Here’s the first in our new series of C1 (advanced) level Italian listening practice activities. And boy, is this one for you grammar-fiends! It had me sweating, I can tell you. If you’re not ready for such difficult material, not to worry… you can find other, easier listening tracks and transcripts by following these links: A1 […]
Il fu Mattia Pascal – Capitolo 5 (simplified book + audio)
Here’s the FINAL chapter from our simplified Italian book. If you don’t see the audio plug-in, click here to view this article on our website. [Read/listen to the whole story: Intro | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 ]
Il fu Mattia Pascal – Capitolo 4 (simplified book + audio)
Oh dear. Now there’s a love interest involved (the bella Adriana- the one with the ‘good character’) Mattia’s in trouble. Will he be able to live happily ever after? Or must his past catch up with him? Maybe he could bluff it out… Listen/read to find out!
Il fu Mattia Pascal – Capitolo 3 (simplified book + audio)
Desperately rushed today, so without further ado, here’s the latest chapter of our simplified e-book. Mattia’s left his old life (& wife) behind and is about to start a new one in Rome. Read/listen to find out how he gets on… (Go here to view this article on our website | Find the previous episodes […]
Il fu Mattia Pascal – Capitolo 2 (simplified book + audio)
Just as these days we buy lottery tickets in the vain hope of changing our lives for the better, so in Mattia Pascal’s era it would have been off for a day at the ‘casinò’ in the hope of winning big. Note the accented final letter of ‘casinò’ – that is to say ‘gaming house’. […]
Il fu Mattia Pascal – Capitolo 1 (simplified book + audio)
Yesterday you had the intro to our simplified version of Pirandello’s novel ‘Il fu Mattia Pascal’. If you didn’t get round to reading/listening to it yet, you can find it here. And perhaps sometime today you’ll find a minute for ‘capitolo 1’. Click the white arrow in the orange button of the audio plugin here […]
Hate your job? Bored with your partner? So, what’s to do?
Obviously that’s a completely hypothetical question… But one faced by the main character in Pirandello’s classic ‘Il fu Mattia’. What’s to do? Stick with the boring job and nagging partner? Or seize your chance to start a new life? Find out in our e-book version of the story, which we produced around a year ago […]
How to write an essay in Italian, even if you barely speak the language
In 2003 I scraped together my meager savings and signed up for the part-time MBA at Alma Business School, here in Bologna where I live. At the time, freelance English teaching was keeping me busy all hours, but didn’t generate much of an income. And as our third child had just been born, I was pretty […]
Three neglected secrets of writing well in Italian
You’re going to say “But I know that!” People always do. But then, when they need to write something, they don’t do these things. And the end result is weaker than it could have been… So pardon me, but I’m going to write about this anyway. To be reminded of the three neglected secrets of […]
How learning to write in Italian is like learning to dance
I don’t dance. Dancing doesn’t interest me in the slightest. But if I wanted to learn, I know how I’d go about it. I’d sign up for one of those ‘salsa’ courses, checking carefully first to make sure that the other students weren’t all men. I’d expect to be all left feet at first, but […]