Nowadays, Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, after English, it has become an international language not only in the business world but also at an operational level. This language is the official one in 21 countries and more than 450 million people speak it and pass any Official Spanish Test to prove it.
As a consequence of this, there are many people who want to learn this language, either for tourism, professional reasons or simply out of curiosity.
On a professional level, companies are beginning to value potential candidates for different positions who have knowledge of Spanish, before Brexit, Spanish facilitates access to the fastest growing markets in the world due to the fact that some of the Spanish American countries have grown in relation to their Gross Domestic Product, which leads us to interact more professionally with their companies.
In addition to the above, the world today has a multilingual population and Spanish is one of the languages that is considered one of the most important in the future.
In this sense, there are several organizations that have created Oficial Spanish Tests to verify the level of Spanish people have.
Following the guidelines set by the CEFR and the European Community, the levels established regardless of the entity that grants it are divided into: A1-A2, B1-B2 and C1-C2.
Types of Official Spanish Tests
Next, I am going to talk about the different official Spanish exams that currently exist, their characteristics, similarities and differences so that anyone who needs an official certificate or simply wants to take an exam of this type knows which one is the most appropriate according to their needs
DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera)
It is an exam created by the Cervantes Institute together with the Ministry of Education. It is divided into 6 levels, following the CEFR guidelines. The exams range from level A2 to C2. A few years ago, this organization adapted the tests to the contents related to educational centers in order to measure the level of adolescents, so it has an option that is A2-B1 School.
* Advantages: it is a certificate endorsed by the Cervantes Institute, the most recognized organization at an international level. The certificates do not have an expiration date and are recognized worldwide.
* Disadvantages: to carry it out, you must attend a Cervantes center or a center that conducts online exams through the AVE GLOBAL application.
To prepare and pass this exam, check here
SIELE (Servicio Internacional de Evaluación de la Lengua Española)
This exam is also carried out by the Cervantes Institute together with other organizations. In this test, the different linguistic varieties of Spanish are taken into account. Unlike the DELE exams, the individual can take part of the exam without having to take the whole exam, that is, the student can certify their written, oral, listening or reading skills individually without having to perform all tests.
In addition to this, this test allows the student to know what their level of Spanish is, if they do not know it, at a certain time given that the exam is common for all students and the questions increase in difficulty as the test progresses, so that at the end of its completion, the student will be awarded a certificate indicating their level, either A2, B1, B2, C1 or C2.
While the DELE exams would come to the Spanish version of the Cambridge exams, the SIELE exam would be equivalent to the IETLS.
*Advantages: it can be done electronically in approved centers, it is more flexible since the student decides what skills they want to certify, they have the possibility of accrediting any level and obtaining the certificate is faster than that of the DELE.
*Disadvantages: these exams are less recognized than the DELE and have an expiration date of five years.
For more information about these exams and their differences, click here
D.I.E (Diploma Internacional de Español)
This test is carried out by the FIDESCU organization, a body that is part of the Spanish government. It is an exam that not only accredits linguistic competence but also cultural, as well as professional, since students can take specific tests of Spanish for health, tourism or business.
*Advantages: this test gives the candidate the option of accrediting their competence in a specific area, it allows certifying all the skills or just those chosen by the student and includes all the linguistic variants of Spanish.
*Disadvantages: the exams must be taken in FIDESCU centers that do not have as much international presence as the Cervantes centers and the certificates are less recognized internationally than the DELE.
For more information on how to train, see the link
CCSE (Conocimientos constitucionales y socioculturales de España)
We are talking about an exam issued by the Spanish government and that allows you to obtain Spanish nationality (equivalent to an A2 level of the CEFR).
*Advantages: allows you to obtain nationality.
*Disadvantages: the topics are focused solely on Spain without taking into account the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries and it is recognized only in Spanish territory.
Personal recommendation:
Personal recommendation to choose an Official Spanish Test
There is no exam that is better or worse, everything will depend on what your interests are. If your objective is to access a job (in general), access a university or center for higher studies, it is best to certify your level with a DELE or SIELE test.
On the other hand, if your objective is to dedicate yourself to the world of business, medicine or tourism, the DIE exams will allow you to accredit specific knowledge on the aforementioned topics.
Remember that accrediting knowledge of a language is important, but it is much more important to be able to communicate and learn about the culture of the target language.