This guide will bring you through what to expect in your Leaving Cert Italian with advice and tips along the way.
How to get a H1 in Leaving Cert Italian
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Aoife got a H1 in her Leaving Cert Italian and in this guide, she shares her advice for succeeding in this subject.
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Introduction
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The oral
The Italian oral is probably the most daunting aspect of the exam, accounting for 25% of your overall grade. This exam tests your ability to understand spoken Italian and your confidence in speaking it. Although you can never be sure what exactly you’ll be asked, I have some general tips and tricks that will help you along the way and get you through difficult questions.
Knowing the structure of the exam is absolutely essential so you know what exactly you’ll be getting yourself in for before entering the room. The exam will be about 15 minutes in total and you can rest assured that the exam will always take this format:
- 1
Greeting
When you enter the room, you will be asked to give your name and your exam number. You will then be asked to sign your name on a sheet for administrative purposes. Then, the examiner will click start on the recording machine and that's the beginning of the exam. It’s really important that you know about these things before going in so you’re not thrown off.
- 2
General conversation
The examiner will start off by asking you general questions about yourself. Knowing the basics is essential as the examiner isn’t looking to catch you out, they are actually looking to give you marks and want you to be comfortable speaking to them. This section lasts about 8 minutes and is worth 50 marks.
- 3
Role plays
Typically, the examiner will lay out the 5 role plays face down on the table and will ask you to choose one. The best thing about the role plays is that you can have them prepared before entering the exam so you’ll be used to them and will be ready for all possible questions. These last 3-4 minutes and are worth 25 marks.
- 4
Picture sequences
Finally, you will be asked to choose one of the five picture sequences and this is by far the easiest part of the exam. As boring as it is, all you have to do is learn off by heart a story about the pictures. They take 3 or 4 minutes and are worth 25 marks. You will be asked no questions and the examiner won’t interrupt. Know these inside-out and upside-down and there’s no doubt that you will get full marks.
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Top tips
Before I go into the different sections in more detail, here are some general tips for the exam:
Don’t be nervous
As much as possible, try to remain cool, calm and collected. If you’re nervous, you’ll find it difficult to remember everything you’ve learned. Bring a bottle of water in if you think you’ll need it for your voice.
Speak with enthusiasm
There’s nothing worse than someone who speaks with no expression in their voice and the oral exam is no exception. If you speak in a monotone, your sentences will sound learned off and will really bore the examiner. Try to put some enthusiasm in your voice and you’ll sound 100 times better because your Italian will sound more natural and fluent to the examiner.
Pronunciation
When writing in Italian, pronunciation is not important. However, in this exam, good pronunciation is key to earning high marks. Incorrect pronunciation sometimes changes the meaning of the word and will really confuse the examiner, for example, 'pesce' (pess- shay) means fish but adding a 'h' changes the pronunciation to 'pesche' (pesskay) and means peaches. Ask your teacher how to say certain words and write the phonetics above difficult words.
Practice makes perfect
Most of us aren’t lucky enough to have family members who can speak Italian but practicing is a must. If you don’t practice, you won’t feel comfortable speaking Italian and when it comes to the day of the exam, it will be much more daunting. I would really recommend asking your teacher to do a practice oral exam before class or to go over a particular area you find difficult after school. You could also find an Italian study buddy with whom you could practice things that are hard to study alone such as the role plays. Speaking to yourself in the mirror is another great way to practice.
Record yourself
This is a great way to test yourself and highlight areas which you find difficult. Try recording yourself reciting the picture sequences and listening to them on your way to school. I found this really helped me study.
Don’t be embarrassed to try to roll your Rs. Even if you find it difficult, you should make an effort and the examiner will see this and reward it. You’ll sound so much more fluent if you do this.
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Oral breakdown
General conversation
This is one of the most demanding aspects of the exam as you will have to think on the spot and be ready for all types of questions. However, it is important to remember that although the examiner asks questions, it is you who leads the conversation. Remember, topics are predictable so even though the questions are never exactly the same from oral to oral, don’t worry because the examiners will always touch on certain topics, for example:
Yourself
Your family and friends
Your house and area
Your hobbies and pastimes
Sport
Your school and subjects
Holidays
Weekends
Your part-time job
College and your future job
Italy vs Ireland
Difficult topics (usually not asked unless you specifically bring them up)
To help you study for the oral exam, it is important that you keep an oral copy/notebook and write sample answers for each subject area. Keep lists of possible questions and handy phrases and vocabulary.
