Certify your command of Italian with the CEDILS exam
The command of a second language is essential to achieve professional and business success. It is not enough to know the grammar rules of a language, it is necessary that we prove its understanding and handling. The CEDILS exam will allow us to have what is necessary to guarantee our knowledge of the Italian language.
It is important to know that the exams to evaluate the ability to use the Italian language are applied depending on the professional activity of the applicant who asks to be evaluated. There are specific competitions for each professional sector. If we are teachers dedicated to teaching Italian , CEDILS is the ideal way to guarantee our knowledge.
CEDILS is the acronym for Certificazione in Didattica dell Italiano a Stranieri (Certification of Teaching the Italian Language to Foreigners) and, as its name implies, it is applicable to teachers who teach the Italian language.
The fundamental advantage of this exam is that we will not need to obtain double previous certification to be able to apply to CEDILS. It will even suffice for us to present a university teaching degree, without the need for experience in teaching the language.
What skills are evaluated by CEDILS?
The Itals Laboratory of the Ca´Foscari University of Venice is the authority responsible for issuing the Italian certificate . This institute has studied for many years the specific skills that professionals dedicated to teaching the Italian language should have. The fruit of this research has been reflected in an examination that includes the following tests:
- Oral evaluation. Audio related to Italian culture is played. For 3 or 4 minutes, we will have to listen to the recordings and present their content.
- Command of writing in Italian. Written exams are applied at this stage; This test is scattered in four other phases:
1. Evaluation of the glotodidactic methodology. Analyze the factors that influence language. The aim of the glotto-didactics is to promote the effective learning of different languages.
- Teaching material . The teacher must be able to use teaching aids that facilitate the learning of their students. Teaching Italian must use teaching mechanisms appropriate to the age, circumstances and background of the students.
- Personal comment. A way in which the teacher will express his opinion on a certain aspect with the style that characterizes it.
- Grammar and sociolinguistic aspects of Italian. Italian has grammar rules that must be respected. In this exam the mastery that the teacher has over these rules is scored.
CEDILS considers the teaching resources of teachers. This allows a comprehensive assessment of language teaching skills and obtaining the necessary Italian qualification to open up greater professional opportunities.
How extensive can the set of exams be? CEDILS includes a total of five tests, which are applied in a period of 5 hours.
When does it apply to CEDILS?
It is possible to take the exam in the city of Venice, Italy. In this place a call is opened to apply as a candidate for the test. The exam for the certification of mastery of the Italian language is applied twice a year.
But if we can't travel to the city of Venice, we don't have to worry. If we live in Italy we can investigate in different offices where the CEDILS is applied once a year. Some universities that include the teaching of Italian in their study program make agreements with the certifying entity to apply for tests at their facilities.
On some occasions, groups of professors have requested to be applied for this exam in one of the university facilities or in an Italian cultural institution. It is worth finding out if these teaching groups exist within our city. If so, we will request the CEDILS application together with other teachers.
How to prepare for the tests?
Students diligently prepare to pass the exams and have a qualification that allows them to accredit a subject of their professional career. Teachers can also prepare before applying CEDILS.
We can all make Italian one of our main languages. No matter what our mother tongue is, we will apply our knowledge of Italian to the maximum. And this doesn't have to be a boring routine for us. We can search the Internet for films that are in Italian; preferably we should view tapes of different genres. This way we will be able to familiarize ourselves with the idioms of Italy, words that are sometimes only found in the culture of Italians and not in bilingual dictionaries.
Italian is a language rich in literary words. To increase our knowledge of that language, it is important that we are in constant contact with literature and multimedia material in Italian. Perhaps we have realized that much of the ballads in Spanish have their origin in Italian music. We can look up the Italian version and practice our favorite song, even in our brief moments of rest.
If we are regular readers of international newspapers and news, we will search the Internet for the Italian version of our favorite news portals. The preparation for CEDILS should include the most important news that impact on various areas of society. We have to read financial, sports, cultural news and all the material that we find in the news portal.
Although we already have mastered Italian grammar and idioms, we have to acquire knowledge about this culture. For example, if we learned Italian from a book that was written 30 years ago, we should know that some terms used in that work are no longer used. Back then the Italian lira was used as the official currency of Italy, but over time this currency was replaced by the euro. If we teach Italian to a financially literate student, they will surely question us about our updating in the language. It is time to refresh your knowledge about Italian culture.
There are platforms for us to enroll in one of the official language exams; we would do well to investigate one of them! There is nothing like increasing the chances of success in our career as Italian teachers through the CEDILS certification. With it, we add added value to teaching.