Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey

[Geoo]

Only a little more to go, your almost there!

Do you have people to practice Russian with or is is it mainly just your classmates/ teachers. I only know small amounts of Russian/Ukrainian from all my research on history or the soviet union, Chernobyl and a few of the TV shows. I haven't met anyone who speaks the language in Victoria, so I was just wondering were you practiced.

[Remy33]

Only a little more to go, your almost there!

Do you have people to practice Russian with or is is it mainly just your classmates/ teachers. I only know small amounts of Russian/Ukrainian from all my research on history or the soviet union, Chernobyl and a few of the TV shows. I haven't met anyone who speaks the language in Victoria, so I was just wondering were you practiced.

Hey Geoo, sorry for this late reply. Yeah, there aren’t a lot of native Russian speakers in Australia, but they are around if you look for them. I met quite a lot of russian speakers from the people in my class and through a community class I took on Russian. I also have a Russian ‘pen-pal’ (or rather, email-pal) and we email each other regularly to practice reading and writing.

Though ngl, for the most part I practice on Duolingo as I am an introvert who never leaves the house.

[Geoo]

How did you language exams go? I know the Chinese one is in the last week of exams, but did you find your orals and written to be okay?

How was english and methods?

[Remy33]

How did you language exams go? I know the Chinese one is in the last week of exams, but did you find your orals and written to be okay?

How was english and methods?

Thanks for reminding me Geoo! Sorry for the hiatus hehe, exams aren't fun.

My first exam was the Russian oral and I think it went okay?? (Fingers crossed). I was really nervous during the general convo and caught myself nearly slipping into Chinese a couple of times. Overall, none of the questions the examiners asked particularly surprised me.

The Russian written exam could've gone better. I'm definitely better at speaking/listening than reading/writing. On the whole I thought it was a pretty bad start to exams and I'm pretty disappointed in my performance.

Chinese oral - this was a great exam! The examiners looked pretty serious but then they laughed at my jokes lmao. I told them about the time I was in China on exchange, and I tried to describe someone as 'teacher-like' only for it to come out as 'naive' (the chinese words for teacher and naive have the same pronunciation, but different tones) and one of the examiners actually bursted out laughing so I think it was a good sign lol.

As always, self-depreciation saves the day.

English - contrary to popular opinion, I found the exam to be quite difficult. The topics seemed a bit TOO straightforward and, after practicing niche topics day after day, week after week, I was at a loss of how to start. Also, I forgot what an EFTPOS machine was lmao, and called it a "card-transaction processor".

Methods tech free - If my memory serves me right I think I got a 32-33/40 on this one. I found the difficulty to be manageable, it was just rather time consuming.

Tech active - I felt kinda numb after this one. Maybe I'm just having a hard time processing the fact that I'll never have to do any maths ever again for the rest of my life. Q5 was an absolute monstrosity though. In the end even my CAS had borderline given up cos it kept freezing on even simple commands.
Probably 50-55/80.

Two more exams left and they're both AAAAGES away so I'm gonna focus on some other things for the time being and dive back into revision next Monday.

I'm feeling ready for Chinese (or rather, ready for it to be over. 3 LOTEs is a bit much, even for me), but I'm really worried about GloPol as my cohort consists of MYSELF so how tf are my SACs gonna scale??


Final thoughts:
NO MORE MATHS YAY.


Good luck to anyone who still has exams left!

[laura_]

Final thoughts:
NO MORE MATHS YAY.

What an exciting prospect! Have you got any plans for the next little while?

[Snow Leopard]

Hey Remy,
How'd the last 2 exams go?
Also, any advice for a fellow language student (one LOTE 3/4 and a LOTE 1/2 next year/in Yr 11)?

[Remy33]

Yo! Sorry I missed this.

My final exams were both absolute massacres. The global politics exam didn’t really have any surprising questions, I just found it to be long and almost didn’t finish. The essay prompts for unit 4 were unexpected but I didn’t do much preparation for unit 3, so I just bullshitted my way through an entire essay. For Chinese, listening was my worst enemy. My teacher told us to always make notes in pinyin, but under the stress of the exam I conveniently forgot how pinyin worked and took notes in English. 😬

But at least everything’s now over. I haven’t given my study scores or ATAR much thought, but my goals have changed since my OP. I had set the goals of a 90+ ATAR and to become the school dux. My new goals instead just revolve around study scores:

   Ø 40+ in English and Global Politics
   Ø Do not fall below raw 35 in any subject

And that’s it. The reason I am not making an ATAR goal is because if I can get those study scores, then the ATAR will naturally follow (if I achieve my SS goals, I’d get a 96 ATAR, which is enough to comfortably get me into Global Studies / Commerce at Monash SEAS-free). Finally, I no longer have the goal to dux, because if I did horribly but everyone else did worse, then what’s the point?

