Skill Align HSC English EAL/D - Free Online Pack 0
A 15-mark Listening Paper with 4 separately numbered questions, candidate notes, two controlled playbacks and question-specific marking guidance.
- Paper
- Listening Paper
- Reading time
- Included in listening time
- Working time
- 30 minutes including reading, listening and answering
- Total marks
- 15
General instructions
- Total time — 30 minutes, including reading, listening and answering
- Write using black pen
- Total marks: 15
- Attempt Questions 1–4
- Read the questions before the first playback
- The complete source will be played twice
- A two-minute question-reading interval precedes the first playback
- After the first playback, Questions 1–4 will be read aloud
- Use the Candidate Notes page during either playback
- Allow the remaining time to complete and check your answers
Listening Paper
15 marks. Attempt Questions 1–4. The source is played twice, with all questions read aloud between playbacks. Your answers will be assessed on how accurately you understand spoken information, interpret viewpoints and delivery, analyse spoken-language choices and communicate relevant ideas in clear English.
Question 1
3 marksCandidate notice: The Small Sounds Project address is played two times. Use the Candidate Notes page if helpful. Its confidential transcript appears only in teacher/review material.
Question 2
4 marksQuestion 3
3 marksQuestion 4
5 marksIndicative Answers, Response-Planning Guidance And Practice Marking Guidance
Question 1
Laila noticed familiar neighbourhood sounds disappearing and wanted local people to record the sounds together with the memories they carried.
Revision focus: record exact spoken details, answer the command verb and connect any audible feature to its effect.
Mark allocation
- Equivalent accurate, relevant and well-supported responses may receive full marks. The indicative answers and response-planning guidance do not prescribe one interpretation, structure or wording. Naming a technique without explaining how it makes meaning does not earn marks by itself.
Detailed marking criteria
Integrated response (3 marks)
Judge how effectively the response identifies the project's purpose and supports it with an accurate spoken detail.
| Mark | Descriptor |
|---|---|
| 3 | Fully and accurately identifies the project's purpose and supports it with an accurate spoken detail using relevant evidence and a clear link to the question. |
| 2 | Explains the central required idea using some relevant evidence, but one part of the reasoning or evidentiary link is incomplete. |
| 1 | Identifies one accurate and relevant idea, example or feature connected to the task. |
| 0 | Provides no relevant or accurate response. |
Question 2
The team moved interviews to early Saturday mornings because traffic had covered quiet voices. It also introduced plain-language consent cards with access choices because contributors needed control over how recordings were shared.
Revision focus: record exact spoken details, answer the command verb and connect any audible feature to its effect.
Mark allocation
- Equivalent accurate, relevant and well-supported responses may receive full marks. The indicative answers and response-planning guidance do not prescribe one interpretation, structure or wording. Naming a technique without explaining how it makes meaning does not earn marks by itself.
Detailed marking criteria
Integrated response (4 marks)
Judge how effectively the response identifies both recording-process changes and accurately links each change to its reason.
| Mark | Descriptor |
|---|---|
| 4 | Fully identifies both recording-process changes and accurately links each change to its reason using accurate, relevant evidence and developed links to the question. |
| 3 | Explains all required elements accurately, but one explanation, effect, comparison or evidentiary link is less developed. |
| 2 | Explains one required element using relevant evidence, or addresses all required elements only superficially. |
| 1 | Identifies one accurate and relevant idea, example or feature connected to the task. |
| 0 | Provides no relevant or accurate response. |
Question 3
Her delivery shifts from controlled explanation to a softer, more personal voice. The brief silence after the recording begins interrupts the factual account, and her short recognition of the whistle makes the memory sound immediate. Together, the audible changes convey surprise and personal connection.
Revision focus: record exact spoken details, answer the command verb and connect any audible feature to its effect.
Mark allocation
- Equivalent accurate, relevant and well-supported responses may receive full marks. The indicative answers and response-planning guidance do not prescribe one interpretation, structure or wording. Naming a technique without explaining how it makes meaning does not earn marks by itself.
Detailed marking criteria
Integrated response (3 marks)
Judge how effectively the response explains the audible shift to softer personal delivery and the effect of the brief silence using accurate evidence from the recording.
| Mark | Descriptor |
|---|---|
| 3 | Fully and accurately explains the audible shift to softer personal delivery and the effect of the brief silence, supported by accurate evidence from the recording and a clear link to the question. |
| 2 | Explains the central required idea using some relevant evidence, but one part of the reasoning or evidentiary link is incomplete. |
| 1 | Identifies one accurate and relevant idea, example or feature connected to the task. |
| 0 | Provides no relevant or accurate response. |
Question 4
The repetition 'Listen closely. Listen closely.' makes attentive listening memorable and turns it into an instruction. The inclusive question 'Which sound would you help your community remember?' directly gives listeners a possible role in preserving local memory.
