CIAM is an official Spanish exam center of Instituto Cervantes, which means that we can prepare our students to the exams of the Diplomas of Spanish as a foreign language (DELE in Spanish) and hold the exams at our own center. To register as an exam candidate at our center, click here and find us under DILOENESPAÑOL/CIAM.

Description of the courses

These are specific face-to-face and online courses which aim at helping students develop skills that allow them to feel more confident to complete the official Spanish language tests of the DELE exam, developed by the Instituto Cervantes.

The DELE diplomas are official qualifications which certify the degree of competence and command of the Spanish language, which are awarded by the Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain.

This diploma is of great value for those who want to study at a Spanish university or work in a Spanish-speaking country. Candidates can take the tests at different levels depending on their linguistic profile:

General exams (aimed at candidates aged 18 and over)	Exams for secondary school students (aimed at students aged 11 to 17)
DELE A1	DELE A1 for secondary school students
DELE A2	DELE A1 / B1 for secondary school students
DELE B1
DELE B2
DELE C1
DELE C2

For more information about DELE exams, visit the Instituto Cervantes website.

For more information on the dates of the DELE exam and how to register for it, visit the Instituto Cervantes website.

Recipients

Spanish learners who want to take the DELE exam of any level (A1-C2) and want to become familiar with its structure and the type of activities to be found in the exam, as well as learn about effective exam techniques.

Elements of the program

It includes:

• Initial interview before beginning the classes and learning needs questionnaire that will help us customize the class program.
• Personalized program designed to achieve our students’ learning goals.
• Our work sessions are dynamic and personalized. It is a perfect way to progress very quickly.
• Access to previous exams and the opportunity to develop and practice specific techniques for the exam.

Optional:

In the DELE preparation courses for levels A2 and B1, we offer a specific online course besides regular classes with a teacher. This online course takes place through an online platform developed by the Instituto Cervantes: AVE Global. The DELE preparation courses of AVE Gobal include didactic materials and are organized in three modules:

• Before doing the exam: activities to get to know the exam and its structure.
• Tests: activities developed according to the DELE exam. The oral expression and interaction test includes activities with videos of real candidates that allow students to get an exact idea of ​​the tasks.
• Exam practice: it recreates a real exam and includes answers.

Our face-to-face DELE preparation courses have several formats:

• The preparation courses for the DELE exams consist of 10 hours per week and can last 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks. They are organized in the months prior to the DELE exam dates. The course consists of 10 hours a week for groups of 3-12 students.
• We also organize DELE preparation courses, with individual classes throughout the year.
• It is also possible to combine a DELE preparation course with an ELE (Spanish as a foreign language) training course: passing the DELE exam is very important for many non-native Spanish teachers. For instance, in Italy ELE teachers receive credits from the Italian Ministry of Education after obtaining this diploma.
• DELE preparation course combined with a general or specific Spanish course: Students who do not have the level of linguistic competence necessary to pass the tests may choose to combine this course with general intensive Spanish courses.
• DELE A1 and DELE A2-B1 preparation courses for schoolchildren: groups of students from schools and high schools can take advantage of their stay of one or more weeks at CIAM to receive DELE preparation classes. If you are interested, you can ask us for information on price.

For more information, write to info@ciantoniomachado.com.

Objectives

The general and specific objectives of each course are designed with the student, based on a needs analysis.

Below you can find a number of general objectives required to pass the DELE exam, which are organized depending on the level.

A1

• To understand and use everyday expressions to meet immediate needs;
• To ask for and give basic personal information about oneself and one’s daily life;
• To interact in an elementary way with speakers, as long as they speak slowly and clearly and are willing to cooperate.

The A1 exam specifications, exam guide and exam models can be found here.

A2

• To understand and use frequently used expressions related to areas that are especially relevant to students due to their immediacy (basic information about themselves and their family, shopping and places of interest, jobs, etc.);
• To carry out simple and direct communicative exchanges on familiar or habitual aspects and to describe aspects of their past and their environment in a simple way;
• To make questions related to the students’ immediate needs.

The A2 exam specifications, exam guide and exam models can be found here.

B1

• To understand the main points of oral and written texts in standardized varieties of the language, as long as they deal with well-known topics such as jobs, studies or the daily life;
• To get along in most of the situations and contexts found in these areas;
• To produce simple and coherent texts on familiar topics or which are of personal interest, such as the description of experiences, events, wishes, plans and the expression of opinions.

The B1 exam specifications, exam guide and exam models can be found here.

B2

• To understand the main points of complex oral and written texts, even if they deal with abstract topics, are presented in different varieties of Spanish or have a technical nature;
• To interact with all types of speakers with a sufficient degree of fluency and spontaneity in a way that communication does not involve effort by any interlocutor;
• To produce clear and detailed texts on a variety topics, including those that involve dialectical analysis, debate or defense of a point of view.

The B2 exam specifications, exam guide and exam models can be found here.

C1

• To get along easily when processing a wide variety of oral and written texts of a certain length in any variety of the language, even recognizing implicit meanings, attitudes or intentions;
• To express oneself fluently, spontaneously and without effort;
• To find the appropriate expression for the situation and context, whether it is in the social, work or academic field;
• To use the language flexibly and effectively, showing correct use in the elaboration of complex texts and in the use of the organization and cohesion mechanisms that allow them to be articulated.

The C1 exam specifications, exam guide and exam models can be found here.

C2

• To get along in any situation in which it is required to understand nearly everything that is heard or read, regardless of the length of the texts, their complexity or degree of abstraction, the degree of familiarity with the topics they deal with, the variety of the language they use or the need to make inferences to know their content;
• To express oneself spontaneously with fluency and with semantic and grammatical precision, which makes it possible to differentiate subtle nuances in meaning even in academic and work settings with a high degree of specialization and complexity.

The C2 exam specifications, exam guide and exam models can be found here.

Methodology

The course is mainly practical. The sessions are organized around dynamics and activities that engage participants and help them become familiar with the structure of the DELE exam (test, tasks, grading criteria, etc.). They focus on the consolidation of learning objectives of the Spanish level that the student wants to certify and on the development of strategies to pass these tests.

The teachers

The teachers of our language and culture courses are in charge of planning and developing the classes of our programs. You can check their professional profiles here.

Certificate

At the end of the course and after taking the evaluation tests, students will receive a certificate that will state the number of hours of training and participation in the activities, as well as the objectives and contents of the course and the grade obtained.

Prices of DELE preparation courses

Duration	Course for 1 or 2 students (price / person)	Course for 3 or 4 students (price / person)	Price per student - groups  of 5-12 students
1 - 10 hours	35 euros / hour	To be determined	To be determined
10 hours	300 euros	200 euros	120 euros
20 hours	580 euros	380 euros	240 euros
30 hours	870 euros	570 euros	360 euros
40 hours	1120 euros	720 euros	480 euros

Terms and conditions of registration, payment, cancellations and visas: click here.