Italian Language &
Culture Study Library.

Family structures and roles in Italian society · Generational relationships and obligations · Marriage, divorce, and changing family norms in Italy · Gender roles and evolving social expectations · Immigration and its effect on family cohesion · Comparison of Italian family values with other cultures

Italian dialects and their relationship to national identity · The role of language in cultural preservation · Italian identity in the diaspora (Italian-Americans, Italian-Australians, etc.) · Bilingualism and code-switching in Italian communities · Cultural identity and national pride in contemporary Italy · The influence of globalization and English on Italian language use

Italian Renaissance art and architecture (Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli, Raphael) · Opera as Italian cultural heritage (Verdi, Puccini, La Scala) · Italian cinema: neorealism (De Sica, Rossellini) and auteur tradition (Fellini, Visconti) · Italian literature: Dante Alighieri, Italo Calvino, Elsa Morante · Italian fashion and design (la moda, Made in Italy, Milan Fashion Week) · Beauty standards and aesthetic values in Italian culture · Contemporary Italian art and creative industries

Italian contributions to science and invention (Galileo, Volta, Marconi, Meucci) · Technology and daily life in contemporary Italy · Social media and its effects on Italian youth and culture · Digital literacy and the digital divide in Italy · Medical advances and bioethics in Italian public discourse · Environmental technology and sustainable innovation · The relationship between technology, work, and leisure

Healthcare and the Italian national health system (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale) · Education system in Italy: structure, university culture, challenges · Work, unemployment, and economic mobility (especially among Italian youth) · Food culture and the Mediterranean diet as quality-of-life factors · Housing, cost of living, and urban vs. rural life in Italy · Leisure, tourism, and the Italian concept of well-being (benessere) · Poverty, social inequality, and the north-south economic divide

Environmental issues in Italy: climate change, flooding (Venice acqua alta), industrial pollution · Italian political system: republic, parliament, frequent government changes · Immigration and refugee policy in Italy (Mediterranean crossings, integration debates) · Italy in the European Union: euro, EU regulations, Euroscepticism · Social movements and civic engagement in Italy · Organized crime (la mafia, camorra, ndrangheta) and anti-mafia culture · Gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and social progress debates in contemporary Italy

Formal vs. informal email register in Italian (Lei vs. tu; opening/closing conventions) · Identifying and responding to all required points in a prompt email · Italian email conventions: saluti, oggetto, firma · Vocabulary for requests, apologies, confirmations, and invitations · Subjunctive use in polite requests and expressions of doubt or hope · Conditional for polite register (vorrei, potrebbe, sarebbe) · Maintaining consistent register throughout a written task

Developing a clear thesis and structured argument in Italian · Citing and integrating all three sources (typically 2 written + 1 audio or graphic) · Discourse markers and connectives for argumentation (tuttavia, d'altra parte, sebbene, inoltre, pertanto) · Lexical range: avoiding repetition with synonyms and varied vocabulary · Cultural content integration: grounding the argument in Italian-speaking cultural contexts · Essay organization: introduzione, sviluppo, conclusione · Subjunctive and conditional use in hypothetical and concessive clauses · Formal register maintenance across 40 minutes of timed writing

Responding to a scripted conversation outline (5 exchanges × 20 seconds each) · Spontaneous spoken production under strict time constraints · Register calibration: formal (Lei) vs. informal (tu) in conversational scenarios · Fillers and hesitation devices in Italian (allora, dunque, ecco, sai) · Expressing agreement, disagreement, surprise, and suggestions in Italian · Asking follow-up questions and maintaining conversational coherence · Pronunciation, intonation, and fluency as scoring dimensions · Responding to unexpected conversational turns using the advance outline

Four-minute preparation + two-minute recorded oral presentation · Comparing a cultural feature of an Italian-speaking community with the student's own community · Identifying Italian-speaking communities: Italy (regional variation), San Marino, Swiss Italian cantons, diaspora communities · Structuring an oral comparison: introduzione, punti di confronto, conclusione · Vocabulary for similarity and contrast (mentre, al contrario, similmente, a differenza di, invece) · Cultural depth: moving beyond surface features (food, landmarks) to values, norms, and social structures · Managing preparation time: outline strategy within a 4-minute window · Staying within the 2-minute recording limit without being significantly under