PREREQUISITES FOR THE EXAM

QUALIFICATION

Bachelor’s degree in a specific field or High school diploma (valid for admission to Universities in the country in which it was obtained)

TRAINING

Language teaching (minimum 24 hours) that can be satisfied by choosing one of these methods:

1. participation in the DITALS orientation course at the University for Foreigners of Siena
2. attendance of 2 online modules organized by the DITALS Center - University for Foreigners of Siena
3. participation in a course in one of the DITALS monitored centres
4. participation in a university course in the scientific disciplinary sector L-LIN02 (3 university credits).

INTERNSHIP

Minimum 60 hours of teaching (in any subject in either organizations or schools) or student-teaching in classes of Italian for foreigners (in Italy or abroad)

LANGUAGE SKILLS

1. Non Italian native speaker: International C1 level Italian certification of the Common European Framework.
2. Italian mother tongue: possession of a minimum level A2 of the CEFR in a foreign language on the basis of one of the following titles:
   • international certification
   • degree in languages
   • passing a university exam in the chosen language
   • qualification obtained in the country of the chosen foreign language
   • passing a final exam in the chosen foreign language at public or private schools
   • declaration stating the participation in a minimum level A2 course in a foreign language

If you do not have one of the aforementioned requirements, you can contact the DITALS Center to receive information for conducting a self-assessment test for the French, English, Spanish and German languages only.

IT SKILLS

Attested by holding one of the following titles:

• ECDL computer certification or equivalent certification
• degree in computer science
• passing a university computer exam
• passing a computer exam at public or private schools
• declaration certifying participation in a computer course

If you do not have one of the aforementioned requirements, the candidate must contact the DITALS Center and receive instructions on how to take a self-assessment test.

EXAM STRUCTURE

Section A: Analysis of didactic materials. The candidate must analyze material from the books of Italian for foreigners and be able to answer questions: these are the questions which are intended to verify that the candidate is knowledgeable on the purposes of the various proposed activities (which abilities are stimulated, what skills are tested).

Section B: Analysis and exploitation of an instructional text. The candidate will be provided with a text and other material as it will be used to build activities in order to target specific skills. The candidate must demonstrate the ability to identify the objectives reached through a specific task and to be able to adjust the activity at the students’ level.

Section C: Basic knowledge of teaching theory (glottodidactics). A series of questions will be presented which verify the candidates’ knowledge of the basic principles of language teaching and the main methodological approaches of the twentieth century. The examination assesses competence in teaching Italian in relation to particular profiles of students (children, adolescents, adults, immigrants, college students, students of Italian origin).

In Sections A and B, the candidate chooses the profiles (maximum two) on the exam. Section C, however, provides a common section to all profiles as well as a specific section which answers questions related to the selected profiles .

To receive certification of the DITALS I, candidates must reach the minimum score on all sections of the exam. If the candidate gets the minimum score in only one or two sections, he/she may capitalize on their results and retake only the sections that were not previously passed (within three years from the first examination).