CILS – Onboarding Form
CILS – the Italian language certificate
We are a CILS center in Singapore. The CILS Certification is an officially recognized qualification that certifies the degree of linguistic-communicative competence in Italian as L2. The CILS Certification is the first certification of Italian to have adopted the system of six levels of linguistic-communicative competence proposed by the Common European Framework of Reference of the Council of Europe to have created specific certification modules for workers of foreign origin in Italy.
The CILS Centre is a research centre aimed at planning, developing, producing and administrating and validating the CILS certification. The CILS certification is a qualification issued by the university which declares the level of linguistic and communicative competences in Italian as a foreign language. The exams are designed to assess how learners use Italian to communicate in real-life situations.
The CILS exams offer an ample range of levels and uses that correspond to increasingly ample degrees of competence and to different social contexts of language use. There are six levels, following the guidelines in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: level A1, level A2, level ONE-B1, level TWO-B2, level THREE-C1, level FOUR-C2.
For levels A1, A2 and B1, CILS also offers modules for different types of participants:
o A1 and A2 module for integration in Italy, aimed at adult learners who live and work in Italy
o A1 and A2 for children aged 8 to 11 years who are in educational contexts in Italy and abroad
o A1 and A2 for adolescents aged between 12 and 15 years which are in educational contexts, in Italy and abroad
o B1 for adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years which are in educational contexts, in Italy and abroad.
The CILS Centre also offers exams for Chinese students on the Marco Polo – Turandot programme.
The exams take place at the exam centres, in Italy and abroad, authorized by the University of Foreigners of Siena. The exam administrators are trained by the CILS Centre.
The CILS Centre organizes training courses on language testing and assessment.
CILS is a member of EALTA (European Association for Language Testing and Assessment) and founding member of the CLIQ (Italian Certification of Quality).
The CILS Centre organizes teacher training courses on language testing and assessment.
CILS is a founding member of CLIQ (Italian Certification of Quality), a member of EALTA (European Association for Language Testing and Assessment) and a partner of ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe).
Why choose the CILS certification to certify your competence in Italian?
Because CILS
o guarantees the assessment of your competence in Italian as a foreign language, based on valid and reliable criteria
o is chosen each year by thousands of foreigners, young people and adults, in Italy and abroad; the exams open doors to higher education, such as enrolment at Italian universities, improve employment opportunities, and increase choice for study or work, and can be used in any further area in which a certain level of proficiency in the Italian language is required
o exams are held at exam centres which have been carefully examined and selected according to standards of quality and transparency and continuously monitored.
But there are also language learners who want to pass the exam to reach their target, some others to apply at the Italian Citizenship reach and get the B1 level which is the minimum requirement for the application.
Università per Stranieri di Siena
The Università per Stranieri di Siena is a university in Siena, in Tuscany in central Italy. It is one of the two Italian universities oriented towards study by foreign students (the other one, established in 1921, is in Perugia). Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.
Levels of the language certificate CELI with us!
CELI represents general-language skills in Italian and includes all six levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Every exam has four parts which is composed of a listening comprehension, a reading comprehension, a writing part and a speaking part.
This are the levels:
CELI Impatto – Level A1
CELI 1 – Level A2
CELI 2 – Level B1
CELI 3 – Level B2
CELI 4 – Level C1
CELI 5 – Level C2
Important things to know
You could start in all levels to get the language exam CELI. So if you already have a language level B1, you don’t have to write the exams for level A1, A2 and B1. You could start with CELI 3 to pass the exam for the level B2. So it is better to start with the next level to make a progress and to get better in the language you are learning.
Another important thing is the possibility to study in Italy. If you want to study at an Italian university, you should have at least the certificate CELI 3. With the certificates CELI 4 or CELI 5 you are on a par with Italian students.
There are only a few dates per year to write the exam. So check the dates (also the application dates) to be organised and ready to start learning.
Prepare to CELI
To prepare yourself for the language exam CELI you have to study seriously. Check some books with grammar tests, search a native speaker to practice your communicative skills and try to learn every day. Our language school offers also special preparatory courses in Italy, in collaboration with our Italian School partner, but of course also in Singapore, to be prepared for the language exam CELI is necessary.