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Top tips
Remember that you control the conversation and you don’t have to talk about something if you don’t want to. For example, if you dislike sports and don’t have much to say and the examiner asks you about it, it is perfectly fine to tell the examiner that you’re not interested in it. However, you must either give reasons why you’re not interested or expand on your answer by talking about something else you’re interested in instead. Here are some more tips to get you through:
Not understanding a question
Sometimes the examiners’ accents can be difficult to understand or they can phrase things in ways you’re not completely used to. If you don’t understand, just have a sentence ready to ask the examiner to repeat the question, e.g. “Può ripetere per favore?”. Don’t worry if you have to do this once or twice, you won’t lose any marks.
Don't give one-line answers
Apart from your name, address and exam number, there is no excuse to ever give a one-line answer. The trick is to just keep talking until the examiner interrupts. This shows that you’ve plenty to say and are comfortable chatting. For example, if they ask you “How many are in your family?” instead of just saying the number, you can expand on it by describing your family and then going on to talk about where you live, what your area is like, etc.
Avoiding topics
If you are unprepared for certain questions, it is absolutely vital that you recognise that you must avoid talking about certain things that could potentially lead the examiner to question you about your undesired topic. In my experience, I really didn’t want the examiner to ask me about Brexit, so I completely avoided talking about doing business or economics in school, just in case it led into a conversation about the economy.
Colloquial phrases
It is important that you have a few useful connecting phrases that make your conversation flow more fluently, for example, “senza dubbio” (without a doubt) or “piove a catinelle” (it is raining cats and dogs), etc.
You can use leading topics to your advantage. If you have a particular topic you want to talk about, bring it up. For example, I wanted to talk about mental health so I used sport as my gateway to this topic. I mentioned how sports can benefit your mental health and this led me to the subject of mental health.
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Role plays
These are a very challenging aspect of the exam. Even though you know all five of them before going in, there are no set questions and the examiner has the power to make them as simple or difficult as they like. When you choose the role play, the instructions will be written in English but you must answer in Italian. You usually take one minute or so to compose yourself and read through it. I have a few tips to help:
Keep it formal and simple
It is vital that you speak to the examiner formally, i.e. use the third person singular (lei form) and the pronouns le and la. If you write out sample dialogues before the exam, keep them as simple as possible. Don’t overcomplicate them as it will inevitably confuse you.
Know them inside out
Make sure you know what happens in each role play. Be aware of the different questions the examiner might ask and what points you need to make. Even though you do have the instructions in front of you, once you get started, it will not be easy to keep referring to them.
Practice
This is by far the most important thing to remember: practicing is the key to a good grade. You become more comfortable speaking and you get used to the different routes the examiner can take with the questions, e.g. knowing the examiner might say that the ticket machine is broken, etc.
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The picture sequence
The picture sequence is the easiest 25 marks you will pick up. As I have said earlier, you won’t be interrupted and you know exactly what you will be saying. There are 6 pictures in each picture sequence and all you need to do is describe what is happening in each picture. About 4 simple sentences each will do. Here's some things to remember:
Learn it off
Your teacher will either give you a script or else ask you to write one out. Make sure you learn it off by heart, inside out and upside down so that you are 100% confident reciting it off without mistakes.
Going blank
If you have a blank on the day and can’t remember something, the main thing is not to panic. You have been studying Italian for years and will be well able to string sentences together. The examiner won’t notice so long as you don’t panic. Constant practice is the only way to guarantee you won’t forget it on the day.
Identify which picture you’re referring to
To be sure that the examiner is following along with you, it’s a good idea to say which picture you’re talking about, e.g. “Nella prima immagine”, etc.
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The written exam
Journalistic passage
The journalistic passage is the first question in Section A of the written paper and accounts for 15% (60 marks) of your overall grade. I think that feeling comfortable answering this question is of utmost importance as it sets your mood for the entire exam. If it goes well, you will be confident starting the paper. The subject matter is completely unpredictable and the passages tend to be very factual with quotes and statistics.
