UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
THE MATRICULATION CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
SPANISH
MAY 2006
EXAMINERS’ REPORT
MATRICULATION AND SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE
EXAMINATIONS BOARD
IM Examiners’ Report – May 2006
IM SPANISH
MAY 2006 SESSION
EXAMINERS’ REPORT
A total of 13 candidates sat for this year’s examination, 2 more students than last year. One
candidate was absent throughout the different sections of the exam, and one candidate was
absent for the oral section.
The table below compares this year’s marks to last year’s:
2005
No of students
Percentage
2006
No of students
Percentage
A
B
C
D
E
F
Absent
0
0%
0
0%
4
31%
2
15%
3
23%
2
15%
2
15%
0
0%
0
0%
5
36%
2
14%
4
29%
2
14%
1
7%
This year’s results follow the same pattern as in 2005: none of the students were awarded an
A or a B. The predominant mark is C (31% in 2005, 36% in 2006) followed by E (23% in 2005,
29% in 2006)
It is interesting to compare the results obtained by the candidates who sat for the exam in
2005 and 2006 with those who took it in 2003 and 2004.
-
In 2003, 100% of the students got an A, B or C.
In 2004 there was an even distribution of the marks- 5 students got A, B or C and 4
students got D, E or F.
In 2005 and 2006 none of the students excelled in the examination, and the failure
percentage was quite high in both years.
WRITTEN PAPER:
1. Redacción
The average mark in this section was 15/30, with 20 being the highest mark and 6 the lowest.
Only 4 students scored over 15.
The interferences caused by Italian and English are present in all compositions, not only as
far as spelling is concerned, but also as regards structures - many students translated
expressions from English or Italian into Spanish. It is important to note that many students
were penalised not only for their grammatical inaccuracies, but also because their
compositions seemed to be made up of ideas linked randomly, rather than coherently.
2. Comprensión
The average mark in this section was also 15/30, with 20.8 being the highest mark and 5.4
the lowest.
Some students completely failed to understand the text, but the most common mistake was
that a lot of candidates just copied the answers literally from the given text, instead of
rephrasing as instructed. Many students were also heavily penalised for including information
in their answers which was totally irrelevant to the questions.
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IM Examiners’ Report – May 2006
There was also a small group of candidates whose Spanish was not good enough to enable
them to express what they wanted to say. Their answers seemed to point in the right direction
but the number of grammatical and spelling mistakes made their answers unintelligible.
3. Cultura Hispánica
In addition to the comments in the rest of the report concerning the language used to express
ideas one can add that students do not reflect much reading or other forms of exposure to
Hispanic culture beyond the absolute minimum set for exams
ORAL SESSION:
This is the section where students performed best. The average mark is 7.5 out of 10 as
opposed to last year’s 6 out of 10. None of the students scored under 7, and the highest mark
was 9 (one candidate)
The students who scored 8 or higher proved that they have mastered the abilities required to
communicate in Spanish efficiently. Students who scored 7 were less precise in their answers
and showed more hesitation, but they still succeeded in conveying their point. In general, the
students’ pronunciation was accurate but their intonation was very Maltese. It is also
important to point out that most of the students’ speech was very much influenced by Italian,
English and French, especially as far as vocabulary is concerned.
GENERAL COMMENTS (APPLICABLE TO ALL THE SECTIONS ABOVE)
The most common mistakes found during the marking of the examination (both in the oral and
in the written part) are the following:
- Most of the mistakes are related to verb conjugations:
• Wrong tense choice or mode choice, for example using Present Perfect when
Simple Past is required, or using the Indicative mode when the Subjunctive is
needed.
• Some students choose the right tense but make a mistake in the verb
conjugation.
• The lack of agreement between subject and verb is also a very widespread
mistake.
- Lack of agreement between nouns and adjectives (“Todas son importante” instead of
“Todas son importantes”) This is a very basic mistake which students at Intermediate level
should not make. Such mistakes result in very low marks.
- Use of “por” instead of “para” (and vice-versa) in basic expressions such as “para mí”, “por
aquí”. Once again a mistake which is heavily penalised if it appears in everyday expressions
which students are supposed to have mastered at this level.
- Wrong use of “ser” / “estar” in basic sentences such as “Madrid es muy cerca” instead of
“Madrid está muy cerca”.
- Tendency to consider feminine all words ending in –a, without taking into account that there
are some words which finish in –a and which are masculine, such as “el problema”, “el clima”,
“el día”.
- Strong influence of Italian - This can be seen mainly as regards vocabulary (use of “su”
instead of “sobre”, “ma” instead of “pero”, “diventar” instead of “volverse”) and as regards
spelling (“muchíssimo” instead of “muchísimo”)
There is also an Italian structure which tends to confuse students a lot – in Spanish a
possessive adjective cannot be preceded by an article, and as a result expressions such as
“la nuestra casa” are considered grammatically incorrect in Spanish. And the same goes for
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IM Examiners’ Report – May 2006
definite articles preceding “otro / otra / otros / otras” (for example “un otro libro”) – these
expressions are also considered incorrect.
- Strong influence of English, mainly related to vocabulary: a very widely spread mistake is
the use of the expression “encontrar gente nueva” (literal translation from the English
expression “meet new people”) instead of “conocer gente nueva”. Students also tend to use
“realizar” (literal translation from “realize”) instead of “darse cuenta”
Chairperson
Board of Examiners
September 2006
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