Italian GCSE A/A* Booklet
General- Top Tips & Resources
Listening/reading
- Higher tips for listening/reading questions
Speaking/writing
- Tips for success in controlled assessment
- Model paragraphs/answers A*-C
- A/A* phrases to use in speaking/writing
Italian Top Tips !
 Practise key vocabulary
-
Make a mind map or revision poster of the key vocabulary . You can use
the link below to create an online revision map .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/maps/index.shtml)
-
Vocab Express (www.vocabexpress.com)
You should be using this website weekly to practise key vocabulary and
focus on the topics you need to revise or find more difficult. (Higher Tier Vocab
Section)
- Online revision tools:
You can use the websites below to complete exercises interactively for revision
www.languagesonline.org.uk
www.linguascope.com
Complete practise higher level questions- Make a list of key words
that appear regularly.
- Amici Revision Workbook (available to buy from school or online)
Complete the higher listening and reading graded exercises in each topic and
check your answers. Each page also offers examiner tips which you should read
through carefully.

-
BBC GCSE Bite size
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/italian/
You can use this website to complete practise listening and reading activities
and check your answers.
- Past papers(available on the school website)
You can complete higher tier listening and reading past papers from the Edexcel
Exam board. It is also useful to practise using the AQA/OCR papers also
available here. The mark schemes are online as well as the audios for you to
access.
In bocca al lupo!
Listening/reading
Use the 5-minutes pre-listening
• Underline question words e.g. WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW,
HOW MANY…
• Underline the mark allocations (1), (2), (3)
• Anticipate what words will come up and note them down
•
Read the questions FIRST
• And use the example
• Use clues that the texts give away
When listening…



When you hear the words, write the KEY words on the exam paper,
Be clear about positive/negative language and opinions, one small word can
change meaning.
What tense is the question in? Make sure you know your tenses!
Practise synonyms:
Some examples include:
a. piscina/nuoto/nuotare
b. andare a cavallo/l’equitazione
c. sci/sport invernali/neve/pista
d. noioso//poco interessante
e. cinema/film
f. contento/felice
g. triste/infelice/ scontento
Practise negatives
Listen very carefully for negatives. If you miss a negative, you will think a
sentence means the exact opposite.
Non…. (not)
Non… mai (never)
Non … nessuno (nobody)
Non ...niente (nothing)
Non … più (no longer)
Non … nè ... nè (neither ... nor)
There are other words which express negatives indirectly, such as tranne
(except).
EXAMPLE:
Look at the following example:
A question in the exam paper asks “When is the market open?”
The answer to that question is contained in the sentence “Il mercato è aperto
tutti i giorni tranne il martedì e la domenica.”
If you don’t know the word “tranne” or don’t listen carefully to all the words,
you might think the answer was either “every day” (tutti i giorno) or “Tuesday”
(martedì). However, if you catch the word “tranne” you will be able to give the
correct answer of “every day except Tuesday”.
Listen for tone of voice
Listen to the way things are said on the recording as this can often help with
questions about opinions. If the speaker sounds negative or enthusiastic this can
help you assess his or her opinion, even if you are unsure of the exact
vocabulary they use
Be prepared for traps
Be prepared for answers to come anywhere on the recording, so listen
immediately and do not switch off, even if you think that you have heard the
answer you are listening for. Sometimes additional or contradictory information
may follow, which could be vital in getting the correct answer.
EXAMPLE
For example, if you are listening for a specific place that the speaker has
visited and hear, “sono andato in piscina”, you might believe that you have found
the correct answer and stop listening, only to miss the vital addition, “ma era
chiuso, allora sono andato al cinema.”
Watch out for twists and turns
Some questions appear straightforward, but you might hear ‘extra’ information
on the recording which could mislead you.
In listening for the speaker’s opinion about something you might hear other
opinions too. Make sure you listen carefully to work out who is saying or thinks
what.
EXAMPLE
For example, if you are asked what the speaker thinks about skiing and hear
“Mio fratello ama lo sci, ma io lo odio.” don’t just write down the first thing you
hear. The speaker hates skiing, it’s his brother who likes it.
READING –
Tips for revision
Spot references to the past and future
a) You can tell that an event happened in the past
by identifying the verb form e.g. “sono andato” (I went)
from the use of a time phrase such as “l’anno scorso” (last year).
b) You can tell that an event happened in the future by spotting
a straight future tense e.g. andrò.
other phrases which indicate the future e.g. avere intenzione di (to intend),
sperare (to hope), pianificare( to plan), etc.
the use of a time phrases such as “la settimana prossima”
Be careful of false friends
.
. For example,
“sensibile” means sensitive , “libreria” bookshop not library, “parente” relative
not parent
Different ways of giving opinions
“per” (for/in favour of), “contro” (against)
“piacere” (to please) as in “quello che mi piace”(which pleases me/which I like),
“quello che mi dispiace” (which displeases me/ which I don’t like).
Read questions carefully and don’t just pick the first word you recognise
The texts will usually be about similar topics,
. For example, one statement could say “Non faccio mai il nuoto.”,
another might write, “Sono andato in piscina ieri.” and the final one might add,
“Vado a nuotare domani.” If the question asks, “Who has recently been
swimming?” you will need to study each passage in depth and
use your language skill to decide the correct answer, as all 3 mention the sport
in their texts.
Watch out for traps
Some questions appear more straightforward, but can trick you.
If you are asked for the writer’s opinion about something, there will often be
another person’s opinion, which will not be the correct response. “Mio padre
trova il golf noioso , ma secondo me è interessante!” is an example where the
initial comment is negative but the writer’s opinion is positive.
Make sure you read carefully to work out who is saying or thinks what.
When you have to answer in English…
Always read the questions thoroughly and give as much information in your
answers as is necessary- look at numbers in brackets
. For example, if a question asks you where the writer lives and the answer can
gain you 2 marks, you would need to include 2 pieces of information. If in the
passage it says “Abito in una casa in campagna” you need to write that he/she
lives in a house (1) in the countryside (1).
Speaking/writing
- Tips for success in controlled assessment
- Use the “Look, cover, write, check” technique to prepare
- Prepare more complex sentences using connectives (e.g. ma –
but, quando – when, dove – where, o – or, purtroppo/tuttavia –
however, nonostante – nevertheless, etc.) adverbs (e.g.
qualche volta – sometimes, solamente – only, ugualmente –
equally, etc.) adjectives (making sure they agree with the noun
they describe expressions using verbs (e.g. prima di+infinitive,)
- To achieve the higher GCSE grades, you will need to vary the
way to give reasons and justifications for your opinions using
connectives and opinion expressions ( penso che/ credo che (I
think that), a mio parere/secondo me (in my opinion).
Model paragraphs/answers A*-C
GRADE C
Mangio i panini, bevo la limonata, parlo con gli amici e gioco a tennis.
GRADE B
È molto corto. Cinquanta minuti. Di solito dopo aver mangiato qualcosa gioco
con il cellulare. Posso navigare sull’internet. Ieri a l’ora di pranzo ho visto
un film. E domain giocherò in un torneo di scacchi. Vincerò.
GRADE A
È veramente corto. Cinquanta minuti. Di solito dopo aver mangiato qualcosa,
senza perdere un momento,prendo il mio cellulare nuovo che ha l’internet.
Ieri a l’ora di pranzo ho visto un film indimenticabile. E 6omain parteciperò
in un torneo di scacchi. Voglio vincere.
GRADE A*
Sfortunatamente è veramente corto. Che cinquanta minuti!. Che peccato!
Tuttavia, di solito, dopo aver mangiato qualcosa, senza perdere un momento,
prendo il mio cellulare nuovo che ha l’internet. L’ho appena comprato. La mia
sorellina mi ha acompagnata. Ieri, all’ora di pranzo, ho visto un
documentario indimenticabile sui recenti problemi. E domani participerò a
una competizione di scacchi. Ho voglia di vincere. Sarebbe meraviglioso!
Cosa fai domani a mezzogiorno?
A/A* phrases to use in speaking/writing
Use quello/che + verb (what/which)

