Members
Instituto Cervantes (IC) & Universidad de Salamanca (CIUS)
 |
 |
 |
The Diplomas in Spanish as a Foreign Language (DELE) are official qualifications accrediting levels of proficiency in the Spanish language. They are issued by the Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Ministry of Education of Spain.
The Instituto Cervantes is a public organisation created by the Government of Spain in March 1991. Its primary aim is to disseminate and promote Spanish language and culture throughout the world and is specifically responsible for administering the DELE examinations.
The Diplomas in Spanish were created by the Spanish Ministry of Education in 1989. Since 2002, the Instituto Cervantes has been in charge of the full examination system and responsible for academic and administrative regulations and marketing policies; it also acts as a Central Examinations Board and issues the Diplomas. The Instituto Cervantes operates a network of cultural and educational centres in over 30 countries and employs thousands of specialists in the teaching of Spanish as a second or foreign language. Instituto Cervantes centres offer preparation courses for the tests and are themselves DELE examination centres. The tests are currently administered at more than 700 centres in over one hundred countries.
Founded in 1218, the University of Salamanca enjoys a scientific and intellectual reputation internationally and it is as prestigious today as it has been in previous centuries. Its great prestige is partly due to its efforts to promote Spanish language and culture and its research and teaching activities in the field of Spanish as a foreign language. Over the last thirty years, Cursos Internacionales, an executive division of the University of Salamanca, has focused on the dissemination and teaching of Spanish outside Spain as well as the assessment of language skills. The University of Salamanca issued its own certifications in Spanish until 1991, when it agreed with the Ministry of Education of Spain to undertake the development, production and grading of the examinations leading to the DELE Diplomas. The Instituto Cervantes has been delegating these tasks to the University of Salamanca since 2002.
The tests that are part of the DELE assessment and certification system are, in ascending order of difficulty:
Diploma in Spanish C2 Level
Diploma in Spanish C1 Level
Diploma in Spanish B2 Level (formerly Intermedio)
Diploma in Spanish B1 Level (formerly Inicial))
Diploma in Spanish B1 Level - Schools (formerly Inicial Escolar)
Diploma in Spanish A2 Level
Diploma in Spanish A1 Level
For more information about each test, please follow the links.
General information about the DELE assessment and certification system
The DELE proficiency certificates are internationally recognized and enjoy considerable prestige, not only among public and private institutions and educational authorities, but also in the business world and in the labour market.
In many countries, the Diplomas in Spanish have been adopted by educational authorities and schools as a complement to their own formal assessment programmes. They are useful for enabling job promotion and access to education, both in Spain and in other countries where the tests are administered.
The examination sessions are held three times a year, in May, August and November. Candidates can take the tests at Instituto Cervantes centres, Spanish embassies and consulates, universities and other accredited examination centres. The results are released two months after the test administration date.
Registration for the tests must be processed through a DELE examination centre within the time limits established for each session. The Instituto Cervantes can make special arrangements for access to the DELE tests in special conditions for candidates who, whether they are in confinement or suffer from a disability, cannot take the exams in standard conditions.
The Instituto Cervantes centres offer preparation courses for exams, as do other Cervantes accredited centres and other institutions: schools, colleges, non-profit organisations and universities. The Institute Cervantes provides resources and references on line for self-study as well as tools for searching for courses:
For further information about the DELE examination system, please contact:
Dirección Académica
Instituto Cervantes
C/ Alcalá, 49
E-28014 Madrid (España)
Tel. +34-91-436 7071 / 587 0081
Fax +34-91-587 0098
Correo-e: diplomas@cervantes.es
Internet: www.cervantes.es
diplomas.cervantes.es
Cursos Internacionales
Universidad de Salamanca
Área de evaluación
Patio de Escuelas Menores, s/n
E-37008 Salamanca (España)
Tel. +34-923-294418
Fax +34-923-294504
Correo-e: evaluacióndele@usal.es
Internet: www.cursosinternacionales.es