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PLIDA – Progetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri Certification

The Dante Alighieri Society of Washington is one of the few institutes in North America authorized to offer PLIDA (Progetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri – Dante Alighieri Italian Language Project) certification.

The Dante Alighieri Society of Washington in Seattle is an official examination center of the Società Dante Alighieri and provides its students and others the opportunity of taking PLIDA exams in order to obtain a PLIDA certificate.

The PLIDA Certificate

The PLIDA certificate is an official Diploma issued by the Società Dante Alighieri under an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the University of Rome La Sapienza . It is recognized by the Italian Ministry of Labor and Social Policies and by the Italian Ministry of University and Research as a qualification for the proficiency in the Italian language for foreigners.

The PLIDA certificates attest proficiency in Italian as a foreign language on a 6-level scale according to the parameters established by the Common European Framework for Languages (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2).

Why take the PLIDA exam?

Those who may wish to be certified include those who

Dates of Exam Administration

PLIDA certificate sessions will be held every year in June and November. Candidates may choose to take an exam at the level they feel is closest to their proficiency. Registration at an advanced level does not require having taken the lower level exams.

Spring 2020 Session

Wednesday, June 10 • Level B1, B2, C1

Registration deadline May 27, 2020

Autumn 2020 Session

Wednesday, November 18 • Levels A1, A2, B1

Registration deadline November 4, 2020

Fees

PLIDA LevelA1A2B1B2C1C2
Fee$85$85$110$110$172$172

Registration

Complete the online REGISTRATION FORM. Then mail your check or money order made payable to Dante Alighieri Society of WA – PLIDA and the Exam Level you are registering for on your check.

MAILING ADDRESS:

Dante Alighieri Society of Wa – PLIDA
P.O. BOX 16257
Seattle, WA 98116

Registration must arrive on or before the registration deadline.

Location

The exams will be conducted on the Seattle University Campus. The exact location on campus will be provided to you prior to the exam.

Further Information

For more information contact the PLIDA Coordinator Prof. Giuseppe Tassone

Duration of the Exam

 Ascoltare Leggere Parlare ScrivereTOTALE
Plida A120'30'10'40'max 100 minuti
Plida A2
25'40'15'40'max 120 minuti
Plida B140'40'15'60'max 145 minuti
Plida B250'70'15'60'max 195 minuti
Plida C160'100'15'90'max 265 minuti
Plida C240'45'20'135'max 240 minuti

Definition of Level A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2

The Common European Framework divides learners into three broad divisions which can be divided into six levels:

  • Basic Speaker
    • A1 Beginner
    • A2 Elementary
  • Independent Speaker
    • B1 Intermediate
    • B2 Upper intermediate
  • Proficient Speaker
    • C1 Advanced
    • C2 Mastery or proficiency

The Common European Framework describes what a learner is supposed to be able to do in reading, listening, speaking and writing at each level:

Level Proficiency Expectation
Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.
Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.

 

Click “Prova il tuo italiano” to assess your knowledge of Italian.

Click Prove d’Esame to download sample exams to practice for the test.

Quaderni del PLIDA B2

Publication: Quaderni del PLIDA – Alma Edizioni

PLIDA – Official PLIDA website in Italian

Modello Certificato

Laura Ciroi

Laura CiroiLaura Ciroi has been teaching with the Italian language program of the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington since 2003. She was born in Palmanova, in Northern Italy, a star shaped fortress built by the Serenissima Republic of Venice to protect the territory from the invasions of the Hapsburg and the Ottoman Empires. She was raised speaking Italian, French and Friulano (her native Northern Italian dialect). Laura received a Laurea in Linguistics from the Università di Udine where she specialized in Spanish and English literature. Since then she has lived and worked in Holland, Switzerland, Spain, England, America, and Italy.

Giuseppe Tassone moved to Seattle from Italy in 1993. He has been the director of the Italian Language Program of the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington since 1998 and the PLIDA coordinator since 2011. He is a language educator, coordinator, and advocate of Italian language and culture. He has a background in economics and finance (B.A. in Economics), but chooses to specialize in Italian language and culture  (M.A. in Italian Studies). He has 20+ years of experience teaching, developing curricula, coordinating, testing, and assessing in public and non-profit organizations (e.g. Seattle University, University of Washington, Shoreline College). Giuseppe reviewed and/or contributed to several Italian language textbooks, such as Da Capo, Oggi in Italia, Avanti, Piazza and Sentieri. He is the author of Ricordati di me,  Buongiorno Notte – Italian Films Series by Edizioni Farinelli and Un buon Affare – Italian for Business by Hackett Publishing Company available in print (2016) and e-book (2019). Giuseppe teaches at Seattle University and heads the Italian Section in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. Personal interests are: reading, traveling, cinema, economics, politics, playing and listening to music, swimming, biking, gardening and cooking.

 

E-mail: tassone@danteseattle.org

Francesca Giambartolomei

Francesca GiambartolomeiFrancesca is an Italian native, born in Cremona, northern Italy. She holds a laurea in Biology from the University of Padua and Masters of Biology from Eastern Michigan University. She left Italy in 1994 and has lived in New Zealand and the United States. She has a passion for teaching her native language, as a way of maintaining and exploring the Italian language and culture with different eyes. She has taught privately and in many institutions to students of different proficiency levels groups. Francesca is interested in literature, art and design, and in her free time, she likes reading, cooking, and making jewelry and ceramics.

Email: francesca@danteseattle.org

Damiano Pinton

Damiano PintonDamiano is a native of a small town in the Northern Italy countryside, about 17 miles away from Padua, a city famous among other things for its university, the fifth-oldest surviving in the world. He received his B.A. and M.A. Cum Laude in Japanese language and culture from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, while specializing in linguistics and translation. He lived in Japan for three and a half years, where he continued his studies and his sociolinguistic research on (im)politeness in language. While in Japan, he also started working as an Italian teacher, discovering his passion for conveying the beauty of the Italian language and culture abroad.

Email: damiano@danteseattle.org

Roberta Punzi

Roberta PunziRoberta was born in Salerno a city located in the region of Campania in Southern Italy where in the ninth century flourished the renowned Schola Medica Salernitana; the forerunner of the modern university medical schools.  She holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and Management for Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment from the Luigi Bocconi University, and a Master’s Degree in Piano from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music in Milan.  Roberta has been working in the field of arts management since 2008. She has served as a project manager, fundraiser and arts administrator in high-profile nonprofit organizations and music festivals in Italy.  She has taught music and Italian language in middle schools, and has held lectures in performing arts management as a teaching assistant at the University of Milan and at the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala.  She has performed many solo and chamber music recitals across Italy.  Roberta moved to Seattle from Italy in 2018, and in March 2019 she started working with Greenpeace U.S.A. as a fundraiser.  She loves classical music, visual arts, reading, traveling, hiking and of course teaching Italian.

E-mail: roberta@danteseattle.org

Valentina Robles

Valentina RoblesValentina was born in Bitonto, a small town in Puglia, South of Italy. She has a Laurea in Lettere (Degree in Humanities) and a Laurea Specialistica in Scienze dello spettacolo e della produzione multimediale (Master degree in Media Studies). During her studies, she spent seven months in Spain where she was a tutor for Spanish students enrolled in Italian classes. Her passion for the theatre and cinema brought her to work in the production department for several projects for media, theatre, and live concerts.

Email: valentina@danteseattle.org