Although the writing can be quite formal, if you practice regularly and expand your vocabulary, you will find this question a very handy way to earn marks.
The first thing I did when answering this question was read Question 5 because this is the general question in English relating to the entire passage. I liked having the time to it mull over in the back of my mind while answering the other questions and I found that reading the complete passage before looking at the questions wasted too much time. Instead, I read each paragraph as I answered each question, e.g. read Question 1, read paragraph 1 and then write the answer). Here are some more of my top tips:
Know the question format
There are typically 5 questions which you must answer. Questions 1-4 are in Italian and must be answered in Italian. They are composed of 2 parts: (a) and (b). Question 5 is in English and must be answered in English. It relates to the passage as a whole and usually asks you to write about 60 words.
Finding the answers
Each question relates to a different paragraph, i.e. the answers to Question 1 will be found in paragraph 1 and so on. This makes answering much easier as you can be sure where the answer is to be found.
Write in your own words
All of your answers need to be written in your own words. Once you find the answer in the text, manipulate the wording and the order of the sentence to write the same thing in a different way. You will lose lots of marks if you don’t do this.
Only answer what is asked
Your answer should fit on the lines given. It should not be too long and should not contain any irrelevant information, e.g. if you were asked where she got married, you shouldn’t include the date of the wedding in your answer. This information is not needed and makes the examiner think that you didn’t understand what you were asked. I found that highlighting the answer in the text was useful while answering as it meant I didn’t lose the answer and could easily see it.
Don't leave anything blank
Even if you have no clue what the answer is, make sure you write something. Hazard a guess and you never know, you might pick up a few marks. Remember that if you write nothing, you automatically score zero. The examiner wants to give you marks.
Make sure to know any question words like perché/chi/quali sono/spiegate, etc. because if you don't know them you might provide the wrong answer.
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Common questions
This section gets easier with constant practice so make sure you set yourself time limits (30 mins approximately) and practice using the past papers (made easy by Studyclix). Be prepared for these common questions:
'Find a phrase in the text that means X'. For this question, copy the exact phrase straight from the passage.
'Find words that reference X'. For this kind of question, find words that refer to the city, for example.
'Find certain grammar forms'. Again, just take the words directly from the piece. Make sure you are able to recognise and understand these grammatical terms and forms in Italian, e.g. find a verb in the infinitive and find a feminine plural noun, etc.
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Opinion piece
The opinion piece is often considered the most challenging question on the exam. Not only is it completely unpredictable and requires a lot of thought and personal knowledge but it also tests your ability to express your opinion in Italian which usually implies the use of the subjunctive form (a very complicated grammar area).
This question is based on the journalistic passage and usually asks you for your thoughts on some of the discussed topics.
This particular question goes for 25 marks (6.25%) of the overall grade. 10 of these marks are for language, i.e. the quality of your expression, grammar and spelling and the final 15 marks are for content, i.e. referencing all of the questions, presenting a logical series of arguments and keeping on topic at all times. With lots of practice, I guarantee you that this difficult question will be a walk in the park. Here's some advice for approaching this question:
Answer layout
A good opinion piece requires 3 parts. Grab the reader’s attention with a strong opening. Give your general ‘take’ on the question and reference the main ideas expressed in the journalistic passage. Explain what you are going to talk about. Then, you need 3-4 paragraphs where you answer the questions you have been asked. This is your chance to express your personal opinion and make general comments. It is essential to reference your own personal experiences too. Finally, every opinion piece’s conclusion must begin with the words 'in conslusione'. Here, you can give your final impressions and opinions on the topic you have been discussing.
Be enthusiastic
No matter how dull and boring the subject of the question is, it is extremely important that you come across as enthusiastic. Even if you don’t have opinions, make them up. This engages the examiner and makes it more relatable and interesting. If you’re bored writing it, think how bored the examiner will be reading it.
Avoid the subjunctive
As I’ve said, the subjunctive tense is very complicated and difficult to master. It is used when expressing opinions and doubts and must also be used in impersonal sentences. However, in my notes, I have some clever phrases which don’t need the subjunctive, for example, 'secondo me è vantaggioso' is much easier than 'penso che sia vantaggioso'.
