presents
Italian How to get a H1 in the Leaving Cert
Italian Exam
by Aoife B.
Aoife got a H1 in her higher Leaving Cert Italian paper. She’s now doing Accounting and Finance in DCU. Here she shares what she learned.
Contents The Oral Exam 3 The Journalistic Passage 11 The Opinion Piece 14 The Guided Composition 17 The Formal Letter 20 The Aural Exam 23 Some final tips 27
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The Oral Exam 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!
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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.
You can be rest assured that the exam will always take this format:
‣ Greeting: When you enter the room, you will be asked your to give your name, your
exam number, and to sign your name on a sheet for administrative purposes. Then the
examiner will click start on the recording machine - the exam has begun! It’s really
important that you know about these things before going in so you’re not thrown off!
‣ General Conversation: The examiner will start off by asking you general questions
about yourself. Knowing the basics is essential - 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 goes for 50 marks.
‣ Role Plays: Next up are the 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 are that you can have them prepared before entering the exam. You’ll be so
used to them and will be ready for all possible questions. These last 3-4 minutes and go
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for 25 marks.
‣ Picture Sequence: Finally, you will be asked to choose one of the five picture
sequences. 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 of 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!
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. The oral exam is no
exception! If you speak in
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! Your Italian
will sound more natural and fluent
to the examiner.
‣ Prononciation: 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! Eg; pesce (“pess- shay”)
means fish but adding a h changes
the pronunciation to pesche (“pess-
kay”) and means peaches! Ask your
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teacher how to say certain words
and write the phonetics above
difficult words!
‣ Also, 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!
‣ Practice: Most of us aren’t lucky
enough to have family members
who can speak Italian with, 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. (Obviously, if you have a
family member who can speak
Italian, you should take advantage of
this and speak as much Italian as
you can with them!)
‣ Record yourself speaking: This is a
great way to test yourself and
highlight areas which you find
difficult. Try recording yourself
reciting the picture sequences and
listen to them on your trip to school!
I found this really helped me study!
1. The General Conversation
This is definitely one of the most demanding aspects of the exam. You will have to think on
the spot and be ready for all types of questions. However, it is important to remember that
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although the examiner asks questions, it is you that leads the conversation. Here are my tips
to get you through…
‣ Topics are predictable: 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:
❏ Yourself
❏ Your family and friends
❏ Your house and area
❏ Your hobbies and past-times
❏ Sport
❏ Your school and subjects
❏ Holidays
❏ Weekends
❏ Your part-time job
❏ Your future job
❏ College
❏ Italy vs Ireland
❏ Difficult topics (usually not asked unless you specifically bring them up)
‣ Keep an oral copy: To help you study for the oral exam, it is so 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.
‣ It’s okay if you don’t understand the question: Sometimes the examiners’ accents
can be difficult to understand or they can phrase things in ways you’re not completely
used to. BUT, if you don’t understand, just have a sentence ready to ask the examiner to
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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!)
‣ You control the conversation: 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.
BUT you must either give reasons why you’re not interested or else expand on your
answer by talking about something else you’re interested in instead! (“Non mi piace per
niente lo sport MA AMO LEGGERE…….)
‣ Try to avoid single-sentence responses: Apart from your name, address and exam
number, there is absolutely 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, then
going on to talk about where you live, what your area is like and then could go on to
talk about facilities in your area and school etc.
‣ Be aware of ‘Leading 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!
‣ REMEMBER though, you can use these leading topics to your advantage! If you have a
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particular thing which you want to talk about, you can bring it up. For example, I really
wanted to talk about mental health, so I used sport as my gateway to this topic. I
mentioned how sport can benefit your mental health and then this lead me onto the
subject of mental health!
‣ Have a few handy colloquial phrases: It is important that you have a few useful
connecting phrases that make your conversation flow more fluently. (Eg; “senza
dubbio” = without a doubt, or “piove a catinelle” = it is raining cats and dogs etc)
2. The 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. However, I have a few tips to help:
‣ What are they?: Making sure you know how this part of the exam works is essential.
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...
‣ Speak in the formal: It is vital that you speak to the examiner in the formal. Using third
person singular (LEI form) and the pronouns LE and LA.
‣ Know them inside out: Make sure you know what happens in each role play and that
you are aware of the different questions the examiner asks and what points you need to
make. Even though you do have the instructions in front of you, once you get started, it
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will not be easy to keep referring to them.
‣ Keep it simple: If you write out sample dialogues before the exam, you really should
keep them as simple as possible. Don’t over-complicate them as it will inevitably
confuse you!
