The2026 Maturitàbrings back to the forefront a classic teaching question: how to train for an oral interview that truly assesses skills and not just the “repetition” of content. Forupper secondary school teachersStructure of the presentation: clear opening, thesis/guiding idea, development, examples, conclusion, and handling questions.teaching with artificial intelligenceMeaningful connections: interdisciplinarity not as a “chain of names,” but as a motivated relationship between concepts, methods, and contexts.
The article proposes an operational method to prepare for the2026 Maturità oral examwith AI: learning objectives, a 4–6 week pathway, examples of prompts for theoral simulationOpenings and a map of the discourse
What changes in the 2026 Maturità oral interview (and what remains unchanged)
The most recent guidelines on the oral interview confirm the framework: the oral remains anintegratedtest, aimed at verifying transversal skills (argumentation, connections, awareness) in addition to disciplinary knowledge. In many schools, the perceived “new features” mainly concern the request for greater coherence between planning, expected competencies, and assessment criteria: less room for impromptu performances, more attention to processes and communicative mastery.
Translated into concrete learning objectives for the2026 Maturità, it is worth planning the year (or the final period) by working on four axes, which we will then find again in the simulation and in the rubrics:
- Structure of the presentation: clear opening, thesis/guiding idea, development, examples, conclusion, and handling questions.
- Meaningful connections: interdisciplinarity not as a “chain of names,” but as a motivated relationship between concepts, methods, and contexts.
- Critical thinking: comparing interpretations, using evidence, awareness of limits (including those of digital sources).
- Communicative and metacognitive skills: appropriate vocabulary, time management, self-correction, awareness of study strategies.
From an assessment standpoint, the key issue for class councils is making criteria and levels visible: a grid that includes content, discourse organization, conceptual accuracy, ability to make connections, use of examples, response to follow-ups, and argumentative quality. The implication for planning is clear: if we want students to perform well in the oral, we must offerfrequent and brief opportunities for speakingduring the year, not only “long oral tests” right before the exam.
Designing an oral training pathway: routines, timing, and criteria (without “teaching by rote”)
An effective pathway for theCreate a short rubric (4–6 indicators) and use it as a “contract”: the same one for in-class simulations and independent practice.is based on distributed practice and active retrieval: short, repeated exercises with immediate feedback. The goal is to avoid two traps: (1) “memorizing” a script, fragile under follow-ups; (2) improvising without structure. Below is a 5-week proposal (adaptable to 4–6), designed to be sustainable in class and at home.
Week 1 –Openings and a map of the discourse: 2–3 minute micro-activities per student (or in pairs) on “opening + thesis + 2 points.” The teacher provides a standard outline (e.g., context → key concept → example → why it is relevant). Assessment is formative only: clarity and coherence, not completeness.
Week 2 –Motivated connections: “bridge” exercises (1 minute) in which the student must connect two given concepts by explaining the link (cause-effect, analogy, opposition, historical evolution, method). A prompt that works well here is: “Connect A and B with a thesis sentence and an example.”
Week 3 –Argumentation and counterargumentation: mini-debate or “claim–evidence–reasoning” on a disciplinary topic. Add a fixed follow-up: “What is a limitation of this interpretation?” or “What objection would you expect?”. This directly trains handling the commission’s questions.
Week 4 –Short simulation with rubric: 6–8 minute interviews (in rotation), with a 4-level rubric. A peer observer fills in two indicators (e.g., “clarity” and “use of examples”), then provides descriptive feedback (“I understood well when…”, “I didn’t understand when…”).
Week 5 –Consolidation and anxiety management: gradual presentation (first in pairs, then small group, then class), brief breathing techniques, “recovery plans” if you go blank (e.g., rephrase the question, ask for clarification, return to the thesis). Anxiety is reduced above all through predictable structure and repetition in safe contexts.
Key element: a lean, shared rubric, used consistently. Example indicators (4 levels: initial/basic/intermediate/advanced):accuracy,discourse organization,connections,argumentation, handling questions, vocabulary, examples. With this base, AI becomes useful because it allows increasing the “reps” of practice without saturating teacher time.
Oral simulation with AI: prompts, roles, and scenarios to train connections and critical thinking
For preparation for the2026 Maturità oral exam, AI can play two didactically sound roles:examiner(asks questions, presses, asks for clarification) andtutor(helps improve structure, vocabulary, examples, coherence). The difference matters: as an examiner it trains performance; as a tutor it trains the process.
Examples of ready-to-use prompts (to be adapted to subject and class). The idea is to ask the AI to follow a rubric and use progressive difficulty, so theoral simulationbecomes targeted training, not a “chat.”
Prompt 1 (examiner role, basic level):“Act as an exam examiner. Question me on [topic] from the syllabus covered in class. Ask 5 graded questions: 2 on comprehension, 2 on application/analysis, 1 on interdisciplinary connection. After each of my answers, ask a clarifying follow-up. Keep a formal tone and assess with a mini-rubric (clarity, accuracy, examples) with concrete suggestions.”
Prompt 2 (examiner role, critical thinking):“Question me on [theme]. After my answer, propose a plausible objection or an edge case and ask me to defend or revise the thesis. Do not introduce content outside the syllabus: if data are missing, ask me to make assumptions explicit.”
