UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
THE MATRICULATION EXAMINATION
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
GERMAN
MAY 2013
EXAMINERS’ REPORT
MATRICULATION AND SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE
EXAMINATIONS BOARD
IM Examiners’ Report – May 2013
IM GERMAN
MAY 2013 SESSION
EXAMINERS’ REPORT
Of the 26 candidates registered for the German examination at Intermediate Level, all were
present for the written and oral components. The results achieved by the candidates are as
indicated hereafter:
Grade
No. of candidates
% of Total
A
9
34.6
B
9
34.6
C
5
19.2
D
0
0
E
3
11.5
F
0
0
Abs
0
0
Total
26
100
All scripts were seen by three markers. A marking scheme was used. Both new and old
German orthography were accepted.
The overall level of the Intermediate Paper shows a strong basic knowledge of German.
Compared to the oral results though, the general written performance of the candidates was
not as good as expected. This might be indicative of the presence of a German speaking
background for some of the candidates whose oral performance is better than their writing
skills.
The following is the assessment of the overall performance in the different sections of the
written examination:
The answers to the questions on text 1 of the listening comprehension section show an
overall good performance; difficulties were evident in the questions on text 2, where students
were asked to answer in complete sentences. Typical mistakes were made related to
prepositions and sentence structure.
The overall performance in the section on essay and communicative writing shows less
good results compared to the other sections of the examination. This is not surprising, since
productive skills are generally more demanding than receptive ones such as listening and
reading. All three essay topics available were chosen by the candidates, which shows their
comparability with regard to level and attractiveness. There was, however, a slight additional
preference for the descriptive topic on leisure activities in Malta. Common language mistakes
could be identified in relation to syntax, especially with regard to conjunctions, orthography
and the declension of the adjective.
The performance in the section on reading comprehension and grammar is varied. The
overall reading comprehension of the candidates is good and indicates a detailed
understanding of the content, although the answers given often contain grammar mistakes
and/or missing details. More mistakes were made in the exercise on Sprachbausteine, i.e.
grammar, than in the reading comprehension. In particular, the declension of the definite and
indefinite articles, the identification of the case required, and the adjective declension seem to
be more demanding.
Compared to previous years, the questions in the Landeskunde, i.e. German culture, were
answered well overall. Sound general knowledge of traditional German feasts and customs as
well as of German history was demonstrated. Two sections where many candidates did not
answer correctly or did not answer at all dealt with the German school system – more
precisely the different school types and the entrance age of German children to primary
school – and personalities – in this case the artist Gustav Klimt listed specifically in the
syllabus.
The following points are of a general nature:
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IM Examiners’ Report – May 2013
a) Candidates should be encouraged to double check that they have 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 reply in full sentences where required.
Students should include the number of the question answered.
b) In the section on communicative writing, students should be reminded not to sign the
letter using their real names or to write down their real postal or email address in the
letter head. Students are meant to sign with the name indicated in the respective
section or should sign with XXX.
Chairperson
2013 Examination Panel
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