What Is The DELE Exam?

For those of you who haven’t come across it before and are wondering what is the DELE exam? Let’s take a look together!

The DELE exam is the official Spanish language exam to test your proficiency.

It stands for Diploma De Español Como Lengua Extranjera which translates to Spanish Diploma As A Foreign Language.

The certificate is internationally recognised and can allow you to work and study in Spanish speaking countries.

It tests for all types of Spanish and not just Spanish from Spain, using dialogues from Argentina, Mexico and other places in the Spanish speaking world.

How Does The DELE Work?

The DELE is broken into four parts:

Speaking
Reading
Listening
Writing

And it tests you on all of these skills, weighting them the same. Each section will have a series of questions that you have to complete for each skill.

How Is The DELE Graded?

The DELE is graded using the CEFR (Common European Framework Of Reference For Languages).

This framework grades your language skills using A1 – C2.

A1 – Beginner
A2 – Upper Beginner
B1 – Intermediate
B2 – Upper intermediate
C1 – Advanced
C2 – Proficient

When you sign up for an exam you have to select the level that you would like to be tested on. So for example if you thought you were an A2 learner you would sign up for the A2.

Then when you take that exam you either pass or fail it. If you would like to take the B1 exam you have to sign up for the B1 exam separately.

How Do I Prepare For DELE?

In addition to being ready to take the exam, you’ll need to start serious preparations about two months in advanced.

Within these two months you will need to do past papers to not only prepare your exam skills but so that you’ll also know what to expect on the day.

We would recommend purchasing a textbook earlier than these two months and work your way through the grammar and vocabulary that go with the DELE exam to make sure that you’re prepared.

Check out the best textbooks for the DELE and make sure you prepare the right way!

Now you know what the DELE is, if you want to learn more about the exam then make sure you take a look at commonly asked questions about the DELE here.

If you’re considering taking the DELE then the most important thing to do is prepare well.

DELE exams are only conducted several times a year and can be expensive. In order to get the most out of your Spanish experience, you should make sure you prepare well for the exam before you take it.

By preparing well you will be more likely to get the results you want and have success with the DELE.

But if you are considering working or living in a Spanish speaking country, or even if you just want to improve your Spanish, then we couldn’t recommend the DELE more.

Let us know if you take it in the comments below.