DELE C1 exam
The DELE C1 diploma certifies that you can:
- handle long spoken and written texts in any variety of Spanish and pick up what is only implied in them — attitude or intention
- express yourself fluently and spontaneously, without obvious effort
- always find the expression that fits the situation, whether social, professional or academic
- use the language flexibly and effectively and write complex, well-organised texts
What the exam consists of
The exam has 4 papers and the net examination time is 240 minutes. 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 and use of language Comprensión de lectura y uso de la lengua | 90 min | 5 | 40 | 25 |
| Paper 2 Listening comprehension and use of language Comprensión auditiva y uso de la lengua | 50 min | 4 | 30 | 25 |
| Paper 3 Writing, mediation and written interaction Expresión, mediación e interacción escritas | 80 min | 2 | – | 25 |
| Paper 4 Speaking, mediation and spoken interaction Expresión, mediación e interacción orales | 20 min | 3 | – | 25 |
Before the oral paper you get 20 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 and use of language
- Writing, mediation and written interaction
30 points out of 50
Group 2
- Listening comprehension and use of language
- Speaking, mediation and spoken interaction
30 points out of 50
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.
The Instituto Cervantes publishes the results between one and three months after the exam, depending on the session.
What the exam day looks like
- 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. It is for identity control and the photo is kept with your exam.
-
You sit the written papers in one block, in this order:
- Reading comprehension and use of language 90 min
- Listening comprehension and use of language 50 min
- Writing, mediation and written interaction 80 min
- The oral paper is usually separate. Speaking, mediation 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. Before it you get 20 minutes to prepare.
- No aids are allowed. You may not use a dictionary or any other aid in any of the papers.
With us you sit the exam in Brno, where we are an Instituto Cervantes examination centre. Dates and fees are on the exams page. DELE exams
We will get you ready for C1
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 whether C1 is the right level? Take our level analysis for the DELE exam — it shows which level to aim for and what you still need to study.
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.
What the Instituto Cervantes says always prevails. If anything is unclear, write to us at dele@hispanica.cz.