Throughout this year, I think the students at my school have become more attentive towards learning and I am so happy. We had more than double the amount of students doing an early 3/4 in year 11 this year, and next year’s early 3/4 enrolment TRIPLED. A year 10 student came up to me a few weeks ago and said that she’s also hoping for Monash University and how much she’s preparing to work to get there. This makes me so happy. Now I just hope that our cohort can do exceptionally well this year to motivate the next year levels even more.

I went back to school yesterday to give presents to all my teachers and to give an assembly speech to the 2020 graduates. I also met up with next year’s school captains to pass on some resources and experience. While kind of unrealistic, I hope that I will be able to visit my school frequently in the future.
___

any advice for a fellow language student (one LOTE 3/4 and a LOTE 1/2 next year/in Yr 11)?

Awesome to see another language enthusiast. So are you doing one LOTE in year 11 and another in year 12?

My best tip is that for listening questions, always take notes in the language that you’re being tested on. You’re not marked on your notes (on the exam paper there will be a blank space on the side of the page that lets you take notes) but it makes answering the questions so much easier, because if you are taking notes in English then you will miss key words while translating between the two. It’ll be difficult to start off as taking notes in English seems so much more convenient.

Also when writing and essay or answering questions make sure you’re using the words you fully understand. The risk of using a fancy word but not knowing what it fully means is not worth it and will backfire.

Finally get started on your scripts for general conversation EARLY. Decide on your detailed study topic EARLY. Preferably do them at the start of the year in term 1. The scripts should be refined continuously throughout the year and you should be practicing throughout the year so that you can sound more natural on the exam, especially if it’s not your native language.

[Snow Leopard]

Awesome to see another language enthusiast.

Same!!!

So are you doing one LOTE in year 11 and another in year 12?

Yep, next year I'm in Yr 11 but doing Units 3/4 of one of my LOTES while simultaneously doing Units 1/2 of another LOTE which I will do the 3/4 of in Yr 12.

The scripts should be refined continuously throughout the year and you should be practicing throughout the year so that you can sound more natural on the exam, especially if it’s not your native language.

Yeah, I definitely think that I need to sound more natural while I'm doing Orals. For some reason, my intonation is so stuffed up. Either I sound like I'm asking a question (cos my voice goes high at the end of a sentence) or it's all monotone. For my Unit 2 Oral Exam, my teacher said that it sounded too memorised and not natural enough.
 
Neither of these are my native languages either so . Also, do you think that while I'm learning my general convo script, it's okay to like whisper it out loud. I don't know, I find it very awkward to just speak it out loud unless I'm like the only person home! What are your thoughts on this?

[Remy33]

Same!!!
Yep, next year I'm in Yr 11 but doing Units 3/4 of one of my LOTES while simultaneously doing Units 1/2 of another LOTE which I will do the 3/4 of in Yr 12.

Good choice spreading the two out.

Yeah, I definitely think that I need to sound more natural while I'm doing Orals. For some reason, my intonation is so stuffed up. Either I sound like I'm asking a question (cos my voice goes high at the end of a sentence) or it's all monotone. For my Unit 2 Oral Exam, my teacher said that it sounded too memorised and not natural enough.

From listening to all the other students (mostly native speakers) in my classes doing oral, I can honestly say that 99% of the time, they all sound memorised, even in the weeks leading up to the final exam. I struggled with this a lot throughout the year. It's a common problem and only practice will help.
 

Neither of these are my native languages either so . Also, do you think that while I'm learning my general convo script, it's okay to like whisper it out loud. I don't know, I find it very awkward to just speak it out loud unless I'm like the only person home! What are your thoughts on this?

Neither Russian nor Chinese are my native languages either.Chinese is slightly easier but most if not all the students doing Russian are native speakers. <yikes>

Maybe when there's still months to go, yeah it's not a problem. But whispering doesn't have the same effect as saying things out loud. It's amazing all the mistakes you can pick up through talking loudly. If you find it uncomfortable, maybe lock yourself in your room and practice. I liked to borrow my school's soundproof music rooms whenever I wanted to practice my scripts.

Oh and here's another tip regarding the oral - film or record yourself saying your scripts out loud then play it EVERYWHERE you go. I had the recordings on my phone and had it playing all the time - when I'm walking to and from school, on the bus/train, jogging in the morning, when I'm alone at work, even in the shower. That way you memorise your script more naturally - kind of like how if you listen to a song on repeat you'll subconsciously remember all the lyrics.