Quality over quantity
Keep your answer short, snappy and simple with careful attention to detail, grammar and spelling. About one A4 page will be enough and the length of the lined page in the answer book is perfect if you have medium-sized writing. However, for a H1 answer, it is vital that you expand on your points and bulk out your paragraphs by adding extra information and details.
When to answer this question
Try to answer this question directly after completing the
journalistic passage question. Seeing as these two questions are linked, it’s a good idea to do them one after the other and this way, the ideas will be fresh in your head.Don't copy from the journalistic passage
You can of course use the passage to get ideas or one or two keywords but you will be heavily penalised if you copy and paste sentences straight from the comprehension text into your opinion piece. Yes, they are connected but the opinion piece is looking for your personal opinion.
Know your conjunctions
To write a H1 opinion piece, you must use connecting words to link your ideas to allow them to be read easily, e.g. insomma/quindi/anche se/dato che, etc. Practice, practice
and more practice is the key to those 25 marks. You will become more aware of how to avoid the subjunctive and the connecting phrases will come more naturally to you.
It’s important to note that if you score below 5 in the language section, your content will be marked out of 10 instead of 15. Basically, if you lose 5 marks for bad spelling or grammar, etc. you automatically lose 5 marks for content so be careful.
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The guided composition
The guided composition was definitely one of my favourite aspects of the written exam. This question gives you the freedom to create your own short story while being guided by keywords in the question. They are worth 25 marks, accounting for 6.25% of your overall grade. They may look easy at first glance but examiners penalise heavily for incorrect spelling and bad grammar.
In Italian, we use a variety of past tenses and this question is your way to show these off to the examiner. This particular exercise examines your knowledge of the past tense:
Il passato prossimo is for completed actions in the past, e.g. ho mangiato.
l’imperfetto is for descriptions and habitual actions in the past, e.g. mangiavo.
Il trapassato prossimo is for actions which happened before a completed action, e.g. avevo mangiato.
Il passato prossimo progressivo is for continuous past actions, e.g. stavo mangiando.
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Top tips
Make sure to follow the guide provided as this is crucial if you want to earn full marks and clearly reference the key points laid out in the box at the top of the page. You can make the story as personal as you like but you must show the examiner that you understand the question.
For a H1 answer, it is vital that you expand on your points and bulk out your paragraphs by adding extra information and details. My advice would be to write about 4 simple sentences on each idea given. With the use of my top tips below, those 25 marks will be within reach:
Use all the points given
There are usually around 8 different ideas which you need to include but if you don’t understand (and can’t guess) one of them, the marking scheme says that it is okay to omit one element. If you can, however, it’s best to include them all.
Be concise
The more you write, the more the examiner has to judge you on and the greater the likelihood of spelling mistakes. Once again, about one A4 page will be enough. You need to order your story as the words are ordered in the question. This gives your story a good structure.
Grab the reader's attention
Grab the reader's attention in the opening line, e.g. 'I will never forget that day' or 'Listen to what happened!'. Make sure to include emotions and know how to express your feelings about situations, e.g. I was happy/I was upset/I was surprised, etc.
Manipulate the question phrases
The key phrases in the question are deliberately without verbs or else the verbs are not conjugated. It is absolutely essential that you recognise when a verb is needed, for example, if the question says 'momenti di panico’, you could say in your story ‘ho avuto dei momenti di panico’ or when you need to conjugate the verb used in the question, for example, if the question says ‘andare in gita scolastica’ you will change andare from the infinitive to ‘siamo andati in gita scolastica’.
Key phrases
Even though it is almost impossible to predict what will come up, I guarantee you that there are some sentences and topics you can talk about in most answers. For example, in nearly every story you can say something about the weather (it was a stormy day so we stayed…/the sun was shining so we went..., etc.).
Know your conjunctions
To write a good guided composition, you must use connecting words to link your story and make it flow naturally, e.g. dopo/poi/di conseguenza/inoltre/comunque, etc.
Time expressions and proverbs
Time expressions are of utmost importance in order to give the reader a sense of time and place, making your story clearer and easier to follow, e.g. l’estate scorsa/l’anno scorso/inseguito/ieri, etc. Knowing a few general proverbs will really impress the examiner too and they are a great way to finish a story, e.g. don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
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Formal letter
The formal letter is worth 50 marks which is 12.5% of the overall grade. This section isn’t completely simple but with practice and a good knowledge of higher-level vocabulary, a high grade is very achievable.
