Students taking Italian at school
If your school teaches Italian, I can give extra help with translation, set-work essays or the speaking exam.
Online A-Level Italian Tutor
One-to-one preparation for Edexcel A-Level Italian: the four themes, translation, essays and speaking.
- PhD-qualified Italian tutor
- Native Italian speaker
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Who it’s for
Extra support for A-Level Italian
Pupils who speak Italian at home
Speaking Italian well does not automatically mean writing it accurately, and the A-Level rewards accuracy. Lessons turn spoken fluency into accurate written Italian.
Read the article: A-Level Italian, turning spoken fluency into accurate writing
The qualification
The Edexcel A-Level at a glance
Edexcel A-Level Italian (9IN0) is assessed in three papers, all sat at the end of the course.
| Paper | What it covers | Share of the A-Level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Listening (30 marks), reading (30 marks) and translation into English (20 marks), in 2 hours. | 40% · 80 marks |
| 2 | Translation into Italian (20 marks) and written responses to two works (50 marks each), in 2 hours 40 minutes. | 30% · 120 marks |
| 3 | Speaking: theme discussion and independent research project (21–23 minutes, including 5 minutes’ preparation). | 30% · 72 marks |
The papers carry different numbers of marks, but each counts for the percentage shown.
The four themes
Four themes, twelve sub-themes
Papers 1 and 3 test four themes, each with three sub-themes, and the Paper 2 translation draws on them too. Lessons are built around all twelve.
1. Changes in Italian society
I cambiamenti della società italiana
- The evolution of the Italian family (L’evoluzione della famiglia italiana)
- Education (L’istruzione)
- The world of work (Il mondo del lavoro)
In lessons: vocabulary for family, school and work, then discussion practice on questions such as brain drain, gender equality and new ways of working.
2. Political and artistic culture
La cultura politica e artistica nei Paesi di lingua italiana
- Music (La musica)
- The media (I media)
- Cultural heritage (Il patrimonio culturale)
In lessons: vocabulary for music and the media, with discussion of freedom of expression and how the press shapes society and politics.
3. Italy, a society in evolution
L’Italia: una società in evoluzione
- The positive impact of immigration in Italy (L’impatto positivo dell’immigrazione in Italia)
- The problems of migration in Italy (I problemi della migrazione in Italia)
- The North/South divide (Il divario Nord/Sud)
In lessons: the vocabulary and arguments to discuss immigration, integration and regional differences, and to justify a point of view, something the speaking exam rewards.
4. From Fascism to the present day
Dal Fascismo ai giorni nostri
- Mussolini’s rise to power (L’ascesa di Mussolini al potere)
- Fascism during the Second World War (Il Fascismo durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale)
- From dictatorship to democracy (Dalla dittatura alla democrazia)
In lessons: the historical background in Italian, then reading practice and discussion on events from the rise of the Fascist Party to the fall of Mussolini and the Liberation.
Set works and research
Set works and the independent research project
Set works. Students study two literary texts, or one literary text and one film, from Edexcel’s prescribed list. Paper 2 has two essay questions, each on a different work.
The independent research project. This is the second half of the speaking exam. Students choose a subject in Italian-speaking culture or society, which can grow out of one of the four themes or be entirely their own. They research it using at least two written Italian-language sources, present it for up to two minutes, then discuss it with the examiner.
How I help students choose. I help each student pick a topic that interests them, can be researched in Italian and goes beyond the sub-themes, then turn it into a question to investigate. The project has to be the student’s own work, so I guide the choice rather than make it.
Paper 2
The set works: novels and films
For each work there are two questions, and the student answers one. The works below are from Edexcel’s prescribed list. I teach all of these works.
Literary texts
| Work | Author | Year | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Io non ho paura (novel) | Niccolò Ammaniti | 2001 | A boy in a remote southern village makes a discovery that puts his own family at the centre of a crime. |
| Marcovaldo (short stories) | Italo Calvino | 1963 | Seasonal stories about a labourer in a northern industrial city who keeps looking for nature in it. |
| Senza sangue (novel) | Alessandro Baricco | 2002 | A short novel about a woman who survives a killing in her childhood, and how the past catches up with her. |
| Volevo i pantaloni (novel) | Lara Cardella | 1989 | A girl in a conservative Sicilian village pushes against the limits placed on women. |
| Il giorno della civetta (novel) | Leonardo Sciascia | 1961 | A carabinieri captain investigates a killing in Sicily and meets a wall of silence about the mafia. |
| Jack Frusciante è uscito dal gruppo (novel) | Enrico Brizzi | 1994 | A teenager’s year of school, music and first love in Bologna. |
| Lessico famigliare (novel) | Natalia Ginzburg | 1963 | A family’s story in Turin, told through the sayings and habits of its members, across the Fascist years and the war. |
| Sei personaggi in cerca d’autore (play) | Luigi Pirandello | 1921 | Six characters interrupt a theatre rehearsal and ask to have their story performed. |
Films
| Work | Director | Year | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il Postino | Michael Radford | 1994 | A postman on a small island befriends the exiled poet Pablo Neruda. |
| Nuovo Cinema Paradiso | Giuseppe Tornatore | 1988 | A film director remembers his boyhood friendship with a village cinema projectionist in Sicily. |
| Va’ dove ti porta il cuore | Cristina Comencini | 1996 | An elderly woman writes to her granddaughter about her life and her choices. |
| I cento passi | Marco Tullio Giordana | 2000 | The true story of Peppino Impastato, who campaigned against the mafia in Sicily. |
| La grande bellezza | Paolo Sorrentino | 2013 | A Roman journalist reflects on his life among the city’s high society. |
| La vita è bella | Roberto Benigni | 1997 | A father shields his young son from the reality of a concentration camp. |
How lessons run
We begin by looking at the exam specification, the student’s current level and any feedback they have already received. From there, we decide what to work on first.
The content and pace depend on the student’s level and how quickly they want to progress. Many A-Level Italian students already speak Italian as native speakers, and their main weakness is usually writing and translation, so lessons often start there. Read why, with examples.
As confidence grows, tasks become more independent and more closely timed. After each piece of work the student gets detailed feedback on the mistakes that keep coming back and how to fix them.
Frequently asked questions
A-Level Italian tuition questions
Which exam board do you cover?
I prepare students for Pearson Edexcel A-Level Italian (9IN0). If you are not sure which board your school uses, ask your teacher or exams officer, or send me the course details.
Can you help with writing?
Yes. Paper 2 is entirely written, with a translation into Italian and two essays, and accuracy matters across the whole qualification. Lessons work on grammar, structure and using evidence from the set works.
Do students who speak Italian at home still need lessons?
Fluency is a real advantage in listening and speaking, but it does not make written Italian accurate. Lessons work on that gap.
Do you use past papers?
Yes. Pearson publishes past papers, mark schemes and examiners’ reports for 9IN0, and past papers are the best way to practise timing and exam technique.
What level of Italian do students need to start?
A good GCSE in Italian, or the equivalent, is the usual starting point. If the level is unclear, the free consultation is the place to talk it through.
How much do lessons cost?
Lessons start at £45 for a 60-minute session. The first 15-minute consultation is free.
Next step
Book a free consultation
Tell me about your course and what you want to achieve, and I’ll help you plan your preparation.