PRAELEH | Spanish as a Foreign Language and for Spanish Speakers Academic Program

Details

DUCLE (Diploma Universitario de Competencia en Lengua Española como Lengua Extranjera) is an exam designed to assess oral and written linguistic-communicative competence in Spanish as a foreign language. It does not assess the knowledge acquired in relation to content established in a particular course, program, curriculum, or specific training undertaken by the candidates.

Its purpose is to determine whether the candidate has a given level of proficiency in Spanish according to the classification scale established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Intermediate level (B1 and B2) and Advanced level (C1).

It is a certification that can be used for work, professional, and academic purposes, as well as for immigration integration in general, so that it can potentially be used by a heterogeneous population.

Intermediate Level:
Assesses the candidate’s ability to function in a variety of social situations, demonstrating a limited performance in communicative exchanges within work and academic settings.

Operative Intermediate Level (B1): Assesses the candidate’s ability to function in some social, work, and academic situations.
Independent Intermediate Level (B2): Assesses the candidate’s ability to function in a variety of social situations, demonstrating a limited performance in work and academic settings. It corresponds to the minimum level of competence required to perform at the university level.

Advanced Level:
Assesses the candidate’s competent performance in the autonomous use of the language in work, professional, and academic situations.

Effective Advanced Level (C1): Assesses the candidate’s effective linguistic-communicative performance in communicating fluently and spontaneously in a variety of familiar, social, work, and academic situations.

The exam consists of 4 successive tests, throughout which the four macro-skills or activities that correspond to the object of assessment are evaluated, namely, linguistic-communicative proficiency in Spanish as a foreign language: reading (written comprehension), writing (written production), listening (oral comprehension), and speaking (oral production).

Intended Candidates

Foreign students;
Foreign graduate students (specialization, master’s, and doctoral programs);
Foreign visitors or temporary residents (for work or professional reasons);

Exam requirements

Not having Spanish as a native language.
Being at least 16 years old.
Having a registered user account in SIU Guaraní and completing the registration through this system.
Paying the exam registration fee through the payment link that will be available once the registration has been completed.
Accepting the Candidate Protocol, which will be available on the UNR Virtual Campus once the registration and payment process has been completed.
On the day of the exam, having the original passport or identity document that was used for registration.

Determining the Spanish accreditation requirement in exceptional cases (Ordinance 728/17)
In cases where there is doubt about the application of Ordinance 728/17, which establishes the obligation to demonstrate B2-level Spanish proficiency through the DUCLE exam or other equivalent certificates (for example, students born in Spanish-speaking countries who completed their studies in non-Spanish-speaking countries, or vice versa), the following procedure will be followed:

Pay the fee for the review of documentation for accreditation of Spanish proficiency through the payment link.
Send the proof of payment to praeleh@unr.edu.ar, in an email that explains your situation and attaches the following documentation:
- copy of your identity document;
- copy of your birth certificate;
- copy of your certificate of completion of primary studies (if applicable) and secondary studies (mandatory).
PRAELEH may, if it deems it necessary, summon the applicant to an interview with the Program Director.
Once the review procedure is completed, PRAELEH will determine whether to:
- maintain the requirement to demonstrate the Spanish level in accordance with Ordinance 728/17, in which case the student must take the DUCLE exam or other equivalent exams, or
- exempt the applicant from said obligation, in which case the decision will be communicated by official note to the academic and administrative authorities of the corresponding Faculty.

Validity

The DUCLE certifies the degree of proficiency in the Spanish language and is a reference standard for Spanish before national and international educational and government institutions, as well as private companies.

DUCLE (Diploma Universitario de Competencia en Lengua Española como Lengua Extranjera) is framed within international parameters, in accordance with Resolutions No. 331/05 and 342/05 of the Governing Council of the Faculty of Humanities and Arts and No. 734/2005 of the Higher Council of the National University of Rosario.

The Certificate of Qualification will state the candidate’s first name and surname, date of birth, identity document number, the student’s country of origin, and the level achieved (Operative Intermediate Level-B1, Independent Intermediate Level-B2, or Effective Advanced Level-C1), along with the average score obtained, the percentage achieved in each of the tests, and the record number under which it has been registered in the SIU Guaraní system.

This certification will bear the signature of the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Arts of the National University of Rosario and of the Director of PRAELE, and it is assigned a validation code and a QR code that allow external institutions to verify the validity of the certificate by entering the requested information.

Passing the exam does not qualify candidates as teachers of Spanish as a second or foreign language.