DSE English Scoring Criteria — Do You Know? (Continued)

DSE English Assessment Criteria: Do You Know Them? (Part 2)

In the previous article, we mentioned that to conquer the exam, the primary condition is for candidates to understand the assessment criteria so they can prescribe the right remedy and perform to their full potential. Among these, the DSE English writing and speaking papers may appear to be assessed subjectively, but in fact, they are grounded in objective logic. When examiners grade writing or evaluate speaking skills, the so-called impression grading first categorizes a candidate's performance into "Pass" or "Fail," and then further refines the "Pass" category into high, medium, and low levels.

What is sentence structure?

To achieve a "Pass," candidates must convince the examiner that they deserve it by using sentence structures that sound and read like "authentic English." For example: "My little sister watched a movie about penguins with mum yesterday." Many students with weaker English skills translate word-for-word, such as: "Sister yesterday and mum watch a about penguin movie." Although all the vocabulary used is English, it is far from the SVO (Subject Verb Object) expression typical of the English language. The most standard way is: "My (little/younger) sister watched a movie about penguins with mum yesterday." Writing "My (little/younger) sister and mum watched a movie about penguins yesterday" is also acceptable, though it lacks a certain authentic English flair. The example above shows that the candidate does not understand English structure at all but is merely translating word-for-word. Furthermore, Chinese speakers often omit "my" and just say "sister," whereas in English, one usually only omits "my" when referring to "mum and dad." Additionally, in Chinese, the time expression "yesterday" is placed at the beginning or middle of a sentence, while in English, "yesterday" is usually placed at the end. Therefore, to pass, you must first master the structure of English sentences.

What is grammar?

Sentence structure is just the first step. To secure a place at a university, one must rise to a higher level and skillfully apply other English techniques. The next layer is exploring the correct usage of English grammar. Many people say English grammar is very difficult, and they often make grammatical errors in writing and speaking. What exactly is the definition of grammar? Simply put, grammar is the combination of words. For example, the verb following "can" must remain unchanged; "can going" is incorrect. A singular noun must follow the article "a"; "a people" is incorrect because "people" is plural. Influenced by our native Chinese, many Hong Kong people often only care about the meaning and forget the form when writing or speaking English. What problems does ignoring or misusing grammar cause? Awkward phrasing is secondary; more seriously, it leads to misunderstandings of the intended meaning. For example:

(1) Uncle Tom stopped eating snacks.
(2) Uncle Tom stopped to eat snacks.

(1) means Uncle Tom no longer eats snacks; (2) means Uncle Tom stopped what he was doing to eat snacks. The meanings are almost opposite! English only has 26 letters, and its linguistic system is like mixing colors; by combining different primary colors, you can "create" new colors and new meanings. For example, "a pig" is a pig, and "a pen" is a pen; but what is "a pig pen"? A pig-shaped pen? No, it has nothing to do with writing implements; "pig pen" means the place where pigs are kept. Similarly, "Coffee" is coffee and "table" is a table; combined, "a coffee table" becomes the furniture piece for the living room.

Who can achieve a star in the DSE?

If candidates want to challenge for the highest levels of 5, 5*, or 5**, mastering sentence structure and grammar is still not enough; they also need to use natural expressions. There are actually many English words for the same meaning, and adding a large number of phrasal verbs and idioms—none of which can be translated literally—is essential. For example, "I am more than happy to help" means being very willing to help, and "I can't agree more" means total agreement. However, most Hong Kong students only use "very" to express high intensity. Another example: to express "respect" for someone, many people choose the verb "respect," but native English speakers often use the noun phrase "show respect to" or the phrasal verb "look up to." Just by looking at their choice of words, examiners can distinguish whether a candidate treats English as a "language" or merely as a "subject." In conclusion, only those who treat English as a "language" in their daily lives—using it to communicate with others and handle daily needs (including leisure and entertainment)—have a chance to open the doors to levels 5, 5*, and 5**.