VCE Russian case studies
VCE Russian · Put your knowledge to work in context.
VCE Russian is a Victorian Certificate of Education language study assessed through two external examinations set by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA): an oral examination and a written examination. It suits students completing the VCE who already have substantial Russian and want a formal, externally scored qualification in the language, typically alongside other Units 3 and 4 subjects. The VCE Russian case studies are 5 cases and about 2,188 words.
1Choosing a topic that survives the oral
A Year 12 student, Mila, must present a 3–4 minute oral in Russian on a topic she has researched herself, then defend it in discussion for around 6 minutes. She has narrowed her options to three: (a) the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and their cost; (b) her grandmother's account of moving from a village to a city in the 1970s; (c) a comparison of school uniforms in Russia and Australia.
465 words, about 2 min2Register in the oral: formal discussion versus informal role-play
During the oral, a candidate, Danil, must complete a role-play in which he is a student asking a university admissions officer (played by the assessor) about entry requirements. He has prepared phrases such as 'Скажите, пожалуйста, какие документы нужны?' and 'Не могли бы вы объяснить...'.
417 words, about 2 min3Text selection for the detailed study
A student, Anya, must base her written examination detailed-study response on a short Russian text she has chosen. She is considering a two-page satirical story published in 2019 about a bureaucrat who tries to automate his office, and a 600-word news feature on a regional city's declining population.
462 words, about 2 min4Using a source text without over-quoting
In a practice written examination, a candidate, Kirill, writes a response to a stimulus text about volunteering among young people. The stimulus is 250 words and contains several striking phrases.
428 words, about 2 min5Planning under time pressure in the written examination
The written examination gives candidates a fixed time to complete several sections, including a listening-and-response section, a reading-and-response section, and a detailed-study essay. A candidate, Sofia, has a habit of spending too long on the first section because she wants to 'get it right', then rushing the essay and running out of time before her conclusion.
416 words, about 2 min