RESTRICTED LISTENING TRANSCRIPT — TEACHER/REVIEW MATERIAL ONLY Small Sounds Project — community radio address Packaged audio file: SkillAlign_HSC_English_EALD_2026_Pack_0_Listening_Audio_v1.0.mp4 Use the separately packaged file SkillAlign_HSC_English_EALD_2026_Pack_0_Listening_Audio_v1.0.mp4, supplied beside this PDF and inside the Pack 0 release archive. Start the complete file once. It contains an introduction, a two-minute initial question-reading interval, the first complete playback, a controlled readback of every question, the second complete playback and the closing completion instruction. Do not pause, skip or reveal the transcript. [Encoded question-reading interval: 120000 ms] The packaged audio presents the following complete source before and after the controlled question readback, with encoded delivery and silence retained: LAILA: Three summers ago I realised that familiar sounds were disappearing from our neighbourhood: the bicycle bell outside the bakery, the school gate at three o'clock, and my father's whistle from the repair shop. I began the Small Sounds Project so local people could record ordinary sounds and the memories attached to them. [encoded pause: 800 ms] LAILA: Our first recordings were difficult to use. Traffic covered quiet voices, so we moved interviews to early Saturday mornings. Some people were unsure how their recordings would be shared, so we added plain-language consent cards and let every contributor choose public, school-only or archive-only access. [encoded pause: 900 ms] LAILA [softer and more personal]: During one interview, a recording from the repair shop began to play. [brief silence] That was my father’s whistle. I had not heard it since the shop closed. Suddenly, the project felt personal. [encoded pause: 900 ms] LAILA [clear, inviting close]: The archive now contains two hundred recordings, but its purpose is not to collect noise. Listen closely. Listen closely. An ordinary sound may hold someone's map of home. Which sound would you help your community remember? [encoded pause: 700 ms] CONTROLLED QUESTION READBACK BETWEEN PLAYBACKS Question 1: Why did Laila begin the Small Sounds Project? [encoded question-readback pause: 1000 ms] Question 2: Identify TWO changes made to the recording process and explain why each was needed. [encoded question-readback pause: 1000 ms] Question 3: How does Laila's delivery change when she hears her father's whistle? [encoded question-readback pause: 1000 ms] Question 4: Explain how TWO spoken-language features encourage listeners to value ordinary sounds. [encoded question-readback pause: 1000 ms] Completion instruction: The second playback is complete. Complete and check Questions 1 to 4. The listening paper ends 30 minutes after the examination begins.
Mark allocation
- Equivalent accurate, relevant and well-supported responses may receive full marks. The indicative answers and response-planning guidance do not prescribe one interpretation, structure or wording. Naming a technique without explaining how it makes meaning does not earn marks by itself.
Detailed marking criteria
Integrated response (5 marks)
Judge how effectively the response analyses two accurately heard spoken-language features and explains how each encourages listeners to value ordinary sounds.
| Mark | Descriptor |
|---|---|
| 5 | Perceptively analyses two relevant spoken-language features and explains how both shape meaning or audience response. |
| 4 | Clearly analyses two relevant spoken-language features, although one effect or explanation is less fully developed. |
| 3 | Explains two relevant spoken-language features with some analysis, or analyses one feature thoroughly. |
| 2 | Identifies a relevant spoken-language feature or features and provides limited explanation of their effects. |
| 1 | Identifies one accurate and relevant spoken-language feature or effect. |
| 0 | Provides no relevant or accurate response. |
Diagnostic Checklist
| Topic | Questions | Marks | Marks Lost | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listening — Question 1 | Question 1 | 3 | ___ | Separate the disappearing sounds from the later consent and recording changes. |
| Listening — Question 2 | Question 2 | 4 | ___ | Record both the change and the reason; do not list later archive results. |
| Listening — Question 3 | Question 3 | 3 | ___ | Connect the audible softer delivery and brief silence to Laila's surprised personal recognition; do not rely on a spoken self-description. |
| Listening — Question 4 | Question 4 | 5 | ___ | Use the actual repetition and inclusive question; do not claim that a pause creates the persuasive effect. |