UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
THE MATRICULATION EXAMINATION
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
GERMAN
MAY 2015
EXAMINERS’ REPORT
MATRICULATION AND SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE
EXAMINATIONS BOARD
IM EXAMINERS’ REPORT MAY 2015
IM GERMAN
MAY 2015 SESSION
EXAMINERS’ REPORT
The results achieved by the candidates are indicated in the Table below:
Grade
No. of candidates
% of Total
A
2
11.1
B
8
44.4
C
4
22.2
D
3
16.7
E
1
5.6
F
0
0
Abs
0
0
Total
18
100
All scripts were seen by three markers.
The overall level of the Intermediate Paper shows adequate knowledge of the German language and
culture. Even though there were less candidates who achieved a grade A than last year, the high
number of candidates achieving grade B shows a good performance overall.
The following is an overview of the candidates’ performance in the different sections of the written
examination:
The answers to the questions on text 1 of the listening comprehension section demonstrate a good
performance overall. As in the previous year, however, difficulties were more evident in the questions
on text 2, where candidates were asked to answer in complete sentences. Typical mistakes made
were related to prepositions and sentence structure, but also to the spelling of basic words such as
“Zürich”.
The overall performance in the essay and communicative writing sections showed difficulties in the
production of texts. The majority of the candidates chose the narrative or argumentative essay types.
The title of the descriptive essay “Karneval in Malta” was not chosen by any of the candidates.
Common language mistakes could be identified in relation to syntax, especially with regard to
conjunctions, orthography and the declension of the adjective. More attention should be given to the
so called “false friends”, i.e. words that seem similar in English but have a different meaning in
German. The word “seit” in German, for example, was often used for “because” instead of for “since”
(temporal).
The overall performance in the reading comprehension was good and indicated a detailed
understanding of the content, although the answers given often contained grammar mistakes and/or
missing details. Some mistakes were made in the exercise on Sprachbausteine, i.e. grammar, mainly
in the declension of the definite and indefinite articles, the possessive article, and the adjective
declension.
Unfortunately, the candidates did not show evidence of firm general knowledge of German culture
required for the Landeskunde section despite the fact that the syllabus gives quite a clear indication of
the possible areas and topics covered in the examination.
The following points are of a general nature:
a) Candidates should double check that they replied to all the questions to avoid getting a zero when
in fact they would have known the answer. Furthermore, candidates should make sure to use full
answers where required. The number of the question answered should also be included.
b) In the section on communicative writing, candidates should remember not to sign letters using their
real name or to write down their real postal or email address in the letter head. Candidates are meant
to sign with the name indicated in the respective section or should sign with XXX.
Chairperson
2015 Examination Panel
2