Summer is basically here, and you are wondering how you can keep your Italian practice consistent. If you are lucky, you’ll be traveling to Italy and practicing there. But not everybody goes to Italy, right? You might stay home and be involved in lots of fun activities there, which unfortunately do not include speaking Italian.
You probably won’t have much time to stay home and focus, so you need something that keeps you “in touch” with your Italian without being too heavy or time-consuming. Well, I think I have created something that might work well for you!
When I was a kid in elementary school, one of the things I loved the most was going to the bookstore when school was over to get the recommended summer study book. It was a very fun book, full of colorful pages and cool activities, designed to keep us students doing some work over the summer without feeling like we were actually studying. It was such a fun part of my summer that it inspired me to write my summer study book!
I was inspired by that happy feeling I had when I was a kid, but also by the countless books I have used with my students over the years. Apart from casual Italian conversation, during our online chats, we use a lot of graded books with exercises. They work very well because students are involved in the story they are reading, but also have lots of exercises and activities to do.
Those books are really useful in class, but they work great for self-study as well, which is why I have created one myself. It’s called Un’estate al lago, and it will help you practice reading, listening, and writing over the summer.
Un’estate al lago will be your Italian practice book for the summer,
which will get you to work on your Italian a little day by day,
in a fun and chilled-out way.
Un’estate al lago is a YA book that tells the story of Sabrina, a 17-year-old girl who goes on holiday with her parents to Lake Garda. She brings her diary with her and writes down all her adventures there. Needless to say, I have taken inspiration for this book from my summers at Lake Garda and this is why the book is set in 1995.
The book is divided into 9 chapters, and each chapter contains a diary entry written by Sabrina, who is the main character in the story, and a series of exercises on comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, and writing, for a total of 70 pages of Italian practice. To help you practice listening, I have also recorded the audio files of each chapter. Also, there will be sections about Lake Garda and Italian culture.
As I said, it is intended as a fun and relaxed way to practice Italian. This means that each activity won’t be too heavy on the grammar side and will focus on slang, idioms, and other cool stuff. There’s even a dedicated playlist!
It is a fun and easy practice book, but it has been written and designed after years of using practice books with my students, keeping in mind what is useful and interesting for learning purposes. So it’s not just having fun; it’s also learning at the same time!
So if you want to immerse in the Italian language this summer,
Un’estate al lago is the perfect for you!
It will give you an opportunity not to lose touch with your Italian and practice the language in a very light and summery way, without the pressure of a standard exercise book. You’ll laugh at Sabrina’s teenage quirkiness, and I am sure you’ll be taken back to your summer memories too – but while practicing Italian!
But let me recap what it is, just very quickly.
What it is
It is an Italian practice book designed for you to study Italian over the summer. It is a YA book that tells the story of Sabrina, a young girl who goes on holiday with her parents and writes her adventures in her diary.
The book is divided into 9 chapters, and each chapter contains a diary entry by Sabrina, exercises on comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and creative writing, basically 70 pages of Italian practice! There will also be sections about Garda Lake and cultural references. The package includes audio files of each chapter and a cool 1990s summer playlist.
It is for you if
- Your level of Italian is B1/B2 (intermediate)
- You want something fun to practice Italian over the summer
- You want to learn more about Italian slang and idioms
- You like YA books and teenage stories
It is not for you if
- You are an absolute beginner in Italian
- You are looking for a structured exercise book with grammar lessons
- You do not like YA books at all!
(You’ll get your PDF and the audio files in your purchase receipt email message)
What you get if you buy the book
- A fun teenage story set in Italy
- Comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and creative writing exercises (with keys)
- A PDF file with 70 pages of Italian practice and fun
- Some information about Lake Garda
- Sections about Italian culture, slang, and idioms
- Audio files of all 9 chapters
- A special summer playlist
(You’ll get your PDF and the audio files in your purchase receipt email message)