While the formal letter may seem daunting, it is worth remembering that they are worth twice the amount of marks as the two other written pieces (the guided composition and the opinion piece).
As you know, the majority of the Italian paper is completely unseen and it’s difficult to be certain of what will come up. Luckily, this section is extremely repetitive and the topics tend to be similar year after year. Here are the most common topics:
A letter of thanks for your stay/holiday/year of work in Italy.
A job application (often about a job in Italy).
A letter of complaint (usually to a company about a faulty product).
A letter of enquiry (about booking a holiday or asking questions and looking for information).
Scholarship application.
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Layout
Writing a good formal letter requires perfect format:
1. | Your name, address and the date on the top right. |
2. | Their name and address on the top left, or ‘destinatario'. |
3. | Open the letter (‘spettabile direzione’/‘gentile famiglia rossi’, etc.). |
4. | A strong opening paragraph explaining your reasons for writing the letter (le scrivo per ringraziar la per…). |
5. | An informative body of the letter which makes reference to all the targets in the question. |
6. | A concluding paragraph, usually thanking the person or asking them to write back. 'In attesa di una Sua risposta’ is a handy sentence which works in every type of formal letter. |
7. | End the letter ('distini saluti' and insert your name). |
Use 'oggetto' (subject) for an email. Remember that emails are becoming more and more common on the paper so don’t let an email address throw you off.
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Top tips
The more of these you practice, the easier they will get. I would recommend doing extra ones at home and handing them up to your teacher for correction. Here's some more advice for the formal letter:
Use a formal tone
This is key when writing a formal letter. Instead of ‘ti scrivo’ we say ‘Le/vi scrivo’. Failing to do this will mean the letter loses its formality and its functionality. Make sure to use capital letters for La, Le, Lei, Il Suo, La Sua, Vi, Voi, Il Vostro, la Vostra, etc.
Answer the question asked
Formal letters are a form of functional writing and definitely shouldn’t be too long-winded as they lose their purpose. Once you hit the targets set in the question and expand on it, you will pick up full marks for content. Remember, the more you write, the more they have to judge you on.
Think about who you're writing to
Recognising whether you’re writing to a single person or a group of people is essential. Writing using the ‘lei’ form (to
a single person) when the letter specifically asks you to write to a group of people (requiring the ‘voi’ form) will cause you to lose a lot of marks so be careful to read the question carefully.Use fancy vocabulary
To write a H1 formal letter, ‘fancy’ words are a must. For example, a different way of saying ‘to do’ (i.e. fare) is ‘svolgere' or instead of saying ‘to have’ using the more common verb ‘avere’ you could use ‘possedere'. Not only do these simple changes to your vocabulary accentuate the formality of the letter, it allows you to show the examiner that you have a range of vocabulary.
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The aural exam
If you think the aural exam is something that is either not possible or not worth studying for, you are completely mistaken. 80 marks (20%) of your overall grade goes towards this exam (almost as much as the entire oral exam). It is worth putting time into and I found it a great way to pick up marks. However, don’t trick yourself into thinking you can earn these marks without studying. The aural exam is usually 40 minutes long and takes place after the written exam. It is made up of 3 sections:
In this section, you will hear 8 news statements. You hear each statement twice and you are given 4 options as answers and all you have to do is circle the most appropriate one. Each is worth 2 marks, meaning this section is worth 16 marks in total.
Here you listen to 2 conversations. You hear each conversation three times (with gaps between each question on the 2nd hearing) so you will have plenty of time, don’t worry. There are usually 4 questions for each conversation with the answers being only a line long. Each answer is worth 4 marks so each conversation is worth 16 marks.
Finally, we have an interview. This part is like the conversations in Section 2 but it’s just one long piece of dialogue. Again, you will hear it three times with pauses between answers on the 2nd hearing. There are typically 8 questions worth 4 marks each, meaning this section is worth 32 marks.
In this section, you will hear 8 news statements. You hear each statement twice and you are given 4 options as answers and all you have to do is circle the most appropriate one. Each is worth 2 marks, meaning this section is worth 16 marks in total.