[Snow Leopard]

Good choice spreading the two out.

Thanks. I literally just hope that I never have 2 Sacs for both Languages in the same day!

From listening to all the other students (mostly native speakers) in my classes doing oral, I can honestly say that 99% of the time, they all sound memorised, even in the weeks leading up to the final exam. I struggled with this a lot throughout the year. It's a common problem and only practice will help.

Yeah, I think that I need to practice a lot more and will definitely go to the LOTE clubs to practice with my teacher or language assistants who are both native speakers.

Neither Russian nor Chinese are my native languages either.Chinese is slightly easier but most if not all the students doing Russian are native speakers. <yikes>

Best of luck for your LOTEs. I hope that you smash them and get the SS you aimed for in both of them.

Maybe when there's still months to go, yeah it's not a problem. But whispering doesn't have the same effect as saying things out loud. It's amazing all the mistakes you can pick up through talking loudly. If you find it uncomfortable, maybe lock yourself in your room and practice. I liked to borrow my school's soundproof music rooms whenever I wanted to practice my scripts.

Yeah, I guess I just have to suck it up and start practicing out aloud. I mean eventually I will  get used to it.

Thanks a million for all of your amazing advice.
Good luck for Results Day!

[Remy33]

Thanks. I literally just hope that I never have 2 Sacs for both Languages in the same day!

Ahhhh yes. I had that last year when I was doing French and my Portuguese and French SACs were scheduled for the same day. Luckily as Portuguese is my native language there were no slip ups, but this year I often find myself slipping into Chinese during Russian SACs, and Russian during Chinese SACs.

Yeah, I think that I need to practice a lot more and will definitely go to the LOTE clubs to practice with my teacher or language assistants who are both native speakers.

One thing that's even better than LOTE teachers is just your everyday native speaker. I work at a Chinese restaurant which gives me a lot of oral practice for Chinese, and also spend a lot of time talking to Russian immigrants. Talking to them as opposed to teachers make your style of speaking sound much more conversational and less like reciting a rote-learned script.

Thank you and good luck for your 3/4 next year.

[Remy33]

And we’ve arrived at my final update!

So — the ATAR. I honestly started crying when I saw it. I’m not usually an emotional guy, but for once I felt so overwhelmed. I had gotten above what I needed for my course, but that wasn’t why. My prediction had been a 96, which is more than enough.

My results:

English:  50  (A+, A+, A+)
Global Politics:  46  (A+, A+, A+)
Methods:  41  (A+, A, A+)
Chinese:  36  (A+, B+, A+)
Russian:  35  (B, A, A+)
Portuguese: 42  (A+, A, A+) - 2018

ATAR: 99.40

My LOTE scores were disappointing. I figured I had a solid chance at high 30s or even low 40s in Russian, I didn't expect a B in my SACs at all as I was averaging A's all year. I was also aiming for a 37 in Chinese so that was a let down too.

Overall, I am really happy with my scores. Never once in my life would I have imagined that getting a 99 ATAR was remotely possible. My biggest surprises were English and Methods. I'm not a maths person at all, frankly I didn't understand half of the content this year! And English... Oh my god!

Also my English buddy, the one I had the essay-exchange system with, got a 43 in English! I don't think our school has ever had more than two 40+ SS in one year before so hopefully our ranking on better education shoots up this year!

I duxed, and also became the first person at my school to get a 90+ ATAR in 7 years! I also duxed English and methods (I would also say GloPol, but I'm also the only person in my cohort). Finally, and most importantly, I got the ATAR needed for my top preference, Global Studies / Commerce at Monash!!!!

All I can say now is, I did it without SEAS. Without tutoring. I did it, as a student at one of the lowest ranking schools in one of the lowest SES suburbs in VIC. I did all that while working 2 jobs with graveyard shifts, while taking care of 4 younger siblings while my single mum works 12 hours a day, everyday. And I did it while being school captain and debating captain. And you know what? I am fucking proud of myself.

I know my opinion on SEAS doesn't sit well with the rest of the community here, but I will say it regardless. I am glad I did not apply for SEAS, even though I qualified for all 4 categories. I'm glad I didn't apply, even though I would've had it so much easier if I did. I am so glad I did not apply, because now I can say I got into Monash on my own accord, because of my own efforts, rather than because some policymaker sitting in an office decided that I cannot possibly score as well as some rich kid from St Kevins.

