Certificate of knowledge of the Italian Language (CELI)
CELI Exam
An alternative exam, established by the Università per Stranieri di Perugia, is the CELI Exam (Certificato di Conoscenza della Lingua Italiana), which consists of five language proficiency tests designed for non-native speakers of Italian. The test is based on the Council of Europe's Waystage Level specification. Candidates should be able to communicate in Italian in a limited number of standard everyday situations. The test consists of four sections: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
The University for Foreigners of Perugia offers, within the ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe) framework, examinations worldwide at five levels of ability. All the examinations are held in June and November in Italy and abroad.
CERTIFICATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE
LEVEL 1 - The examination for CELI 1 tests the knowledge of Italian at an elementary level which would enable the candidate to survive in an Italian-speaking environment. The examination for CELI 1 is based on the Council of Europe’s Waystage specifications. Candidates must possess the necessary ability to fulfil the essential communicative requirements of normal everyday situations. The examination consists of a set of four components: reading comprehension, writing, listening comprehension, speaking.
CERTIFICATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE
LEVEL 2 - The examination for CELI 2 is based on the Council of Europe’s Threshold specifications. Candidates must show a knowledge of Italian which would allow them to interact in basic social situations in an Italian-speaking environment. The examination consists of a set of four components: reading comprehension, writing, listening comprehension, speaking. CELI 3
CERTIFICATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE
LEVEL 3 - The examination for CELI 3 tests the knowledge of Italian at an intermediate level. Candidates must possess the language skills necessary to deal with simple tasks and social situations in everyday life. The examination for CELI 3 is based on the Council of Europe’s Vantage specifications. The examination consists of a set of five components: reading comprehension, writing, structural competence, listening comprehension, speaking.
CERTIFICATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE
LEVEL 4 - The examination for CELI 4 tests the knowledge of Italian at an advanced level. Candidates must possess the language skills necessary to function fully inside an Italian-speaking environment, even in work or study situations. The examination consists of a set of five components: reading comprehension, writing, structural competence, listening comprehension, speaking.
CERTIFICATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE
LEVEL 5 - The examination for CELI 5 tests the knowledge of Italian at an advanced level. Candidates must possess the language skills necessary to interact in any social and professional context. The examination consists of a set of five components: reading comprehension, writing, structural competence, listening comprehension, speaking.
CERTIFICATION OF BUSINESS ITALIAN
Since June 1999 the University for Foreigners of Perugia will offer worldwide examinations at two levels of ability in order to assess the proficiency in Italian for Business purposes:
- CIC Intermediate (CELI 2/CELI 3 Perugia Levels 2 and 3)
- CIC Advanced (CELI 4 Perugia Level 4)
CELI Exam - Examination System
Examination System
Setting and Pretesting
1.1 Selection of materials
Materials for each level of the examinations are selected by a team of practising teachers. At each level there is a team leader, who acts as a co-ordinator for that level. The team leaders give detailed guidelines for selection of materials, including the following:
• skills to be assessed;
• subject matter;
• linguistic complexity;
• cultural considerations;
• reference to the University's Lexicon of Spoken Italian;
• item types.
The material is selected from a number of different sources, which include books, newspapers and magazines, brochures, advertisements and radio or television items. It is vetted by team leaders so that unsuitable material can be rejected before the editing stage.
1.2 Test item writing
Item writers are teachers at the Universita per Stranieri. A course is being organised to train them in item writing and measurement theory. Item writers are commissioned to write both discrete items and whole tests. They participate in the editing process together with the team leaders.
1.3 Pretesting
After editing, the items are pretested both by different groups of students at the Universita per Stranieri and by groups of students in different countries. Each test is taken by 50-100 candidates. Items which are found to need revision are substituted or corrected.
Marking
2.1 Process
The writing components are marked at the Universita per Stranieri by Examiners who are teachers at the University, according to criteria and scores prepared by the team leaders. Examiners can contact team leaders to discuss problems.
Objective components are marked by a computerised system. For oral components two local Examiners and a representative of the Universita per Stranieri generally interview candidates individually at the examination centre.
Marks are recorded on a mark sheet and sent to Perugia .
2.2 Training
Mark schemes are agreed upon after discussion between the teachers and the team leaders.
For the oral examinations, mock interviews are held with students at the Universita per Stranieri. Recordings and videos of interviews with candidates are produced and these are used for practice assessments by Oral Examiners during courses and seminars held in Perugia or abroad. The marks they give are compared with those given by the team leaders.
2.3 Checking
Team leaders check random samples of scripts from the Examiners to assess their performance.
For oral components, team leaders make random checks on local Examiners during courses or seminars in order to assess the accuracy of their marking.
Results
Results, in the form of grades, are sent to candidates approximately three months after examinations take place. For CELI 1 Pass or Fail are the only grades given. For CELI 2, 3, 4 and 5 the pass grades are A, B and C; D and E are fails.
Security
Examination dates are carefully controlled and precautions are taken at each stage of the examination process. All the examination papers are printed by the Universita per Stranieri.
Where they exist, Italian Institutes of Culture act as official examination centres. They are also consulted by the University with regard to applications to act as centres.
Each examination centre is required to follow strict procedures concerning the receipt and return of scripts and oral results.