Placement test

On the first day of class at 8:30 in the morning, Placement tests are taken to determine the level of knowledge of the Spanish language of each student. If the student will not be properly classified, he/she can change his/her level during the first three days of course, talking to his/her teacher.

At the Colegio de España, in accordance with the Cervantes Institute and following the guidelines set in Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, evaluation of the European Council , the following levels have been established:

Aimed towards students without any knowledge of the language. The aim of this level is that students will be able to interact in a simple way, asking and answering questions about themselves, about the place they live, about people they know and things they have. They will be able to construct simple affirmation about their immediate needs or daily issues. They will be able to introduce themselves or others and give basic personal information on their address, belongings and persons they know.

At the end of the course student will be able to interact in simple and usual situations of daily life (shops, banks, etc.). They will be able to describe aspects of the past and environment as well as issues related to areas which are relevant to them (basic information on themselves and their family, shopping, interesting places, occupations, etc.).

At the end of this course students will be able to interact and be understood in a great variety of situations: exposing a problem, expressing their opinion, asking for explanations, filing a complaint; explaining in a simply way the past and explain future events and projects. They will be able to understand the main idea of clear texts and using a standard language if they know it. They will be able to write simple and coherent texts on issue they are familiar with or of personal interest. They will be able to describe experiences, events, wishes or ambitions, as well as explaining briefly their opinions and future plans.

At the end of this level students will be explain to explain and defend their opinions during a debate; expose the advantages and disadvantages of a issue, speculate on possible situations; converse naturally, fluently and efficiently. They will be able to understand the principal idea of a complex text which deals with both abstract and concrete issues, taking into account their area of specialization. They will be able to communicate with native speakers with a sufficient grade of fluency and naturalness.

At the end of this course students will have linguistic repertoire that will allow them to have a fluent, wide and precise communication. They will be able to adapt to different registers which will allow them to unwind themselves in all fields (social, professional, cultural, etc.). They will be able to write clear, structured and detailed texts on issues of certain complexity, having a correct use of the organization mechanisms, articulation and cohesion of the text.

In this level students will be able to understand easily almost everything they read or hear. They can reconstruct the information and arguments, coming from different sources, both spoken and written, and present them in a coherent and summed up way. They will be able to express themselves spontaneously, with a great fluency and precision which allows them to distinguish the small nuances of the meanings.