Prompt 3 (tutor role, improving the presentation):“I will paste a transcript of my oral answer (about 90–120 seconds). Analyze it with this rubric: structure, cohesion, disciplinary vocabulary, examples, time management. Then rewrite an improved version while keeping my content, and give me 3 short exercises to improve the weakest point.”
Prompt 4 (controlled interdisciplinary connections):“Generate 6 possible connections between [subject A: topic] and [subject B: topic], but for each indicate: (a) the bridging concept, (b) why the connection is legitimate, (c) a concrete example. Avoid superficial connections based only on shared words.”
For teachers, the most delicate part is instructional safety: reducing the risk of made-up answers, protecting personal data, and maintaining coherence with the syllabus covered. Practical rules for usingAI for oral questioningresponsibly:
- Constrain the context: provide a list of topics/lessons actually covered, or paste verified notes.
- Ask the AI to flag uncertainty: “If you’re not sure, say so and ask clarifying questions.”
- Separate practice and assessment: use AI for training and feedback, not as an automatic grading tool.
- Avoid sensitive data: no full names, certifications, health information; use anonymous profiles or initials.
With these rules, the simulation becomes a teaching device: it increases the number of attempts, speeds up feedback, and frees teacher time for qualitative observation (listening, argumentative stance, emotional management).
Quizzes, flashcards, and subject review: using AI for quick checks and formative feedback
Preparing for the oral is not only “speaking well”: it requires minimal automatisms on definitions, procedures, dates, authors, theorems, vocabulary. Here AI is useful for building active-retrieval activities in a few minutes: short quizzes, flashcards, open-ended questions with marking criteria. From the perspective ofteaching with artificial intelligence, the goal is to produce feedback that helps the student understand “what kind of mistake” they are making, not just whether it is right or wrong.
Examples of effective requests to AI (for teachers or students, with clear instructions):
Targeted quiz (aligned with the syllabus):“Generate 12 multiple-choice questions on [topic] based only on these notes: [paste notes]. For each question indicate the correct answer and a 2–3 line explanation. Include 4 typical distractors (common mistakes).”
Open-ended questions with criteria:“Create 6 open-ended questions on [topic] (answer 6–10 lines). For each, indicate 3 quality criteria and 2 examples of a frequent mistake. Do not add content not present in the attached notes.”
Flashcards (spaced repetition):“Turn this list of concepts into 25 Q/A flashcards. Keep questions short, answers essential, and add 5 ‘why’ flashcards to connect concepts (not just definitions).”
Formative feedback on a student’s answer:“Evaluate this answer against these criteria: accuracy, completeness, vocabulary, examples. Highlight 2 strengths and 2 areas to improve. Then propose a follow-up question to check whether I really understood.”
To avoid hallucinations and inconsistencies, two measures almost always work: (1) provide a controlled textual base (notes, chapters, maps) and explicitly ask to “use only this”; (2) include a verification step: “List the statements that could be controversial and ask me to confirm.” In class, you can turn this into source-literacy work: students learn to distinguish between a plausible answer and a verifiable answer, a useful skill even beyond the2026 Maturità.
How StudierAI can support teachers and students in preparing for the 2026 oral exam
If you want to make work on simulations, quizzes, and rubrics systematic, a practical approach is to use a single environment that helps you generate materials, track progress, and personalize levels.StudierAIwas created precisely to support study and review with training logic: useful both for students and for teachers who want to structure repeatable activities. If you’re interested in understanding the approach and philosophy of the project, you can also consult theabout uspage.
Suggested workflow (replicable across different subjects) to prepare for the2026 Maturità oral examwith a coherent framework:
- Define the scope: list of thematic cores actually covered and expected competencies (presentation, connections, argumentation).
- Create a short rubric (4–6 indicators) and use it as a “contract”: the same one for in-class simulations and independent practice.
- Generate sets of graded questions for each core: 5–8 basic questions + 3 critical follow-ups + 2 “legitimate” interdisciplinary connections.
- Pair review and quick checks: quizzes and flashcards to automate prerequisites, then micro-orals to integrate and argue.
- Monitor progress: not only scores, but recurring indicators (e.g., “missing examples,” “skips logical steps,” “answers too long”).
In practice, you can assign students a weekly routine: 10 minutes of quizzes/flashcards + 1 short simulation (recorded or transcribed) + self-assessment with a rubric. In class, collect light evidence (exit ticket: “which follow-up was the hardest and why?”) and intervene with targeted mini-lessons (e.g., how to build examples, how to define a concept in 20 seconds, how to handle an objection).
If you want to try this framework without further increasing the workload of preparing materials, you canstart for freeand build a first set of simulations and quizzes on a single thematic core. Start small: a shared rubric and 2 standard prompts for the simulation. Then, week by week, increase the variety of scenarios (a more pressing examiner, more selective connections, requests for counterargumentation).
In summary, preparing for the oral does not mean “training” a performance, but building observable competencies with stable criteria. AI, if used with constraints and rubrics, makes a greater number of attempts and feedback possible, improving fairness and transparency. It is a concrete way to ensure that the2026 Maturitàbecomes an opportunity for learning and not just a milestone to “get through.”