‣ Practice: This is by far the most important of all of my advice! 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.)
3. 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.
‣ Short and simple: There are 6 pictures in each picture sequence. All you need to do is
describe what is happening in each picture. About 4 simple sentences each will do.
‣ Learn it off by heart: 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.
‣ If you forget...: If for example, on the day you have a blank and can’t remember it, the
main thing is not to panic. You have been studying Italian for years and will be well able
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to string sentences together! The examiner won’t notice so long as you don’t panic!
‣ 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. (“Nella prima
immagine” etc)
‣ Practice: Constant practice is the only way to guarantee you won’t forget it on the day!
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The Written Exam - Journalistic Passage The Journalistic Passage is the first question, Section A, of the written paper. 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.
‣ This one question accounts for 15% of your overall grade (60 marks!). 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, with a high level of
vocabulary, if you practice regularly and use my advice, you will find this question a very
handy way to earn marks!
Here are some of my top tips…
‣ Know the format of this section: 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
‣ Where to find the answers: Each
question relates to a different
paragraph, i.e. The answers to
question one will be found in
paragraph one and so on. This
makes answering much easier as
you can be sure where the answer
is to be found.
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‣ Before you start: The first thing I
did when answering this question
was read question 5. This is the
general question in English relating
to the entire passage. I liked to
have time to mull over in the back
of my mind when answering the
other questions, and I found that
reading the complete passage
before looking at the questions
wasted too much time, so I instead
read each paragraph as I answered
each question. (E.g. read question
one, then read paragraph one, then
write the answer, etc.)
‣ Do not copy your answers directly
from the text: 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!
‣ Understand the wording of the
question: Knowing the question
words (Eg; perché/ chi/ quali sono/
spiegate…) is essential, otherwise
you will give the wrong answer!
‣ Only answer what is asked: Your
answer should fit on the lines
given. It should not be too long and
should definitely 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 really useful
while answering as it meant I didn’t
lose the answer and could easily
see it.
‣ Guess if you’re not sure: Even if
you have no clue what the answer
is, make sure you write something.
Hazard a guess and you never
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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.
Some typical questions: Be prepared for these common questions:
❏ Find a phrase in the text that means X : For this question just copy the exact
phrase straight from the passage
❏ Find certain grammar forms: Again, just take the words directly from the piece.
Also make sure you are able to recognize and understand these grammatical terms
and forms in Italian. E.g. find a verb in the infinitive/ find a feminine plural noun etc)
❏ Find words that reference X: For example, find words that refer to the city.
‣ Practice makes perfect: As always, the more of these you practice, the better you
will get. They get much easier with constant practice. Make sure you set yourself
time limits (30 mins approximately) and practice using the past papers (made easy
by Studyclix)!
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The Opinion Piece
The Opinion Piece is often considered the most challenging question on the exam. Not only
are they completely unpredictable and require a lot of thought and personal knowledge, they
also test 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!) With lots of
practice and the use of my tips and tricks though, I guarantee you that this difficult
question will be a walk in the park!
‣ Know the format: A good opinion piece requires 3 parts:
❏ Strong opening: Grab the reader’s attention. 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.
❏ 3-4 short paragraphs: This is where you answer the questions you have been
asked. It is your chance to express your personal opinion and make general
comments. It is essential to reference your own personal experiences too.
❏ Conclusion: Every opinion piece’s conclusion MUST BEGIN WITH ‘IN
CONCLUSIONE’. It is vital that you include this phrase in your final paragraph.
Here you can give your final impressions and opinions on the topic you have been
discussing.
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➧ Answer every question asked:
There are usually between 3 and 5
questions asked. You must answer
each of these, giving your OWN
PERSONAL OPINION!
➧ Be enthusiastic: No matter how
dull and boring the subject of the
question is, it is extremely
important that you come across
really enthusiastic about it and
show an interest in it. 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!
(Eg; ‘secondo me è vantaggioso’ is
much easier than ‘penso che sia
vantaggioso’)
➧ Quality, not quantity: As usual, keep
your answer short, snappy and
simple with careful attention to
detail, grammar and spelling. About
one A4 page will be enough. (The
length of the lined page in the
answer-book is perfect if you have
medium sized writing). But, for a H1
answer, it is vital that you expand on
your points. Bulk out your
paragraphs by adding extra
information and details.
