The Spanish Department of the Language Center of the European University of the Atlantic (UNEATLANTICO) has gone a step further and is now part of the network promoted by the Cervantes Institute by being an examining center for the SIELE exam. In this way, any student of the university who wishes to certify his or her level of Spanish can take the exam at UNEATLANTICO.
The Servicio Internacional de Evaluación de la Lengua Española (SIELE), consists of an evaluation and certification of the degree of proficiency in Spanish. Calls for this exam are open to the public.
The four SIELE tests are: Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Written Expression and Interaction, and Oral Expression and Interaction. It is important to note that this exam recognizes the degree of proficiency in all skills, that is, it is not possible to fail it, but rather it provides a level for each skill that the student possesses.
Interested students, on the other hand, can choose a global SIELE which evaluates all skills and provides a score and level for each skill. For example, the student may have a B2 in reading comprehension, but in oral expression and interaction he/she may have a B1. On the other hand, if the student wishes to assess only one or two of the skills, SIELE allows him/her to do this.
The exam is conducted through an online platform and is corrected by the Instituto Cervantes and the results are obtained within a maximum period of three weeks. In addition, this certificate is valid for 5 years.
In order to take this exam, the student will have to come to the university in person and computer rooms have been set up with the downloaded exam program. This exam will be supervised by the language teachers of the institution, who have received the necessary courses to achieve the necessary preparation in this area.
In order to be a SIELE examining center, the Instituto Cervantes requires a series of figures to be part of its team: a center manager, a coordinator and support staff. In the case of UNEATLANTICO, the head and coordinator will be Rubén Pérez, a lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities.
On the other hand, the support staff will be made up of a group of professors who have knowledge of the exam, the evaluation processes and all the necessary information to be able to support the students during the exam.
The next step for the university and the language center is to become a DELE examination center, which is an examination of the Instituto Cervantes, under the endorsement of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
Close relationship with the Instituto Cervantes
It is worth noting that the Cervantes Institute and the European University of the Atlantic have a relationship that has been reflected in several milestones that positively affect both institutions. On the one hand, in July 2023, the Spanish Department of the Language Center of UNEATLANTICO recognized the university as an Accredited Center. On the other hand, this year, UNEATLANTICO, together with the Fundación Universitaria Iberoamericana (FUNIBER) and the Universidade Internacional do Cuanza (UNIC) have worked together with the Instituto Cervantes to promote the teaching of Spanish and international student mobility.