Summer is basically here and you are wondering how you’ll 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 what you need is 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 we were actually studying. It was such a fun part of my summer that I decided to create 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 conversation, we use many graded books with exercises and they work great because students are involved in the story they are reading but also have lots of exercises and activities to do. They are really useful in class but they work great for self-study as well and that’s why I have created one myself: It’s called Un’estate al lago and it is a book that will help you practice reading, listening, and writing over the summer.
It 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, 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 way to practice Italian in a fun and relaxed way, which means that each activity won’t be too heavy on the grammar side and it will be focused on a lot of slang, idioms, and other cool stuff. There’s even a dedicated playlist! And to craft the best experience possible, I have also set up a dedicated email account, so that I can chat with students about the book.
So it is a fun and easy practice book but it has been written and designed following the experience of using practice books with my students for years, keeping in mind what is useful and interesting for learning purposes. So it’s not just having fun, it is 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 of 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.
Also, don’t forget that you’ll have a dedicated email account for you to send me your comments about the book!
It is for you if
- Your level of Italian is B1/B2
- 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 the 9 chapters
- A special summer playlist
- A dedicated email address to chat with me about the book
(you’ll get your PDF and the audio files in your purchase receipt email message)