WACE Korean Second Language study guide
WACE Korean Second Language · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Korean: Second Language course is a Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) ATAR course for senior secondary students in Western Australia. It is designed for students who are learning Korean as a second or additional language rather than as a first language, and it is administered within the WACE framework overseen by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA), the body responsible for curriculum, assessment and certification of student achievement in Western Australian schools. The WACE Korean Second Language study guide has 4 sections and about 1,164 words.
01Exchange Information, Opinions and Experiences in Korean
You must be able to give and request factual information, swap opinions and narrate personal experience in Korean, using register-appropriate endings and accurate tense. Core concepts: the speech levels 합니다/해요/해 (formal polite, informal polite, intimate), tense marking (았/었 past, -겠- and -(으)ㄹ 것이다 future), honorific infix -(으)시- for subjects deserving respect, and particles that mark grammatical role (은/는 topic, 이/가 subject, 을/를 object, 에/에서 location, 에게 recipient).
308 words, about 2 min02Expressing Ideas, Opinions and Feelings in Korean
You must state a view, justify it, and convey attitude or emotion with appropriate softeners. Key structures: -(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다 (seems), -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 (probably will), -기 때문에 / -아서/어서 (reason), -지만 (contrast), -는데 (background or mild contrast), -(으)ㄴ/는데요 for polite hedging, and -고 싶다 / -아/어 하다 for desires (third person takes -아/어 하다).
270 words, about 1 min03Analysing, Evaluating and Responding to Korean Texts
You must read or listen to a Korean text, identify its purpose, audience and main claim, separate fact from opinion, and respond with a reasoned judgement. Concepts: text type and purpose (광고 persuade, 안내문 inform, 후기 evaluate, 기사 report), cohesive devices (-그래서, -따라서, -반면에, -즉), inference from context rather than word-by-word translation, and register signals that reveal the writer's stance (honorifics, hedging, intensifiers like 매우/정말/조금).
295 words, about 1 min04Understanding Korean Language and Culture
You must show awareness of how Korean language encodes social relationships and cultural norms. Core concepts: the honorific system (subject honorific -(으)시-, humble verbs like 드리다/뵙다, honorific nouns 진지/연세), address and reference terms (씨, 님, 선배, and kinship terms used socially), speech-level shifts when the audience changes, and cultural practices such as age-based hierarchy, 눈치, collectivist phrasing (우리 rather than 저), and service language in shops and restaurants.
291 words, about 1 min