Edulingua School is the site of the University for Foreigners in Siena’s Exam for Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language CILS and also organizes specific preparatory courses for the exam.
CILS is the official title awarded to students of Italian denoting the degree of linguistic competency which is recognized by the Italian State on the basis of an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The CILS certification is useful for several reasons: for the enrollment in the Italian universities, for the non-native Italian teachers, for a job and also for everybody who wants to know their linguistic competency.
The CILS is officially recognized by the Ministry of the University and Research as the admission certification for foreign students to Italian universities, which means that the students coming from non-European countries won’t have to take an Italian exam to access the Italian universities courses if they have a CILS Second Level – B2 and it also gives the student a score in the list deriving from the entrance examinations in the different universities. Also, as regards the world of work, the CILS is recognized by many Italian and foreign companies as a condition for employment.
The certification system CILS covers all six levels of linguistic and communicative competence identified by the Common European Framework of Reference of the Council of Europe.
Each CILS level is autonomous and complete: the certification of each level declares an ability to communicate adequately in specific social, professional and study contexts.
Level CILS A1 is the initial level of the Italian learning process.
Level CILS A2 certifies an initial competence, but not yet fully autonomous in terms of communication.
Level CILS UNO - B1 is the base level of competence: it verifies the linguistic and communicative skills which are necessary to use the Italian language with independence and appropriately in the most frequent everyday situations.
Level CILS DUE - B2 is the intermediate level of linguistic and communicative competence. It provides a greater ability to use basic elements of the language and to handle a greater variety of situations, still typical of everyday life. Those who own this level are able to communicate effectively during a stay in Italy for study and in contact with the Italian language and culture for business reasons. .
Level CILS TRE - C1 is the superior level of linguistic and communicative competence: it provides an extension of the linguistic uses and contexts of communication. It allows to communicate not only in typical situations of daily life, but also in public and business formal relations.
Level CILS QUATTRO - C2 is the advanced level of linguistic and communicative competence: it provides a further extension of the linguistic uses and the real candidate's ability to dominate a wide range of communicative situations. It allows to interact not only in all the informal and formal communicative situations, but also in the professional ones.
The examination for obtaining the certificate CILS in each of the levels described consists of 5 parts:
It is mandatory to receive a positive assessment in all the specific parties to obtain a certificate; in case of negative evaluation in one of them, you will not need to repeat the entire exam, but you will simply have to repeat the individual section.
The exam sessions are held for the CILS in the months of June and December.
For more information about certification, costs of admission to the examination and specific training, please contact us at:
Additional information is also available on the website of the University for Foreigners of Siena: http://www.unistrasi.it/pages/1.asp?cod=39 or at the following email address: cils@unistrasi.it
