Speaking Italian can offer you great advantages, including access to new job and academic opportunities in Italy or with Italian companies and universities abroad. For this reason, we will now discuss the different Italian language certifications that exist and how to access them.
What are Italian language certifications?
Italian language certifications are accreditations issued by official Italian language institutions that are responsible for providing you with documentation that establishes your level in the language. They are recognised by many organisations and institutions around the world, so you can say that you have an institutional certification.
The results of these certifications are established according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Foreign Languages, commonly abbreviated as CEFR, which classifies the language into different levels ranging from A to C, with A being the most basic level and C the most advanced.
As established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Foreign Languages, there are currently a number of official institutions in charge of spreading the Italian language and conducting these official exams where you can obtain the Italian language certification you need to aspire to better opportunities.
CELI certificate
The CELI is the official certificate issued by the Università per Stranieri of Perugia, which has been an institution in charge of disseminating the Italian language for many years and is one of the oldest in existence.
This certificate assesses your level of knowledge of Italian and distinguishes certain levels according to certain characteristics, such as whether you want to certify your level for citizenship or for other purposes. In summary, there is a general certificate, one for immigrants and one for teenagers.
In the case of the general certificate, all levels (A, B and C) are assessed; whereas in the case of the certificate for immigrants and adolescents, only very specific levels are considered.
In any case, these tests are usually held in June and November. However, there are also some business-specific Italian language certifications, which are held at other times of the year.
CILS certificate
The CILS certificate is issued by the Università per Stranieri of Siena, which was the first institution to formalise the teaching of Italian to foreign students in Italy.
In this exam your knowledge of the language will be assessed according to the six levels established by the CEFR. That is, from level A1 to C2. You can take this test in June and December.
CERT.IT
The CERT.IT certificate is issued by the Università degli Studi Roma Tre, which is among the best universities in the world. Obviously, having one of the Italian certifications issued by this institution will give you recognition and prestige in any company or university you wish to enter.
The Italian certification issued by this institution has 5 levels. These range from level A2 to C2. So to take this test you have to acquire a series of necessary knowledge according to the level you want to certify.
The particularity of this test is that it is intended for foreign students who want to certify their level of competence in Italian for Italian institutions with extensions in their own country or abroad.
PLIDA certificate
The PLIDA certificate is an accreditation issued by the Dante Alighieri Institute. This is one of the Italian language certifications that takes into account the six levels of the language. It is one of the exams that offers the most opportunities each year, as there are approximately six sessions per year.
How do I obtain these Italian language certifications?
Taking the test to obtain these Italian language certifications is a fairly simple task. The most complex part is reviewing and studying to successfully pass the exam.
To find out the annual dates when you can take the exams for the Italian language certifications, you can ask your language school. They will be able to give you all the information you need to prepare for and take these tests, which will open up many opportunities for you.
