DELE A1 for schools
It is the same A1 level as the general exam. What differs is who it is written for: the tasks are built on situations familiar to a student aged 11 to 17. The diploma certifies that you can:
- understand and use the everyday expressions that are common across the Spanish-speaking world and that cover immediate needs
- ask for and give basic personal information about yourself and your daily life
- interact in a simple way with speakers who talk slowly and clearly and are willing to help
- 105 minutes of examination time
- 4 papers in the exam
- 30 points in each group for a pass
What the exam consists of
The papers follow the order in which the Instituto Cervantes numbers them, and each one is scored separately.
| Paper | Length | Tasks | Items | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 Reading comprehension Comprensión de lectura | 45 min | 4 | 25 | 25 |
| Paper 2 Listening comprehension Comprensión auditiva | 25 min | 4 | 25 | 25 |
| Paper 3 Writing and written interaction Expresión e interacción escritas | 25 min | 2 | – | 25 |
| Paper 4 Speaking and spoken interaction Expresión e interacción orales | 10 min | 3 | – | 25 |
Before the oral paper you get 10 minutes to prepare. They do not count towards the examination time.
How the exam is marked
The papers are not marked one by one. They are combined into two groups (grupos de pruebas) and each group is marked as a whole.
Group 1
- Reading comprehension
- Writing and written interaction
30 points out of 50 for a pass
Group 2
- Listening comprehension
- Speaking and spoken interaction
30 points out of 50 for a pass
The result is apto (pass) or no apto (fail) — no grade is given. The minimum has to be reached in each group separately, so points cannot simply be added up: doing brilliantly in one group and falling a few points short in the other means not passing.
What the exam day looks like
The written papers in one block, in this order
- Reading comprehension 45 min
- Listening comprehension 25 min
- Writing and written interaction 25 min
There may be a break between the papers. When it falls and how long it lasts is set by the examination centre in its convocatoria: it is not in the Instituto Cervantes documents, so you will not find it here.
The oral paper: a different time and often a different day
- Preparation 10 min
- Speaking and spoken interaction 10 min
- You arrive at the time you are given. The day, the time and the place are in the convocatoria you receive from the examination centre. The written papers are administered from 9 a.m. at the earliest in examination centres all over the world.
- You show three documents. Your registration receipt (resguardo de inscripción), the original photo ID you registered with or your passport, and the convocatoria oficial from the examination centre. Photocopies are not accepted and nobody is let into the room without them.
- You go through identification. Before the start, the examination centre checks your documents and takes your photograph. This is an identity check, and the photo is kept with your exam.
- The oral paper is usually separate. Speaking and spoken interaction may be held on the same day as the written papers, or on the day before or after — the convocatoria of the examination centre decides. Each candidate has their own time.
- No aids are allowed. You may not use a dictionary or any other aid in any of the papers.
Upcoming dates for the DELE A1 exam
| City | may 2027 | november 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Brno – Hispánica | ||
| Ostrava | ||
| Prague |
With us you sit the exam in Brno, where we are an Instituto Cervantes examination centre. Fees and registration are on the exams page. DELE exams
We will get you ready for A1
DELE preparation with us is one-to-one with a certified teacher, not a group course. It works through repeated mock exams with feedback: you find out how the exam is marked, how the examiners think, and you build a strategy for the written and the oral papers.
Not sure about the level? The level assessment for the DELE exam shows which exam to aim for and what you still need to learn.
The other DELE exams
For school students aged 11 to 17
Where these figures come from
The DELE exam is issued by the Instituto Cervantes: the structure, the timings and the marking are its figures and we only reproduce them. The sources are the Guía del examen for each level, the model exams and the pages of Instituto Cervantes examination centres. Anything we could not verify in them is not on this page.
- Guía del examen DELE A1 para escolares, © 2019 Instituto Cervantes, NIPO 503-14-007-X (archived copy, the original address no longer works)
What the Instituto Cervantes says always prevails. If anything is unclear, write to us at dele@hispanica.cz.
