CILS exam preparation: 5 mistakes to avoid
Are you preparing to take the CILS exam to enroll in university in Italy or to obtain citizenship? Pay attention to the most common mistakes made by students of Italian and follow our tips to tackle CILS exam preparation successfully and get the highest score.
What is the CILS exam and what is it for
The CILS (Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language) is an Italian language proficiency certification recognized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Education. It is issued by the University for Foreigners of Siena (Unistrasi) and is useful both in university/employment and for obtaining Italian citizenship.
For example, the CILS A2 exam is the certificate required for those who wish to obtain a residence permit of long term, while foreigners who wish to study in Italy need to demonstrate a B2 level or higher knowledge of Italian.
CILS is not the only recognized certification: there are also other official exams such as CELI (University for Foreigners of Perugia), CERTIT and PLIDA, all of which are valid internationally.
CILS B1 citizenship exam
Those who wish to apply for Italian citizenship must have, by law (Dec. 1, 2018, No. 132), a B1-level Italian certificate.
In this case, the CILS exam to be taken is the CILS B1 citizenship, corresponding to the B1 level of the CEFR. Several sessions are available per year (February, April, June, July, October, December), the duration of the exam is about two hours and the cost is 100€.
How to prepare for the CILS exam: mistakes to avoid
As with any language exam, success depends not only on the number of hours of study, but on how focused and appropriate the preparation is for the type of test.
Here are the 5 most common mistakes in preparing for the CILS exam and how to avoid them.
1 – Do not know the structure of the exam
Knowing the structure of the exam is critical to knowing what you are going to be up against and how to prepare for each individual test.
CILS exams of all levels are divided into 5 sections:
- Oral comprehension (listening)
- Reading comprehension
- Analysis of communication structures (knowledge of grammar)
- Written production
- Oral Production
On the official website of the University for Foreigners of Siena you can find examples of CILS tests from previous sessions, useful for practicing.
2 – Not managing time well
In addition to becoming familiar with the kinds of tests that await you, it is also important to know how much time you can devote to each section of the exam. In fact, many candidates fail the exam because they do not complete the tests due to lack of time.
Set a timer when you practice a mock exam and look for tricks to help you not get stuck when you don’t know an answer.
When preparing the written production part, don’t just list ideas or bullet points: write the full text to see how much time you really need.
3 – Focus only on grammar
Grammar is important, but it is not everything: CILS exams are designed to assess the candidate’s ability to cope with situations from everyday life in Italy. That is why the texts and audios offered are often news articles, radio conversations and dialogues based on real-life contexts, such as a phone call with the plumber or a conversation at the market.
Don’t stop at theoretical study of the language, make sure you know how to use grammar in context and also practice your oral expression and your reading and listening skills.
4 – Neglecting listening comprehension
The listening comprehension portion of the exam may prove to be the most challenging because it tests your ability to understand native speakers in authentic situations.
Practice using audios by native Italian speakers. You can find plenty of them on Youtube, and if you’re looking for podcasts divided by skill level you can check out this list of resources for learning Italian.
Here are the types of audio that may appear on the exam:
- Dialogues
- Interviews
- Telephone conversations
- Lectures, conferences
- Radio broadcasts
- Advertising messages, voicemail messages, service communications
- Audioguides
5 – Underestimate the oral production part
Many candidates feel confident in their ability to speak Italian, but do not consider that during the exam, emotion can play tricks on them.
The oral test of the CILS exam usually begins with the observation of photos or pictures, from which the examiner derives questions to initiate conversation.
To best prepare yourself, be sure to practice conversing in Italian with friends and acquaintances, but also try to get out of your comfort zone and strike up a conversation with some strangers on the street.
If you are not yet in Italy, practice speaking out loud in the mirror, or get help from an online tutor or an app like HelloTalk.
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