Instituto Cervantes (IC) & Universidad de Salamanca (CIUS)
The Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera (DELE) were initially set up by the Ministry of Education of Spain in 1989. For the first two years, they were entirely run and organised from ministerial headquarters and administered exclusively abroad through the network of Embassies and Consulates of Spain where suitable personnel and other resources were available. Currently, the management of the Diplomas is the responsibility of the Instituto Cervantes, which provides academic and administrative directives, acts as Central Examinations Board and issues the certifications on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education.
The Instituto Cervantes, a state organisation created by the Spanish Parliament in March 1991 for the promotion of the Spanish language and Spanish culture abroad, is responsible for the administration of the tests world wide. The Instituto Cervantes runs a network of teaching and cultural centres in over 20 countries and employs over 500 specialists in the teaching of Spanish as a Second or Foreign Language. Instituto Cervantes centres offer preparation courses for the tests and act as examination centres; in addition, the Instituto's Oficina de Diplomas in Madrid is also responsible for managing a network of approved examination centres, both in Spain and abroad, and for appointing examiners. The tests are currently available at nearly 300 locations in more than 80 countries.
The University of Salamanca , which was founded in 1218, has an international scientific and intellectual reputation which is as strong today as in past centuries. This reputation is due in part to its work in the promotion of the Spanish language and Spanish culture, and its teaching and research activities in the field of Spanish as a Foreign Language. For the last thirty years these activities have been under the direction of the University's International Courses Department.
The University of Salamanca issued its own Diplomas in Spanish until in 1991, when an agreement made with the Spanish Ministry for Education involved the University in developing, setting, marking and evaluating the tests for the official Diplomas in Spanish as a Foreign Language (DELE). In 2002 the Ministry of Education devolved full responsibility for the DELE examination system to the Instituto Cervantes, which intends to renew the agreement with the University of Salamanca for the outsourcing of these tasks.
The Diplomas are issued on behalf of the Ministry of Education of Spain by Director of the Instituto Cervantes.
The examinations presented in this document are (in order of increasing difficulty):
Diploma de Español (Nivel Inicial)
Diploma de Español (Nivel Intermedio)
Diploma de Español (Nivel Superior)
The examinations take place twice a year, in May and November, although special dates are sometimes arranged for specific countries or candidate populations. Candidates can sit the examinations at the centres of the Instituto Cervantes, Embassies and Consulates of Spain or at other approved examination centres. Results are available through the examination centres within three months of the examination date.
For further information regarding these examinations:
Sr. José Ramón Parrondo Rodríguez
Instituto Cervantes
C/ Alcalá, 49
E-28014 Madrid (Spain)
Tel +34-91-587 7277
Fax +34-91-587 0098
E-mail parrondo@cervantes.es
Internet diplomas.cervantes.es
Other links in the cervantes.es domain:
cvc.cervantes.es
www.cervantes.es
Sr. Director
Cursos Internacionales
Universidad de Salamanca
Patio de Escuelas Menores, s/n
Salamanca 37008
Spain
Tel +34 923 294418
Fax +34 923 294504
Internet www.usal.es/curespus
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