‘Italian Study Vacations’ 9: What should you do to prepare?

What should you do to prepare for your Italian study vacation?

Obviously you’ll get more out of your Italian course in Italy if you are already in the habit of studying, or if you have taken the time to review things which you may have studied previously, for example on other courses.

But many people only study Italian for the duration of their study vacation, not before or after, and that’s just fine too!

Assuming you already know some Italian, there are a number of things that you could do in the weeks or months before your course which will help you get the absolute maximum out of your time in Italy. Here are a few suggestions:

• Once you’ve done our placement test, ask what level you’ll be studying at. We’ll be happy to give you an idea of the grammatical content of the course, and that of the levels prior to it, which you might then want to review. For example, if you’ll be starting at an intermediate (B1) level, you could review the main grammar forms at the two lower levels
• Reading is a great way to get your brain used to processing Italian, as well as consolidating the Italian grammar and vocabulary that you already know. Reading in Italian in the weeks before your course will also help you develop strategies for dealing with unknown words and structures, very important when taking an Italian-medium class!
• Practise listening: virtually every phase of your Italian study vacation will involve having to understand what people say to you, from the moment you arrive at the airport, to the moment you board your home-bound flight. Anything you can do to “tune-in” to the sounds of Italian will be a help.

And if you don’t know any Italian? Not to worry, it’s our job to teach you! But learning a few basic phrases before you come to Bologna might be a good idea anyway. Try this Kindle e-book written by Madrelingua teacher, Lucia Lecce.

The last article in this series will cover what you can do AFTER your Italian study vacation to consolidate and build on the progress you will have made.