Monday, March 18, 2013

Spanish Language Certification

With more than 400 million native speakers, Spanish is one of the most popular international languages other than English and Mandarin. Besides, more than 60 million of people use Spanish as their second language. The facts above make Spanish as the most interesting language to learn in the world now. 

To measure someone’s proficiency in using Spanish, there is no doubt that standardized tests is needed as the strongly considered evidence about how good someone’s Spanish skills are. In this case, we may relate the test as the one similar to TOEFL or IELTS that are given to test someone’s proficiency in English. The result of the test will be an official certificate stating that the one joined the test has reached certain level in Spanish. Below are two of some Spanish standardized tests or certification to take and get considered certification in Spanish.
  • DELE (Los Diplomas de Espanol como Lengua Extranjera)
DELE - Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language- is a certification granted by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Spain. The institution that conducts the tests or examinations for the certification is Instituto Cervantes while the preparation, correction and the whole evaluation are handled by the University of Salamanca. The tests are divided into some different levels: 
    Diploma de Espanol A1 is for very basic range of common and simple expressions in Spanish.
-           Diploma de Espanol A2 is for basic range of common and simple expressions in Spanish.
-           Diploma de Espanol B1 is for sufficient linguistic ability in understanding common and simple expressions.
-           Diploma de Espanol B2 is for validating linguistic ability in understanding and responding common expressions in daily situations.
-           Diploma de Espanol C1 is for the fluency and ease of language structure usages.
-           Diploma de Espanol C2 is for advanced use of the language including specified cultural embedded within it.

  • CELU (Certificado de Espanol: Lengua y Uso)
The Certification of Use of Language in Spanish or CELU is a standardized certification designed for Spanish non-native speakers who need the certification of Spanish to be used in some Spanish spoken countries. Most applicants join the certification for either studying or working and this one is considered as supported or required document. The test of CELU is valid in Argentina, Brazil and China.

The applicants who can join the certification are the ones who are non-native speakers of Spanish and are 16 years old or more. There are two levels can be tested by joining the certification: Intermediate and Advanced. The tests are conducted twice a year on June and November. The application usually opens for applicants three months before the test.

There are two different sections of the test given to the applicants: written and oral test. For the written test, the applicants should finish all the questions given related to reading, listening and writing skills with 3 hours of time given. For oral test, the applicants have around 15 to 20 minutes to read short texts and discuss the texts in the end.

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