Blogs Comunitat Valenciana

DELE in Valencia – Diplomas in Spanish as a Foreign Language

¡Haz el DELE en Valencia!

Spanish language is gaining increasing relevance. The offers in Spanish courses and students have been risen during the last years. Hence, I decided to start studying this language 3 years ago. At the beginning, Spanish was an extra accomplishment to include in the curriculum which was supposed to improve my opportunities in the labour market. However, shortly after the first lessons it became my hobby: I started watching films and listening to music in Spanish, I used to meet with Spanish speakers to carry out an exchange of languages, and of course, spent my annual leave in the Valencian Community.

After three years of classes, I hadn’t obtained any a certificate attesting my knowledge in Spanish, for that reason, I decided to enrol in the C1 level DELE exam by the Cervantes Institute. Three times a year you can take the DELE exam of the different levels: May, August and November. The registration period to take the exams can be done, approximately, until one month before the date of the exam. For instance, in my case i registered for taking the exam via online through the web page of Costa de Valencia.

There, I enrolled in a DELE preparation course for 3 weeks. This course was specifically designed to exceed the requirements and contents of DELE C1 level. Classes were made up of only 4 students. During the lessons, we practiced the different tasks models that appear on the exam (reading comprehension and use of the language, integrated skills: listening comprehension and written expression and interaction and integrated skills: reading comprehension and oral expression and interaction). In addition, we took a mock exam which included all the tasks of the exam to prepare us optimally.

The last day, during the afternoon, the exam became real with the oral examination. At the beginning I was very nervous, but little by little the restlessness disappeared. So, I was already taken the first step, although more needed to be done. The next day, I showed up at 8 am at the Examination Center, as it’s appropriate to be one hour in advance before the start of the examination. The fact is that you aren’t alone with your nerves: very often, more than 100 students of Spanish wish to take this exam. For this reason, before the tests there are controls of a great amount of documents and the procedure is indicated to all the participants.
After starting the examination the priority is: concentration! Whoever thinks DELE exams are easy is wrong. In order to achieve this internationally recognized certificate it is required a lot of effort by students and who passes it can be very proud of himself. Moreover, this certificate is always a great advantage in seeking for a job or applying for a university place.

In 2013, Valencia FEDELE offers the following dates of taking part DELE exams:
Saturday, 25th May, levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2
Friday, 23rd August, levels B1, B2, C1
Saturday, 23rd November: levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2