As this is the final update, I want to end with a word of advice to the class of 2020. Do not believe for one second that you are limited by your situation. Doesn't matter if you go to an elite private school in the eastern suburbs, or a rural public school in the west, your result is a reflection of how hard YOU worked. If anyone reading this is in a situation similar to my own, I hope this is proof that you can certainly do well if you put in the effort. Do not give up hope, have confidence in yourself, and most important of all, be accountable for your own studies. If you do well, be proud of yourself. If you fall short, think how you can improve. Whatever the case, remember that you do not have a disadvantage, unless you choose to see it as such.


Anyway, I'll sign off now. Hope to see some of you at Monash next year!

[brothanathan]

All I can say now is, I did it without SEAS. Without tutoring. I did it, as a student at one of the lowest ranking schools in one of the lowest SES suburbs in VIC. I did all that while working 2 jobs with graveyard shifts, while taking care of 4 younger siblings while my single mum works 12 hours a day, everyday. And I did it while being school captain and debating captain. And you know what? I am fucking proud of myself.

I have so much respect for that. TWO LOTE SUBJECTS IN YEAR 12

[smallbean]

And we’ve arrived at my final update!

So — the ATAR. I honestly started crying when I saw it. I’m not usually an emotional guy, but for once I felt so overwhelmed. I had gotten above what I needed for my course, but that wasn’t why. My prediction had been a 96, which is more than enough.

My results:

English:  50  (A+, A+, A+)
Global Politics:  46  (A+, A+, A+)
Methods:  41  (A+, A, A+)
Chinese:  36  (A+, B+, A+)
Russian:  35  (B, A, A+)
Portuguese: 42  (A+, A, A+) - 2018

ATAR: 99.40

My LOTE scores were disappointing. I figured I had a solid chance at high 30s or even low 40s in Russian, I didn't expect a B in my SACs at all as I was averaging A's all year. I was also aiming for a 37 in Chinese so that was a let down too.

Overall, I am really happy with my scores. Never once in my life would I have imagined that getting a 99 ATAR was remotely possible. My biggest surprises were English and Methods. I'm not a maths person at all, frankly I didn't understand half of the content this year! And English... Oh my god!

Also my English buddy, the one I had the essay-exchange system with, got a 43 in English! I don't think our school has ever had more than two 40+ SS in one year before so hopefully our ranking on better education shoots up this year!

I duxed, and also became the first person at my school to get a 90+ ATAR in 7 years! I also duxed English and methods (I would also say GloPol, but I'm also the only person in my cohort). Finally, and most importantly, I got the ATAR needed for my top preference, Global Studies / Commerce at Monash!!!!

All I can say now is, I did it without SEAS. Without tutoring. I did it, as a student at one of the lowest ranking schools in one of the lowest SES suburbs in VIC. I did all that while working 2 jobs with graveyard shifts, while taking care of 4 younger siblings while my single mum works 12 hours a day, everyday. And I did it while being school captain and debating captain. And you know what? I am fucking proud of myself.

I know my opinion on SEAS doesn't sit well with the rest of the community here, but I will say it regardless. I am glad I did not apply for SEAS, even though I qualified for all 4 categories. I'm glad I didn't apply, even though I would've had it so much easier if I did. I am so glad I did not apply, because now I can say I got into Monash on my own accord, because of my own efforts, rather than because some policymaker sitting in an office decided that I cannot possibly score as well as some rich kid from St Kevins.

As this is the final update, I want to end with a word of advice to the class of 2020. Do not believe for one second that you are limited by your situation. Doesn't matter if you go to an elite private school in the eastern suburbs, or a rural public school in the west, your result is a reflection of how hard YOU worked. If anyone reading this is in a situation similar to my own, I hope this is proof that you can certainly do well if you put in the effort. Do not give up hope, have confidence in yourself, and most important of all, be accountable for your own studies. If you do well, be proud of yourself. If you fall short, think how you can improve. Whatever the case, remember that you do not have a disadvantage, unless you choose to see it as such.


Anyway, I'll sign off now. Hope to see some of you at Monash next year!

Well done Remy! What a fantastic achievement, you should be so so proud of how hard you worked this year. It's so inspiring to see that you have done so well through hard work and perseverance alone whilst overcoming many personal barriers. Chinese is so hard as well, I did it last year and honestly getting a 36 is no easy feat  all the best with uni!!

[Bri MT]

Despite our different views on SEAS and the impact of disadvantage on educational achievement, I 100% echo that in difficult circumstances it can be possible to achieve well above what your demographics would predict.

I'm glad you're proud of what you have achieved because you absolutely should be & I'm glad that in the end you're happy with the choices you made about how you want to approach your education. Huge congratulations & I'm glad that you now have the security of knowing you'll easily make it into your first preference.


P.S. Be prepared to receive messages years from now from students in your school (that you never met) wanting advice.