CELI CILS exams for B1 or B2-ITALIAN

[CardiffGiant]

I am considering taking a certification exam in Italian and I could use some guidance about which exam to take. In researching certification exams, it looks like there are two different Italian universities that conduct two different certification exams—CELI and CILS. Is one of these exams generally considered to be a better measure of one’s language learning level? Is one of the exams more accepted in Italy? Which one did you take and why did you select that particular type of exam? How did you go about figuring out which level(B1, B2 etc) to take?
For those who have taken one of these exams, did you find it to be a worthwhile experience, and did the preparation process advance your language level? What preparation method and materials did you use?

Apologies, in advance, for the number of questions. Thanks

[lavengro]

I don't have any response to your questions, but I will be interested in hearing the responses of others.

I understand that in addition to the CELI and CILS, there is also the PLIDA (Progetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri) administered by the Dante Alighieri Society and held in a number of countries, under the academic approval of the Sapienza University of Rome. No idea whether the PLIDA is more accepted, or less accepted, in Italy than the other tests. From a Wikipedia article (so it must be true) the following is noted:

The PLIDA certificate is officially recognised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, University and Research of Italy. According to the Decree of the Ministry of the Interior of 4 June 2010, any foreigners should be able to demonstrate proficiency in the Italian language, if they want to obtain the long-term residence permit. Holders of A2 PLIDA certificate could be exempted from the test held by the Prefectures. With the certificate (B2 or C1 level, depending on university and subject), students can be enrolled into universities or schools without taking the mandatory Italian language examinations.

In terms of what level to challenge, ci sono molti esami online that you may want to try to give you a rough idea (at least concerning some components of the testing).

[lingua]

I had planned to take the CILS because somewhere I read it was the most accepted (read difficult). I don't even recall where I read it anymore. I am no longer working towards that though I may revisit it in the future. I have quite a bit in my log on my preparations.

CILS covers reading, writing, speaking, listening and grammar so you need to be well-rounded in those five areas regardless of what level you take. I can't speak to other exams. I suggest finding a book for the exam and level you decide upon as it will cover the testing format and provide some sample exams usually.

[rdearman]

This article may interest you. It is about issues around the CLIS exam.

https://onlineitalianclub.com/italian-e ... mend-cils/

[CardiffGiant]

This article may interest you. It is about issues around the CLIS exam.

https://onlineitalianclub.com/italian-e ... mend-cils/

I saw that when I started researching what exams are available. I am not sure what to make of it to be honest. What a strange story!

[Cavesa]

CILS seems to have many more testing centers out of Italy, and also significantly more preparation materials. Should I ever get to finally taking an Italian exam, these two facts will be the most important ones for me.

[Cavesa]

This article may interest you. It is about issues around the CLIS exam.

https://onlineitalianclub.com/italian-e ... mend-cils/

Thanks, it is an interesting article. Valuable information for anyone learning to deal with the Italian way to do bureaucracy, valuable for anyone wishing to run an exam center of any kind. And certainly enlightening for me, I like to learn about real life stuff like this.

But I am not sure this tells us anything valuable to the individual students, other than "try to make sure your testing center has the right to test you". The author (who is running a great website and I certainly respect them a lot) is telling us that they can't recommend the test they are no longer allowed to run (we were not told, whether the school managed to get a contract with the CELI or Plida organisation instead), and that they don't feel comfortable recommending people to fund an organisation that communicates so badly. So what?

From the point of view of me as a learner, I don't think any of this is relevant, no offence meant. What I had expected was stuff like "they changed the format of the exam for worse", or "they are letting people fail on purpose to earn money", or "the exam is in some way harder or less recognised than the rest". All of these are complaints I have heard about various language exams and testing centers. Such issues are relevant. How the university communicates with its partners is not.