For Sections 2 and 3 you have loads of time to listen to the details and write them down so make sure your answers contain as much information as possible. The marking scheme changes year on year and they can be picky about including certain words, etc. This way, you don’t give the examiner any opportunity to dock your marks.
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Top tips
Make sure all of your answers are in English. Don’t get mixed up and make it difficult for yourself by trying to answer in Italian. My general rule of thumb is to answer in the language the question is asked in so if the question is in English, answer in English.
Make sure you create lists of vocabulary that relate to topics that appear often, topics like the weather; incidents (fire/storm/flood/robbery); strikes and statistics. Here are some more top tips for acing the aural:
Guess if you’re not sure
I can’t stress enough how important it is to write something down, even if you think it’s completely wrong. Don’t be embarrassed by guessing because you might pick up attempt marks even if you get only one or two words. Most questions are easy to guess anyway and you can usually make a good estimate, for example, the question 'Why did he want to go to Ireland?' is pretty self-explanatory.
Read the questions carefully
Before each section, you will be given a minute or so to read through the questions so make the most of it. This is valuable
time for you to familiarise yourself with the questions and it also gives you a good idea of what the dialogue will be about. Take a highlighter to the keywords so you know what to listen out for.Read over your work
When the exam finishes, make sure you reread your answers and make sure you have answered (or guessed) every question on the paper. Ensure that your writing is legible and that your sentences make sense.
Past papers
To get a H1 in your aural exam it is essential that you maintain consistent practice throughout 5th and 6th years. I found the past papers great for getting myself used to the exam structure and style of questions. The voices tend to be the same year on year so going over past papers is such a fantastic way to get used to the accents. If you’re in 5th year and are finding the higher-level papers too difficult, try using the ordinary-level papers. The actual tape is the exact same but the questions are easier. This way, you tune your ear into the Italian while finding the questions themselves more manageable.
Track your progress
It’s good practice to use the marking scheme to test yourself and see how many marks you might have lost or words you missed. I kept a list of my scores on each listening exam as I practiced. I think it’s such a great motivator when you see yourself improve week after week with practice. It's a great incentive to study.
Make a list of new vocab
The only way you will improve your aural comprehension is to improve your general vocabulary. The marking scheme contains the written script of the dialogue which is a brilliant resource to use to find and highlight new words. I kept a word-bank in my copy of new words I learned in each listening. Not only did this make my level of vocabulary better, I also found that the difficult words seem to come up again and again each year so it’s worth knowing them.
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Final tips
Learning a new language is never easy and I gladly welcomed any extra help I could get. Making small changes to your everyday routine to benefit your Italian is a great way to subconsciously study.
Final Tips
Set your phone to Italian
Seeing Italian popping up on your screen will really help you to familiarise yourself with the language.
Listen to Italian podcasts
This really benefited my Italian. I found some really interesting Italian podcasts which I listened to on my trip to school or even before bed. There are even ‘Italian for beginners’ podcasts where the speakers speak more slowly to aid your understanding.
Watch Italian TV and movies
There are some really great Italian TV shows and movies out there which are not only super enjoyable but also of great help to your Italian. Reading the English subtitles while listening to Italian is great practice. Either change the language on the movie or watch actual Italian movies and shows on Netflix.
Read Italian books and magazines
Just like movies and TV, these are great ways to learn Italian (while not getting bored). Reading Italian improves your level of vocabulary. Keep a dictionary beside you to look up new words.
Download some apps
Apps like Duolingo and other Italian games are super handy to learn Italian on the go. Even 10 minutes a day is great to learn one or two new words or phrases.
Speak to a classmate in Italian
Find a classmate with whom you are comfortable speaking Italian. I think this is the best way to practice your spoken Italian. You can talk about things you’re interested in while speaking in Italian and becoming confident. You’ll notice your Italian will flow much faster with regular practice. By the time you get to your oral exam, speaking Italian will feel so natural.
Check out YouTube
Having trouble with the subjunctive? Forget how to conjugate ‘isc’ verbs? Just pull up YouTube and there is a bank of videos waiting for you.
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In bocca al lupo! You'll be great.
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The moment Aoife finished her LC exams, she joined the Studyclix team! An outstanding student at both second and third level, Aoife's expertise in academic success and organisational skills have shaped the content we create. Now a graduate in Accounting and Finance, she works on delivering new and exciting resources to help you study.