➧ How is it marked: There are 25
marks in total on offer, divided into
10 marks for language (i.e. quality of
expression, grammar and spelling)
and 15 marks for content (i.e.
referencing all of the questions,
presenting a logical series of
arguments and keeping on topic at
all times). HOWEVER, it’s important
to note that if you score below 5 in
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the language section, your content
will be marked out of 10 instead of
15. Basically, if you lose 5 marks for
bad spelling, grammar etc you
automatically lose 5 marks for
content, so be careful!
➧ Follow the order: Try to answer this
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. In this way, the
ideas will be still fresh in your head!
➧ Don’t copy sentences from
Journalistic Passage: You can of
course use the passage to get ideas
or one or two key words, 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
and allowing them to be read easily.
(eg; insomma /quindi/ anche se/
dato che etc.)
➧ Practice makes perfect: This goes
without saying! Practice, practice
and more practice is your 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!
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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 key
words in the question. Even though they only go for 25 marks, they’re still extremely
important, accounting for 6.25% of your overall grade. They may look easy at first glance, but
examiners penalize heavily for incorrect spelling and bad grammar. However, with the use of
my top tips below, those 25 marks will be within reach!
➧ Follow the guide: This is crucial if
you want to earn full marks. Make
sure you clearly reference the key
points laid out in the box at the top
of the page. Yes, you can make the
story as personal as you like, but you
MUST show the examiner that you
understand the question!
➧ Use all the points given: There are
usually about 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.
➧ Quality, not quantity: This tip
applies to all of the written pieces;
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.
➧ Details: For a H1 answer, it is vital
that you expand on your points. Bulk
out your paragraphs by adding extra
information and details. My advice
would be to write about 4 SIMPLE
sentences on each idea given.
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➧ Past Tense: This particular exercise examines your knowledge of the past tense.
REMEMBER, in Italian, we use a variety of past tenses. This question is your way to show
these off to the examiner!
❏ Il Passato Prossimo: for completed actions in the past (eg; ‘ho mangiato’)
❏ l’Imperfetto: for descriptions and habitual actions in the past (eg; ‘mangiavo’)
❏ Il Trapassato Prossimo: for actions which happened before a completed action
(eg: ‘avevo mangiato’)
❏ Il Passato Prossimo Progressivo: for continuous past actions (eg; ‘stavo
mangiando’)
➧ Order is important: You need to
order your story as the words are
ordered in the question. This gives
your story a good structure.
➧ 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
recognize when a verb is needed
(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 (question says
‘andare in gita scolastica’ you will
change andare from the infinitive to
‘siamo andati in gita scolastica’).
➧ Have a few key phrases to use:
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.
➧ Grab the reader's attention in the
opening line:: (E.g. I will never forget
that day/Listen to what happened!)
➧ Include emotions : Know how to
express your feelings about
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situations (I was happy/ I was upset/I
was surprised etc.)
➧ Make a reference to the weather : In
nearly every story you can say
something about the weather. (Eg; It
was a stormy day so we stayed…../
the sun was shining so we went..)
➧ Know your conjunctions: To write a
good Guided Composition you must
use connecting words to link your
story and make it flow naturally. (eg;
dopo/ poi/ di conseguenza/ inoltre/
comunque etc.)
➧ Use time expressions: These are of
utmost importance to give the
reader a sense of time and place,
making your story clearer and easier
to follow. (Eg; l’estate scorsa/ l’anno
scorso/ inseguito/ ieri etc)
➧ Include proverbs : knowing a few
general proverbs will really impress
the examiner! They are a great way
to finish a story too. (Eg; Don’t judge
a book by it’s cover etc)
➧ Practice makes perfect: As always,
the more of these you practice
before the exam, the better you will
get. Try doing one a week and time
yourself (20-25 mins). It won’t take
long and you will become so much
more confident! Use the past exam
papers as examples too!
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The Formal Letter Formal letters can seem quite daunting at first, and so many people neglect them deeming
them unimportant, and ultimately forgetting that they earn TWICE the amount of marks as
the two other written pieces (the guided composition and the opinion piece): a staggering 50
marks, which is 12.5% of the overall grade! Definitely don’t disregard this section! Obviously
this section isn’t completely simple, but with practice and a good knowledge of some higher
level vocabulary, a high grade is very achievable, so don’t let them scare you.
‣ Quality, not quantity: 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 slightly you will pick up full marks for content.
Remember, the more you write, the more they have to judge you on!
