Italian - Self study

diamondgeezer

I'm half a Italian, however I speak very little Italian. During my A2's I hope to self study Italian. I'm already learning French and German. So I understand some spoken Italian, and have had a few lessons in the past.

Do you guys think it will be possible to get up to GCSE- A-A* standard in a year while I do my A2s, or is it pushing it? How many hours (approximately obviously) would I need to set a side for my Italian studies?

I will be using the Amici text book, workbook and cds.

Thanks

Michael

Hi

I'm just like you, half Italian! When I went to Italy for Christmas with my relatives in 2003 I spoke absolutely no Italian whatsoever. When I got back I decided to put my brain in gear and learn it, and I used the Amici textbook and workbook. I studied on my own, and did about an hour a night (although some nights I was lazy and did none...). I got entered for the GCSE along with my other GCSE options and got an A* overall, in little over a year. I don't think it's pushing it at all. You'll be fine :smile:

.
When I was doing it, I complimented the book by making my own little worksheets/revision notes. If you want, send me a PM, add me on MSN, and I'll send some over :smile:

. Good choice with "Amici" by the way!
And do some past papers to see what the standard is like!

Simon

Reply 2

You sound the same as me! I do French and German but I'm wanting to teach myself Italian alongside my AS-levels and A-levels, so I'd be giving myself 2 years until I sat Italian GCSE - I'd be aiming for an A*.
Is 'Amici' any good? Please do let me know... I've been struggling with what to get! And I'm assuming it's a beginner's course, right?

I think as long as you start studying straight away and don't suddenly cram at the last minute - it seems you have a good linguistic aptitude so as long as you're prepared to work for it - I doubt it should be a problem.

Reply 3

generalebriety

16

Get the Pimsleur set. :biggrin:

I recently "acquired" the Pimsleur Russian and Mandarin CDs and I have to say, they're pretty good. I imagine they'd be much better for familiar languages such as Romance and Germanic languages.

Reply 4

kjc_us

Is 'Amici' any good? Please do let me know... I've been struggling with what to get! And I'm assuming it's a beginner's course, right?

Yes. I plug this book everywhere, but it really is good. It goes from a beginner's level to near enough AS level. You need to get the specification from your exam board and find out what to study in the book, as some of it is a bit superfluous (but good to know all the same!). When I was doing it, I got the spec from AQA, and wrote down all the page refs for each topic. It really did cover everything, whereas Contatti was lacking a bit.

Reply 5

I just looked at Amici prices on Amazon - the CD set is £96.35! I can't afford that! :frown:

Reply 6

kjc_us

I just looked at Amici prices on Amazon - the CD set is £96.35! I can't afford that! :frown:

Yeah, no I couldn't either! I got the Amici textbook and the workbook which were reasonably cheap, and used the Contatti series for listening as it was so much cheaper. I found myself using both, rather than just one as they make quite a nice combination.

Reply 7

kellywood_5

17

Definitely possible- I taught myself GCSE Spanish in a year alongside 4 A2s and got an A* and I knew literally nothing when I started. I can't really say how many hours you should set aside for it because I started off quite well, doing little and often, then did nothing for most of the year and had to cram like mad for 2 weeks before the exams :redface:

Not good, I know, but I had too much to do with uni applications, coursework and January exams. I might have to look into this Amici- Italian is the next language I want to learn :smile:

Reply 8

Simon-J

Yeah, no I couldn't either! I got the Amici textbook and the workbook which were reasonably cheap, and used the Contatti series for listening as it was so much cheaper. I found myself using both, rather than just one as they make quite a nice combination.

Sorry to be annoying, but could you tell me exactly which ones you used? Because I'm looking and I seem to keep finding more and more volumes and different sorts and I'm getting confused! :confused:

This may be of help to those of you like myself wanting to take GCSE Italian;

http://http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/pdf/AQA3631WSG.PDF

I know it's AQA but no doubt it will be more or less the same with each board - also, regardless of the board it gives you some good basic vocab/grammar. :smile:

Plus, if my school let me do Italian then I'll probably do AQA anyway seeing as that's what they use for French, German and Spanish.

Reply 9

kjc_us

Sorry to be annoying, but could you tell me exactly which ones you used? Because I'm looking and I seem to keep finding more and more volumes and different sorts and I'm getting confused! :confused:

This may be of help to those of you like myself wanting to take GCSE Italian;

http://http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/pdf/AQA3631WSG.PDF

I know it's AQA but no doubt it will be more or less the same with each board - also, regardless of the board it gives you some good basic vocab/grammar. :smile:

Plus, if my school let me do Italian then I'll probably do AQA anyway seeing as that's what they use for French, German and Spanish.

Yes, I used AQA as well, and the books I used were more than enough. For clarification, I used this Contatti pack (it contains the book, 2 cds and a support pack; although the book is available separately if you want), the Amici textbook (you can look through the book online on Amazon), and the Amici workbook.
The AQA student guide which you've posted above was very useful for vocab (although you've posted one http:// too many :p:

!) and I downloaded the actual AQA specification.

Hope this helps!

Reply 10

Simon-J

Yes, I used AQA as well, and the books I used were more than enough. For clarification, I used this Contatti pack (it contains the book, 2 cds and a support pack; although the book is available separately if you want), the Amici textbook (you can look through the book online on Amazon), and the Amici workbook.
The AQA student guide which you've posted above was very useful for vocab (although you've posted one http:// too many :p:

!) and I downloaded the actual AQA specification.

Hope this helps!

Thanks a million, I'll look into it. :smile:

Oops, I only just noticed the extra http://. Oh well you know what I mean! :p:

Once again, grazie mille! :giggle:

Reply 11