Short answers to the questions candidates ask most about the reading prueba of DELE (A1 to C2) and SIELE.
DELE A1 45 minutes, A2 60, B1 70, B2 70 and C1 90. At C2, reading is the first 60 minutes of Prueba 1, which lasts 105 minutes with listening. SIELE reading takes 60 minutes.
DELE A1 25, A2 25, B1 30, B2 36 and C1 40. DELE C2 has 26 reading items inside the 52 of Prueba 1. SIELE reading has 38 questions in 5 tareas.
No. The Instituto Cervantes sets one time for the whole prueba, and you divide it between the tareas yourself. SIELE also runs one 60-minute clock.
No. Once you leave a tarea you cannot return to it. Inside Tarea 1 you can move between questions, and in Tarea 4 you can switch between the two texts.
Language use: tareas that test grammar and vocabulary inside a text. At C1 it is Tarea 5, a 14-gap cloze with three options per gap. At C2, Tarea 1 is a 12-gap cloze that tests precise vocabulary and collocations.
No. Each item scores one point if it is right and nothing if it is wrong, in DELE and in SIELE, so answer every question.
On a separate answer sheet, the Hoja de respuestas. Reading and listening share one question booklet, and you mark your answers only on the answer sheet.
There is no minimum for reading alone. From A1 to C1, reading and writing form Grupo 1, and you need at least 30 of their 50 points together. At C2 you need at least 20 of the 33.33 points of Prueba 1, which includes listening.
DELE A1 and A2 use peninsular Spanish in the input texts. From B1 the texts come from different varieties, and C1 and C2 use at least three in each prueba. SIELE includes Spanish from Spain and Latin America.
Every tarea is described on the reading description page, worked examples are on the reading samples page, and the full rules for points and passing are on the reading scoring page.
To practise, work through single tareas in the app or take a full timed mock test.
Written by Kirill O'Nayd
Language test expert and educator at TestSucceed, where he builds the DELE and SIELE practice tasks and mock tests and has spent years taking apart how each Instituto Cervantes prueba awards its points. See all TestSucceed preparation materials.