‣ They’re predictable: As you know, the majority of the Italian paper is completely
unseen and it’s usually very difficult to be certain of what will come up. But luckily for
us, 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
‣ Write in a formal tone: This is absolutely 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
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its functionality. Make sure to use capital letters for La, Le, Lei, il Suo, la Sua, Vi, Voi, il
Vostro, la Vostra.
‣ Know the layout: Writing a good formal letter requires perfect format
❏ Your name, address and the date on the top right
❏ Their name and address on the top left, or ‘DESTINATARIO: and OGGETTO:’ 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)
❏ Opening of the letter (i.e. ‘Spettabile Direzione’ / ‘Gentile Famiglia Rossi’ etc.)
❏ A strong opening paragraph explaining your reasons for writing the letter (i.e.
Le scrivo per ringraziarLa per….)
❏ An informative body of the letter, which makes reference to all the targets in
the question.
❏ 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 )
❏ Ending of the letter (Distini Saluti, (insert your name))
‣ Think about who are you writing to: Recognising whether you’re writing to a single
person or a group of people is absolutely essential. Writing using the ‘Lei’ form (i.e. 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
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‘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 wide and broad range of words and verbs.
‣ Practice: Honestly, 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, (Don’t
worry, they won’t mind as they’ll be happy to see you doing extra practice!)
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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 - depends on this exam,
almost as much as the entire oral exam. It is most definitely worth putting time into and I
personally found it a great way to pick up marks. However, don’t trick yourself into thinking
you can earn these marks without study! Here are my top tips to ace the aural!
‣ Know the layout: The aural exam is usually approximately 40 minutes long and takes
place after the written exam. It is made up of 3 sections:
❏ Section 1: In this part you will hear 8 NEWS STATEMENTS. It’s very simple, you
hear each statement twice, you are given 4 options as answers and all you
have to do is circle the most appropriate one. Each is worth 2 marks, so this
section is worth 16 marks in total.
❏ Section 2: Here we 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 about 4 questions for each
conversation, with the answers being only a line long. Each answer is worth 4
marks, so each conversation goes for 16 marks.
❏ Section 3: And finally we have an INTERVIEW. This part is like the conversations
in section two, except it’s just one long piece of dialogue. Again, you will hear it
3 times, with pauses between answers on the 2nd hearing. There are typically
8 questions worth 4 marks each, so this section goes for 32 marks!
➧ Answer in English: 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
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Italian! My general rule of thumb is to
answer in the language the question
is asked in (i.e. if the question is in
English, answer in English)
➧ 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! I promise
you that you will 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! (Eg..
“Why did he want to go to Ireland?” –
is pretty self-explanatory!)
‣ Read through the questions
beforehand: Before each section
you will be given a minute or so to
read through the questions. Don’t sit
and stare into space! 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. Make sure you take a
highlighter to the key words so you
know what to listen out for!
‣ Details: For section 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 schemes change year on
year, and they can be picky about
including certain words etc. In this
way you don’t give the examiner any
opportunity to dock you marks!
‣ Read through at the end: When the
exam finishes, make sure you re-read
your answers, making sure you have
answered (or guessed) every single
question on the paper. Make sure
your writing is legible and that your
sentences make sense.
‣ Sometimes the news is predictable:
Here are some common topics that
usually appear. Make sure you create
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lists of vocabulary that relate to
these topics!
❏ Weather forecast
❏ Incident (fire/storm/ floods/
robbery etc)
❏ Strikes
❏ Statistics
‣ Practice: To get a H1 in your aural
exam it is absolutely essential that
you maintain consistent practice
throughout 5th and 6th year. 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. In this
way, you tune your ear into the
Italian, while finding the questions
themselves more manageable!
‣ Even if you don’t practice in school,
doing one a week is still great! Or
better still, using Studyclix’s
resources to do a shorter part of a
listening each day. (E.g. do the 2012
news statements Section A on
Monday)
‣ Use the marking schemes: It’s good
practice to use the marking scheme
to test yourself- see how many
marks you would have lost, or what
words you missed.
‣ Make a list of new vocab: The only
way you will improve at 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
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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!
‣ Track your progress: I kept a list of
my scores on each listening exam
as I practised. I think it’s such a
great motivator when you see
yourself improve week after week
with practice. A great incentive to
study!
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Some 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! Here’s what I did!
➧ Set your phone to Italian: Seeing Italian popping up on your screen will really help
you to familiarize 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.
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➧ Speak to a classmate in Italian: Find a classmate which you are comfortable
speaking Italian to. I personally 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 really confident. You’ll notice your Italian will flow much faster with regular
practise. 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 on your screen and there are bank of videos waiting
for you!
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