CILS B1 cheat sheet

Italian Language Proficiency (CILS B1)

• CILS B1 consists of five sections: Ascolto (listening), Lettura (reading), Analisi delle strutture di comunicazione (grammar/lexicon), Scrittura (writing), and Parlato (speaking).

• Passing requires a minimum of 11/20 in each section and an overall total of at least 55/100; scores are not rounded up.

• Ascolto: two tasks (dialogues and monologues) with 14 items total; each recording is played twice with a pause between.

• Lettura: three tasks (informative texts, advertisements, and a longer article) with 16 items total; time allocated is 50 minutes.

• Analisi delle strutture di comunicazione: four tasks (cloze, verb conjugation, matching, sentence completion) with 20 items; 40 minutes.

• Scrittura: two tasks (a short message of 60–80 words and a letter/email of 80–100 words) in 50 minutes; both are assessed on task completion, coherence, and accuracy.

• Parlato: two tasks (a monologue of 1.5–2 minutes on a familiar topic and a dialogue with the examiner) lasting about 10 minutes; assessed on fluency, pronunciation, and interaction.

• Grammar at B1 includes passato prossimo vs imperfetto, futuro semplice, condizionale presente, congiuntivo presente (basic uses), and combined pronouns (glielo, me lo).

• Lexical range at B1 covers everyday topics: family, work, health, travel, shopping, and local services; candidates should understand 1,500–2,000 high-frequency words.