DIPLOMA INTERNACIONAL DE ESPAÑOL (DIE)

Spanish in the official language of 21 countries and spoken by more than 400 million people. This international diploma was developed by FIDESCU as a means to quantify different levels of oral proficiency in accordance with the European Reference Framework for learning, teaching and evaluating language. FIDESCU is an agency under the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

Many students today receive their diploma in foreign language study based on written and literary modes of expression and understanding. With a very real need for oral proficiency in today’s world, the DIE evaluates a student’s verbal and aural competence at 10 different levels of ability ranging from elementary to superior and “specialized”.

The DIE is an official grade for each level of Spanish linguistic competency, with academic recognition by the Courses in Spanish Language and Culture of the Pontifical University of Salamanca. The objective of the exam leading to the DIE is to evaluate a student’s ability to effectively communicate with Spanish speakers based on the following 5 criteria: Comprehension, Fluency, Grammatical Correctness, Lexicon and Pronunciation.

Grading – Each tested level in comprised of 100 points. A student must receive a minimum grade of 65% in order to be awarded the Diploma for the level tested. Students scoring above 85% will receive a Diploma with Special Mention.

Level Schematic

Levels 1 / 2 - Conversation between the examiner and candidate. Duration, 6-7 minutes.

Levels 3 / 4 - Conversation on a topic that is prepared and introduced by the candidate. Duration, 10 minutes.

Levels 5 / 6 - Conversation on one topic that is prepared and introduced by the candidate and on another that the candidate will choose from those proposed by the examiner. Duration, 15 minutes.

Levels 7 / 8 - Conversation on one topic that is prepared and introduced by the candidate and on another that the candidate will have to select from those proposed by the examiner. Duration, 20 minutes.

Level 9 / 10 – There are two components at this level. The first, a conversation on one topic that is prepared and introduced by the candidate and on another that the candidate will have to select from those proposed by the examiner. The second, a reading of a passage about which the examiner will question the candidate to measure the candidate’s comprehension. Duration, 25 minutes.

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