VCE German cheat sheet

The oral examination is divided into two sections: a general conversation (about 5 minutes) and a discussion based on a subtopic chosen by the student (about 5 minutes), with a total weighted score of 12.5% of the final study score.

The general conversation covers topics from the VCE German course, such as family, school, hobbies, and future plans, and requires the student to respond spontaneously to questions with extended and connected discourse.

The detailed study (subtopic) is chosen from one of the four prescribed themes (The individual, The German-speaking communities, The world around us, and The changing world) and must be presented with evidence of research and personal engagement.

Assessment criteria for the oral include: relevance, depth and breadth of information, coherence, grammatical accuracy, range of vocabulary, and pronunciation and intonation.

During the detailed study discussion, students are expected to explain, justify, and defend their ideas, and to use a range of German linguistic structures and vocabulary appropriate to the topic.

The oral examination is conducted entirely in German, and students are expected to speak without relying on prepared scripts, though they may bring a short list of key points (no more than five dot points) into the preparation room.

The general conversation may include questions about the student's personal world, opinions, and experiences, and requires the use of different tenses (present, past, future) and a variety of sentence structures.

The oral examination is recorded for assessment purposes, and students should speak clearly at a natural pace, using appropriate intonation and pronunciation, and avoid long pauses or hesitation.

The written examination is 2 hours and 15 minutes long (including 15 minutes reading time) and contributes 50% to the final study score; it is divided into three sections: Section 1 – Listening and responding (20%), Section 2 – Reading and responding (25%), and Section 3 – Writing (15%).

Section 1 (Listening and responding) consists of two parts: Part A (five short listening passages with multiple-choice or short-answer questions in English) and Part B (two longer listening passages with questions in German, requiring responses in German).

Section 2 (Reading and responding) includes Part A (two texts with questions in English) and Part B (two texts with questions in German, requiring responses in German), and may include a text with visual elements such as an advertisement or a graph.

Section 3 (Writing) requires students to write two texts in German: one informative text (e.g., a report, article, or speech) of about 150 words and one persuasive text (e.g., a letter to the editor, blog, or review) of about 150 words, each from a choice of topics.

In the writing section, students are assessed on content, organization, range and accuracy of vocabulary and grammar, and appropriateness of register and text type.

Dictionaries (German–English and English–German) are permitted during the written examination, but not during the oral examination.

For listening and reading tasks, students should anticipate distractors and synonyms, and for questions in German, answers must be written in complete German sentences unless instructed otherwise.

In the writing section, students must adhere to the specified text type conventions, such as using formal or informal address appropriately, and should plan their responses to ensure coherence and cohesion.