Quello che è importante, è mangiare in modo sano (what is important is
to eat healthy)
Se + subjunctive + conditional
 Se avessi il tempo, lo potrei fare
(If I had the time, I could do it)
Connecting phrases
Quando: lquando sono in vacanza leggo molto. (when on holiday, I read a lot)
Chi/che: Abbiamo visitato Nizza che si trova nel sud della Francia , ed era molto
bella! (we visited Nice, in the south of France, which was very pretty)
Ma/tuttavia: il viaggio è andato bene , tuttavia il mio fratellino si è sentiti male
dopo.(the journey went well, however my little brother got ill afterwards)
Exclamations!
 Che bella giornata ! Che sorpresa !
Che disastro !
Comparatives/superlatives





Era più interessante dell’anno scorso.
Era meno lontano di quanto pensavo.
È la mia migliore amica.
È la piu bella città che io conosca!
Sono state le più belle vacanze che io abbia mai trascorso.
Adverbs
 È veramente interessante
 Lavora bene/sodo
 Gioca bene
 È estremamente importante (it’s extremely important))
 È terribilmente difficile (terribly difficult)
 Lei è così gentile.
Subjunctive:
 Benchè sia lontano, andremo in Australia l’anno prossimo.
(although it is far away, we’ll go to Australia next year.)
 Passeremo un mese in Germania in modo che io possa praticare
il mio tedecso. (we’ll spend a month in Germany so that I can
practise my german).
Use an infinitive to start a sentence
 Viaggiare all’estero ci aiuto a conoscre altre culture. Travelling abroad
helps to know other cultures)
 Viaggiare in aereo è più conveniente(travelling by plane is more
convenient).