I have still never been to Italy. I do have plans to take a vacation there at some point but mostly with the intention of visiting the friends that I have made during my studies. I started learning Italian in January of 2015 and took the exam at the start of June, 2018. I had a long period, nearly nine months, in early 2017 where I was unable to study at the level that I normally maintained. For example, I had previously done a language exchange and at least one iTalki lesson every week but during that period, I only did a single language exchange each week and sometimes only two or three in the month. I believe I actually lost fluency in this time period. If I had continued my studies as I had to that point, I may have been able to take the exam in June of 2017 with similar results. Here are the highlights of my studies from roughly January of 2018 until the exam on June 7th.
- I listened to around 400 hours of audiobooks from Audible.
- I read at least one article per week from Focus Italia. I frequently wrote a summary of these articles.
- I used a book with exercises that were similar in format and difficulty to the exam
- I was taking 2 to 3 lessons with community tutors each week. Especially in the two month period just before the exam.
- I practiced the scenarios that were thematic for the oral test repeatedly but I feel I actually slacked on this due to my feelings of embarrassment. I could have been more systematic and reviewed what I learned more systematically as well.
- I wrote a lot. I went into 2018 with writing being my worst skill and came out of the exam with a nearly perfect score. I wrote letters, essays, short stories. You name it.
- I took practice exams regularly. And I took exams at the level I planned on taking, C1, as well as above that level. C2, and below it, B2. Although I must note that I stopped taking the B2 exams in early 2018.
I went into the test feeling as prepared as I think I could have but came out completely flustered. I took a lot of practice exams and thought that I knew the flow of the exam but I managed to skip the final section of the grammar test and had to go back to it with only a few minutes to spare. I left two written answers of the grammar exam undone. One completely, one half-done which is just as bad. For that I got an 11 out of 20 on the grammar exam. One point fewer in just that part and I would have failed the entire exam. I suspect that I could have scored a reasonable 15 or so if I had not skipped the final section and thus had to rush to finish it. All-in-all, I feel that studying for the exam really helped me to improve. I am currently planning on taking the C2 in June of next year since I now know exactly what I am up against. I have a much better idea of my own weaknesses not only as a speaker but also as a student. If I can address these flaws, I should be able to get my skills up to a very solid, advanced C1 or a weak C2.
Here is what I think I got out of preparing for the test.
- I am much better able to handle a discussion on nearly any topic in Italian, even ones that I do not have a solid understanding of conceptually speaking. As a B2 I could summarize and explain things in areas of my own interest but now I know I can handle random conversations on random topics because I have done it and I have done it repeatedly. Not only could I handle a job interview in my own field, but I have done mock interviews in education and general business.
- I had to force myself to use more natural expressions and speak a much more idiomatic Italian. Making myself understood was not enough anymore.
- I can write longer, more complicated texts and do revisions of rough drafts of my own texts. The second part may not seem like much, but the ability to pick up on your own errors is not only important for test takers. If you are a learner and can’t self-correct, you are at a serious disadvantage.
Something I want to stress is that you cannot pass this kind of exam without the skills required. In fact, I would say that many people who might have the skills may still not be able to pass it without considerable effort. You can't "study for the test" and hope to come out with a passing score. The topics are too varied and the situations far too stressful and complex to be memorized.
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