German passages about cultural differences were introduced to the Junior Cert for the first time yesterday. This new feature was welcomed by teachers. The questions aimed to link the Junior Cert with aspects of the new senior-cycle syllabyus, said a representative of the German Teachers' Assocation.

The examiners have started to link up the Junior Cert with the new senior-cycle syllabus where there is a focus on cultural awareness, according to Ms Jacinta McKeon, a teacher at St Leo's College, Carlow and a committee member of the German Teachers' Association. "They are trying to mirror some of the new emphasis in the paper," she said, welcoming this development in the paper.

Students who sat the higher-level Junior Cert paper were happy after the exam. It was "a very fair paper", she said. It was wide-ranging and it covered the syllabus content.

The content was relevant to the interests of young people, she said. For example, the theme in one of the reading passages had to do with an overworked father who could not find time for his son. The piece was "pretty up-to-date" and "in general the standard of the paper was very appropriate".

Ms McKeon said the "focus on cultural awareness" was in one or two of the questions - in particular a question about eating breakfast in Germany compared to the breakfast experience in Ireland, and another piece about Vienna where the focus was not just on the German language. This link with the senior cycle was interesting, she said. "It's nice to see that link up."

The aural was difficult for some students doing the ordinary level, Ms McKeon said. Some of the questions in section C were difficult, but the paper was fair although two or three questions were challenging.

Overall she said the ordinary level "was very appropriate but on a few occasions it was a bit tough on them and a bit too testing for them". The paper had improved however in the main, she said.