CILS/CELI Italian Exam Prep: A Practical 30‑Day Study Plan (A2–B2)

Italian exams like CILS and CELI reward something that most learners don’t do enough of:

targeted practice under time pressure.

This guide gives you a 30‑day plan you can actually follow, whether you’re aiming for A2, B1, or B2.

Table of contents

• Before you start: pick your level and materials
• How CILS/CELI prep should be structured
• Week 1: rebuild the core (grammar + high-frequency verbs)
• Week 2: listening + reading routines that mimic the exam
• Week 3: writing + speaking templates
• Week 4: full mocks + error log
• Verb checklist by level (what to know)
• The day before the exam

Before you start: pick your level and materials

First, be honest about your level. If you’re aiming for B2 but your verb control is closer to A2, your plan should reflect that.

Then pick:

• 1 grammar reference you trust
• 1 set of past papers or mock tests
• 1 listening source you can use daily (news, podcasts, YouTube)

How exam prep should be structured

Most people over-focus on “learning new grammar” and under-focus on the two things exams measure:

• speed (reading/listening under time constraints)
• accuracy (writing/speaking with fewer errors)

So your plan should always include:

• Daily: 20–30 minutes of input (listening/reading)
• Daily: 10–15 minutes of targeted grammar/verbs
• 3–4x/week: writing (short, then longer)
• 2–3x/week: speaking practice (even solo)
• Weekly: a timed mini-mock

Week 1: rebuild the core

Goal: stop bleeding points on basic structures.

Daily (60–75 minutes total)

• 15 min: conjugation drill on 10–20 high-frequency verbs
• 15 min: grammar review (one topic only)
• 20–30 min: reading (with an error log)
• 10–15 min: write 5–8 sentences using today’s grammar

Recommended verb focus

Start with verbs you’ll definitely use in an exam answer:

• essere, avere, fare, andare, venire, dire
• potere, dovere, volere
• sapere, conoscere, pensare, credere

Week 2: listening + reading routines that mimic the exam

Goal: train comprehension under time pressure.

• Listen once for gist (no pausing)
• Listen again and write down keywords
• Summarize in 3–5 Italian sentences

Week 3: writing + speaking templates

Goal: reduce hesitation and raise accuracy.

Writing template ideas (adapt to exam prompts)

• Opinion: Secondo me… In primo luogo… Inoltre… In conclusione…
• Email: Gentile… Le scrivo per… Resto a disposizione… Cordiali saluti…

Speaking: build “safe” sentence frames

• Penso che…
• Mi sembra che…
• È importante…

Week 4: full mocks + error log

Goal: simulate the exam and fix patterns.

Do at least 2 full mocks. After each one, build an error log with categories:

• Verbs/tense choice
• Articles/prepositions
• Pronouns (lo/la/ci/ne)
• Agreement (gender/plural)

Verb checklist by level

This is not official — it’s pragmatic: what you’ll actually use and what shows up constantly.

A2

• Present (regular + key irregulars)
• Passato prossimo basics (essere vs avere)
• Imperfetto basics (especially essere/fare)

B1

• Passato prossimo vs imperfetto choices
• Future (futuro semplice)
• Conditionals for politeness (vorrei, potrei)

B2

• Conditional + congiuntivo basics
• Pronouns and combined pronouns (me lo, glielo…)
• More advanced connectors: tuttavia, nonostante, inoltre

The day before the exam

• Do not cram new grammar
• Review your error log
• Do one short timed reading/listening section
• Sleep

If you want the highest ROI practice, focus on verb control + clear sentence structure. That’s where points are won.