Over 100 people to sit for Basque proficiency exams in Buenos Aires, Madrid, and Barcelona

The Etxepare Basque Institute partners with HABE to organise Basque proficiency exams as part of its efforts to promote the language. The Institute organises exams to accredit the level of Euskara of students in Basque centres outside the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. Exams are held every year in Madrid and Barcelona, and every four years in Argentina.

A total of 104 students outside the Basque Autonomous Community are signed up to take one of the exams from levels B1 through C2. Fifteen students have registered for level B1, 28 for level B2, 51 for level C1 and 10 for level C2.

In Buenos Aires, this Saturday and Sunday, July 20-21, the oral and written exams for levels B1, B2 and C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages will be held at Centro Vasco Laurak Bat. The Examining Board will be composed of Irene López de Vicuña, Sabrina Otegui and Kinku Zinkunegi (Euskara Munduan programme coordinator). 23 students will sit the exams: 8 in level B1, 8 in level B2, and 7 in level C1.

Most of the students taking the exams began studying Basque four years ago through the Euskara Munduan programme. In January and February, a group of aspiring Basque teachers from Argentina and Chile attended the Maizpide barnetegi in Lazkao, and will now undergo testing to determine their proficiency level. Regardless of the outcome, these assessments mark the culmination of four years of preparation, with a record number of students registering for exams outside the Basque Autonomous Community.

In January this year, 15 students from South America started as complete beginners at the San Nicolás winter barnetegi (Argentina).

In Madrid, 61 students started sitting proficiency tests in May, and 20 students in Barcelona. The written and oral expression exams will be held in autumn in both cities.

The Etxepare Basque Institute´s Euskara Munduan programme aims to raise the level of Basque language proficiency among Basque communities around the world. It promotes training for Basque language teachers and provides support and resources for Basque instruction at Basque centres, which are often responsible for the difficult task of training their own teaching staff.