MATSEC AM Italian study plan

Set up a daily listening routine of 20 minutes using graded Italian audio at B1-B2 level and log every session with date, source and duration

Transcribe two 90-second audio clips by hand, then compare your transcript against the original and mark every misheard phoneme or word

Skim three unseen Italian articles of 300-400 words each and write a one-sentence Italian summary of the main idea of each

Drill the passato prossimo with essere and avere by writing 20 original sentences about your own week, checking each auxiliary choice against a grammar reference

Listen to two authentic Italian news bulletins of 3-4 minutes and answer 8 self-written comprehension questions per bulletin from memory before re-listening

Practise the oral exam format by recording a 2-minute monologue on a familiar topic, then re-record it after self-correction

Identify the function of 15 discourse markers (tuttavia, quindi, invece, inoltre, d'altra parte) inside real articles and paraphrase each sentence containing one

Build a personal glossary of 40 new words taken from your reading, each with the Italian definition and one original example sentence

Read one full-length Italian newspaper feature of 800-1,000 words and answer 10 inference questions that require linking information across paragraphs

Write a 200-word formal letter (lettera di reclamo or richiesta) using the correct opening and closing formulas and the congiuntivo in at least three subordinate clauses

Summarise three articles in exactly 80 words each to train compression and lexical precision

Review the use of the congiuntivo in relative and concessive clauses by rewriting 15 indicative sentences into subjunctive ones

Complete a full timed reading paper of 60 minutes under exam conditions and mark it strictly against the answer key

Hold a 10-minute unscripted conversation with a tutor or language partner and record it, then note five recurring errors

Write a 250-word opinion essay on a current Italian social issue using a clear introduction, two arguments and a conclusion

Re-listen to your week 2 recordings and identify which pronunciation and fluency problems have improved and which persist

Read one short story or novel extract from a 20th-century Italian author and map its plot, characters, narrator and setting on a single structured sheet

Place five key literary or historical periods (Unification, Fascism, the postwar boom, the anni di piombo, contemporary Italy) on a dated timeline with three defining events each

Write a 300-word literary commentary in Italian that quotes two short passages and analyses style and theme

Compile a one-page fact sheet on two authors covering biography, major works, themes and one representative quotation

Prepare and deliver a 5-minute oral presentation in Italian on an Italian cultural or historical topic, using at least eight topic-specific terms correctly

Compare two literary texts or two films thematically in a 250-word Italian piece, citing concrete evidence from each

Learn 30 culture-specific terms (istituzioni, geografia, tradizioni) and test yourself by writing definitions from memory

Listen to one Italian podcast episode on history or society and summarise it orally in 90 seconds without notes

Sit a complete timed mock covering reading, writing and culture sections in one session to build stamina and time management

Run a 12-minute simulated oral exam with a partner covering picture description, topic discussion and general conversation

Redo every question you got wrong in the mock and write the correct answer with a one-line justification

Revise your error sheets from weeks 1-6 and write a final one-page list of the ten errors you still make most often

Consolidate the top-ten error list by writing 30 targeted sentences or exercises that each address one listed error

Rehearse the oral exam three times on different unseen prompts, timing each attempt to the real duration

Write one final 300-word essay and one 150-word summary under exam timing without dictionaries

Review your literature and culture fact sheets and timeline once, reciting key dates and works aloud