Purpose: A competency certificate fostering international mobility

Certificate holders are independent users of the language. They have acquired specific knowledge of the business language—they are able to communicate effectively in daily life situations and to handle basic administrative and commercial aspects of company business.

Who is it for?

Any students or professionals who work in Spanish or will be required to communicate in Spanish in a professional context, and wish to validate their acquired knowledge with a certificate.

This certificate is intended in particular for company staff or personnel working in any position requiring them to communicate with Spanish-speaking contacts orally or in writing.

Level:

The Certificate in Spanish for Business is a validation of competences in Spanish at the B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This level corresponds to approximately 250 hours of language study.

Assessment:

Understanding and processing written information:

The candidate is able to understand the essential elements of simple, common professional reports, texts and documents.

The candidate is able to understand the essential elements of a message that is predictable–in form and content– face to face or over the telephone, within the scope of his/her professional experience.

The candidate is able to gather elements from several support documents and organize them in a given format; write common types of messages related to familiar social and professional activities.

Oral communication:

The candidate is able to take part in exchanges about familiar topics in his/her professional context, describe what he/she is doing, exchange factual information, discuss an option and provide explanations in practical situations concerning known topics.

Examples of activities and topics:

Activities: Meeting and informing a client in person or by phone; presenting your professional background; writing basic business correspondence (messages, internal notes, letters, etc.)

Themes: Professional world, business, social, economic and commercial contexts, negotiations.

Test components:

The Certificate in Spanish for Business B1 consists of two sections that must be taken together during one exam session:

Written activities: 90 minutes

Oral activities: 15 minutes

Total exam duration: 1hr 45mins

Written activities:

Task 1. Reading comprehension (20 minutes)

• Answering multiple choice questions (10 minutes / 10 points).
• Completing a text/a sentence (10 minutes / 10 points).

This part of the test will be structured to include informative texts dealing with the common economic and commercial issues in Spain and Latin America.

Task 2. Language and structure (30 minutes)

• Completing sentences with the correct option (20 points)

Task 3. Written production (40 minutes)

• Writing short messages (memorandum, internal communication notes, etc.); filling out forms based on a prompt (15 minutes / 5 points)
• Writing a simple letter in the appropriate format (25 minutes / 15 points)

Oral activities: 

• Reading a written text (8 minutes / 5 points)
• Conversation with the jury about the text (7 minutes / 15 points)

Minimum scores to earn the certificate:

• Written……………….. 30 points
• Oral ………………….    10 points
• Total ……………………40 points

 

Recommended preparation:

SPAN 312. Business Spanish. 3 Units.
Spanish for business is an upper-level language and culture course which is designed for students at the advance intermediate level. The course stresses the vocabulary and expressions used to describe economic and commercial structure, the language to solve problems and conduct negotiations, and the culture of specific aspects of the Spanish world of the business. Students will continue being exposed to listening, speaking, reading and writing through a variety of activities. Prereq: SPAN 202 or permission.

Details at: http://www.camaramadrid.es/certificados

If you have questions, contact eif@case.edu