All you need to know about the Spanish DELE exam
If you are thinking of attending the DELE exam, this article could provide some important clues for you.
First off, we suppose you already know what that is, but we would like to refresh that DELE stands for Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera (Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language). As you may well assume, it is a test through which your sufficiency and command of the Spanish language. These are diplomas issued by the Instituto Cervantes, an institution whose goal is the promotion of the Spanish language and culture, on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science.
Being an official testing resource, the DELE exam has also been adopted by schools and universities to assess the skills of non-native Spanish speakers. And of course, there is the DELE preparation course, which we are able to provide you, offering professional native-speaking teachers.
DELE SPANISH LEVELS EXPLAINED
Of course, your level will be determined based on your preparation and the grades you get to score. The system is quite equivalent for most (if not all) of the European languages (German, Italian, etc.); it is precisely the system used in the EU.
Depending on your proficiency, your level will be considered as A, B and C with their subdivisions:
A1 INITIAL |
The test is aimed at students with an ability to use basic language in communication situations involving not complex or deep use of the language. The test is comprised by two sections: the first assesses reading and writing skills, while the second requests students to apply comprehension and speaking skills. The maximum score a student can get is 100, being the passing grade 30 in each section. |
A2 LOW INTERMEDIATE |
For students who understand commonly-used linguistic structures related to areas of experience particularly relevant to them (e.g. basic personal information, shopping, places of interest, professions, etc.). As in the A1 test, this is divided into two sections and relies on the same evaluating methodology, and the passing grade in each section is also the same. |
B1 INTERMEDIATE |
This is the for language users who are able to understand the main ideas of clear texts, in a language within a determinate context, as long as the topics have to do with work, studies or leisure. A B1 Spanish speaker should be able to handle most situations on a trip, produce simple texts about common topics or subject matters of interest, and describe experiences, events, wishes and hopes as well as very succinctly back his opinions. Here, candidates must first complete reading and listening comprehension tests, then finish a written expression and interaction test, and spoken interaction tasks. Once again, the passing grade for each section is 30 points. |
B2 ADVANCED |
For candidates who demonstrate sufficient linguistic competence to get the gist of a complex text, interact in conversations in a way that does not constitute an effort to the native participants in the conversation, and express pros and cons of a discussed topic. This test is again divided into two sections and students are given time to get a topic ready for the speaking task. As usual, the passing grade is 30 for each section. |
C1 HIGH ADVANCED |
Here, the candidates demonstrate they are able to understand a more widely difficult and longer texts as well as detect implicit meanings in them, express themselves with ease and find the right words at the precise moment, interact linguistically in social, academic and professional situations, use the language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes, and be able to write somewhat more complex texts. There are four tests here:
As usual, passing grade is 30 in each of the two groups of tests. |
C2 SUPERIOR |
Finally, as to the DELE exam, this result certifies that the candidate has nearly-native level, can face any kinds of academic, professional or daily life situation, express themselves in a spontaneous and correct way, be able to self-correct and correct others, produce quite complex texts, while using grammar in more creative ways and with remarkable precision and complexity. There are three tests:
Passing grade is 20 for each of the tests. |
CONCLUSION
If you want to learn Spanish and then becoming a certified speaker, you may enroll with us online. In this case, with Blablalang, the courses take place via Skype. We will hopefully meet and assist you to achieve your goals of becoming a proficient Spanish teacher (and with your DELE exam), with all the advantages that brings on the table.
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