota' (members only); match the notice to the setting named in the question.

Inference items require combining two sentences; the answer is usually stated indirectly, for example 'Dia tidak bisa datang karena harus menjaga adiknya' implies the reason for absence is childcare, not illness or transport.

The Beginners writing tasks are short: a scripted response such as a note, message, postcard or short email of roughly 50 words, plus a longer piece of roughly 125 words; content, range of vocabulary and grammar, and accuracy are the marking criteria.

Address the whole prompt: each bullet or prompt element must produce at least one sentence, because omitted content points lose marks before language is even assessed.

Use a text-type frame: a message opens with a greeting ('Hai Sari,' or 'Halo Bu Ani,'), a postcard closes with 'Salam' or 'Sampai jumpa', an email uses 'Kepada' or 'Halo' plus a subject line and a closing formula.

Keep syntax simple and correct: Indonesian basic order is Subject-Verb-Object, modifiers follow the noun ('rumah besar' = big house; 'buku baru saya' = my new book), and adjectives do not agree.

Negation choice matters: 'tidak' negates verbs and adjectives ('tidak datang', 'tidak mahal'), 'bukan' negates nouns and noun phrases ('bukan guru'), and 'belum' means not yet.

Time and place can front the clause or follow the verb, but 'yang' must be used for relative clauses: 'Film yang saya tonton bagus' (the film that I watched was good), not 'Film saya tonton bagus'.

Prepositions are fixed: 'di' for location, 'ke' for destination, 'dari' for origin, 'pada' for time or dates, 'untuk' for purpose or recipient, 'dengan' for instrument or companion; 'di' as a location word is written separately from the place ('di sekolah').

Cohesion devices to deploy deliberately: 'pertama', 'kemudian', 'setelah itu', 'selain itu', 'karena itu', 'akhirnya'; these raise the range criterion without requiring complex grammar.

Formal writing uses 'saya' and 'Anda' and avoids slang; informal messages to friends may use 'aku', 'kamu', 'nggak', and particles like 'sih' and 'ya', but the register must stay consistent within one text.

The speaking assessment is a short conversation with the examiner, typically about 5 minutes, covering personal information, family, school, daily routine, hobbies, holidays and future plans; it is marked on communication, range and accuracy.

Prepare a personal inventory: name, age, year, school, subjects, family members, pets, hobbies, weekend routine, last holiday and plans after school; each item should be expressible in one accurate sentence.

Answers should be extended, not one-word: a question 'Apakah kamu suka olahraga?' is answered 'Ya, saya suka bermain bulu tangkis. Saya bermain dua kali seminggu dengan teman saya.'

Numbers and time must be automatic: 'jam berapa' answers use 'jam tujuh pagi' or 'pukul tujuh lewat lima belas'; dates use 'tanggal' plus the number, and months are Januari, Februari, Maret, April, Mei, Juni, Juli, Agustus, September, Oktober, November, Desember.

Question forms to recognise and produce: 'Apa', 'Siapa', 'Kapan', 'Di mana', 'Mengapa', 'Bagaimana', plus the informal suffix '-kah' ('Apakah kamu...') and the tag 'ya kan?' for confirmation.

Politeness in the exam room: greet with 'Selamat pagi/siang', use 'Bapak/Ibu' for the examiner, say 'Maaf, bisa diulang?' if a question is missed, and close with 'Terima kasih' and 'Sampai jumpa'.

Pronunciation points that affect intelligibility: 'c' is 'ch' as in 'cari', 'ng' is a single sound as in 'sangat', final 'k' is a glottal stop as in 'tidak', and 'e' has both 'é' (enak) and schwa (besar) values.

Repair strategies that count as communication: paraphrase with 'maksud saya...' or 'artinya...', ask for a word with 'Apa bahasa Indonesianya ...?', and self-correct with 'maaf, salah' followed by the corrected form.

Reduplication and plural marking in speech: 'teman-teman' (friends), 'anak-anak' (children), 'bermacam-macam' (various); use 'para' or a numeral instead when the plural is already marked by a number ('dua teman').