The Ilà-A1 certificate aims at establishing whether achievers’ competence in MSA matches A1 level of CEFR, certifying that such a competence enables them:

• To understand and use familiar everyday expressions and basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of factual needs;
• To introduce themselves and others answering questions about personal details;
• To interact in a simple way provided that the other speaker responds with a helpful feedback.

The linguistic variety of reference for Ilà-A1 is then MSA, meaning the language of the Arabic education system, largely used in modern and contemporary literature, by the press, mass media and in oral productions characterized by a certain formal level. Moreover, MSA is the variety of Arabic language generally mastered by non-speaking Arabic users, who have attended school, academic or permanent learning courses. Nonetheless, thanks to the cultural and linguistic range and richness of the Arab world, MSA used for Ilà-A1 can echo some regional varieties especially in terms of lexis and syntax.

The skills Ilà-A1 certifies specifically include the oral and aural ones, being represented by production, interaction and comprehension.

The exam tests the following specific speaking skills of the achievers – each one by means of a dedicated paper: exchanging greetings; introducing themselves and other people (name and surname, origin, residence, profession, nationality); describing both themselves and other people (physical aspect and character); expressing family ties; describing familiar contexts in a simple way (residence, studyplace and workplace).

The exam consists of 3 papers:

• Presentation

• Interaction

• Listening

The speaking papers are carried out before two examiners. One is connected with the academic world of an Arab country and is called expressly for the exam session. The other one is a native speaker professional, who uses Modern Standard Arabic for work on a regular basis. These experts, whose names are notified at the beginning of each session, represent two complementary perspectives on language, both theoretical and practical. Such feature improves the quality of the assessment process and, consequently, of the certificate itself.

The examiner can’t see the flash cards before the speaking test.

The instructions for the exam are given in Arabic.

After the speaking paper, achievers must leave the exam venue and cannot speak with those who have not taken the speaking test yet.