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Italian language certifications (part 1 – CILS and CELI)

Last Modified: June 23, 2022

Italian language certifications certify the level of proficiency of the Italian language a person has.
The commonest Italian language certifications are: CILS, CELI, PLIDA and CIC.

CILS

CILS stands for “Certificazione di Italiano come Lingua Straniera -> certification of Italian as a foreign language.” It covers six levels, which correspond to the language proficiency levels appearing in the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference):

QCER LEVELSCILS LEVELS
Basic UserA1
A2
Cils A1
Cils A2
Independent UserB1
B2
Cils Uno – B1
Cils Due – B2
Competent UserC1
C2
Cils Tre – C1
Cils Quattro – C2

After you have chosen your level, you have to pass an exam composed of five sections to get CILS:
• Listening Comprehension
• Reading Comprehension
• Writing
• Speaking
• Analysis of the structures of communication

For detailed information on each level, please refer to the official guidelines offered by the University of Siena.

For samples of past years’ examinations, please visit the website of the University for Foreigners of Siena.



CELI

CELI stands for “Certificato di conoscenza della Lingua Italiana -> Certificate of Knowledge of Italian Language”. It covers six levels:

CELI LEVELSQCER LEVELS
CELI ImpattoA1
CELI 1A2
CELI 2B1
CELI 3B2
CELI 4C1
CELI 5C2

In addition to these six levels, there are also two specific levels (limited to CELI impatto, and CELI 1-2) aimed exclusively at immigrants and adolescents.

For detailed information about CELI examinations, please visit the website of the University for Foreigners of Perugia.
Here’s a link where you can find some samples of CELI’s past years’ examinations.

To learn something about the other two Italian language certifications, namely PLIDA and CIC, have a look at Italian language certifications (part 2 – PLIDA and CIC)

To learn some tips on how to pass CILS, CELI and PLIDA exams, please refer to:

Exam preparation: CILS, CELI, PLIDA and CIC

How to prepare for CILS, CELI and PLIDA exams – listening

How to prepare for CILS, CELI and PLIDA exams – reading comprehension

How to prepare for CILS, CELI and PLIDA exams – writing

Italian speaking practice – How to prepare for cils celi and plida exams


Credits

Original image by PhotoMIX-Company

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  • Six reasons why you didn't pass the exam Cils, Celi and Plida
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Category: Italian Language CertificationsTag: CELI, Certifications, CILS

Next Post: Italian language certifications (part 2 – PLIDA and CIC) Italian-language-certifications-part-2-PLIDA-and-CIC»

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. ITT

    November 14, 2014 at 10:45 am

    You’re welcome! Thanks for reading 🙂

    Reply
  2. Paula

    August 18, 2017 at 2:11 pm

    Hi!

    This page is great, and the links to past papers are very useful.

    However, do you have any idea of when can we find past papers with the answers so we can check.

    Many thanks and kind regards

    Reply
    • Sos Italian

      August 19, 2017 at 10:10 am

      Hi Paula,

      thanks for reading. For CELI, the answers are included in past papers – look at the end of the papers. For CILS, instead, after you open the level of the past paper you want to download, you’ll find “soluzioni delle prove”, download it, the answers are there. I hope this helps, ciao.

      Reply

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