Ciao! I’m Julia. If you’re reading this in late September with the December B1 session circled on your calendar, good — you still have time. Eight weeks, to be precise. Not enough to learn Italian from scratch, but (if you’re at A2) enough to turn decent Italian into a passed exam. Here’s the week-by-week plan, plus the deadlines you must not miss. Background reading: my B1 citizenship exam guide.
First: the dates (do this today)
- Register by mid-October. CILS/CELI/PLIDA registration closes roughly 40 days before the exam; December centres fill fast.
- Confirm your variant now: Cittadinanza if you only need citizenship, Standard if you also need university or work validity. (Why it matters.)
- Book your oral prep early: tutors’ November calendars fill with last-minute candidates. My exam preparation (48 Euros per 45-minute session) is 1-on-1 and scheduled around your session date.
Weeks 1–2: diagnose and patch
Sit one full official past paper under timed conditions — no dictionary, no pauses. Grade every section honestly. Your weakest skill gets half your study time from now on.
Patch the grammar that actually appears at B1: present, passato prossimo vs imperfetto (my guide), future, direct pronouns, ci/ne. Ignore everything else.
Weeks 3–6: the skill loops
- Listening (daily, 20 min): exam audio at natural speed — not slowed podcasts. (Level-graded listening as supplement only.)
- Writing (1 timed task/week): with teacher feedback against exam criteria. Self-correction doesn’t count.
- Speaking (2×/week): exam conditions, timer on. Record yourself describing pictures and giving opinions.
- Reading (2×/week): with a timer. Practice skimming for the question first, text second.
Week 7: full mock exam
Complete simulation — all sections back to back, plus a 10-minute oral with someone playing examiner. Fix your template phrases: picture description, opinion structures, formal email openers (business email register). Review the classic failures: speaking exam mistakes.
Week 8: sharpen, don’t expand
No new grammar. Re-do every task you ever got wrong. Re-read your error log. Sleep properly the last three nights — a tired brain drops a full grade in listening.
What if you’re below A2?
Be honest: 8 weeks won’t bridge A1→B1. The smart move is targeting the spring 2027 session and using autumn to build real foundations — my personal tutoring or the free crash course for the basics, then exam mode in January. A failed December costs you the fee and the confidence. Questions? Check my FAQ or message me with your level and target session — we’ll plan backwards from there. In bocca al lupo!