Language Certifications
Language Certifications at iDSB
Preparation for the Cambridge Certificate (CAE or CPE)
Since the 2018/2019 school year, we offer interested 11th and 12th graders a preparation course for the globally recognised Cambridge Certificate. Used in 130 countries, the test is officially recognised by more than 20,000 universities, employers and governments.
The preparation course is led by one of our native English teachers and focuses on the “Reading” and “Use of English” test sections. Participating students can prepare for both the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE – equivalent to level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference) and the Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE – equivalent to level C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference).
The Dutch as a Foreign Language Certificate (Certificaat Nederlands als Vreemde Taal)
Students who wish to study at a Dutch-speaking university or for other reasons would like their knowledge of Dutch to be officially certified can take the internationally recognised “Certificaat Nederlands als Vreemde Taal (CNaVT)” at our school. The exams are developed on behalf of the Dutch Language Union (Taalunie) at the Centre for Language and Education at KU Leuven University and are used worldwide to certify Dutch language skills.
The CNaVT consists of three components (listening & writing, reading & writing and expression) and corresponds to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It costs 75 EUR to take the exam.
The CertiLingua Label of Excellence
With the school year 2016/2017, the iDSB has become a CertiLingua school. The CertiLingua label of excellence for multilingual, European and international competences is a certificate that is awarded together with the high school diploma. Globalisation and progressive European integration particularly require young people to be able to deal competently with the demands of linguistic and cultural diversity at a high level and to adapt to mobility in the context of personal life, further education and work.
CertiLingua provides new opportunities
The label of Excellence is awarded to students who have proven that they have special qualifications in a European/international dimension with their A-levels. In addition to a high level of expertise in two foreign languages (level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference – CEFR), this also includes bilingual subject competency as well as an ability to act on a European and international level. The CertiLingua label of excellence is intended to facilitate graduates’ access to internationally oriented courses of study or to open up career prospects in the European and international context.
CertiLingua: A European Project
The label of Excellence was a joint initiative of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands and has been further developed with European partner countries. More than 200 schools in Europe are now participating this project. In the 2007-08 school year, the first graduates were awarded the CertiLingua label of excellence. The close partnership of all participating partners and the extensive exchange between the participating European schools ensures a consistently high standard in all partner countries which guarantees the excellency of CertiLingua.
Advantages of CertiLingua
- Promoting multilingualism, intercultural learning and international cooperation,
- Facilitating access to international courses of study and to the international world of work,
- Freeing students from language exams for international access to higher education,
- Promotion and development of already existing binational agreements (for example AbiBac),
- Maintaining school development and honouring schools that demonstrate special offers in terms of multilingualism, language competence, bilingualism, European, international engagement and active citizenship as required by the Council of Europe and the European Commission,
- Monitoring the programme through additional language examinations offered within the school (CAE in English, DELF in French).
Participation
Students of the 9th grade who are interested in CertiLingua register with the project coordinators at the end of the given school year. Together with the coordinators, all qualifications are then put together in an individual portfolio over the course of the following three years.
