How to Pass the CILS B1 for Citizenship Exam

If you are already here, you must pass the Italian certification exam in order to obtain citizenship. In this essay, I will go over the CILS B1 for Citizenship test in greater detail (CILS B1 cittadinanza).

At least two further B1 qualifications will also help you obtain your citizenship. The reason why this blog is expanding on the CILS is that:

• The most popular is the CILS, which many of my students have already taken and passed.
• People who desire to become citizens can take the CILS B1 Cittadinanza exam, which is less difficult and shorter than the standard CILS B1 exam.
• The CILS B1 Cittadinanza exam can be taken in Italy and abroad, whereas other citizenship exams, such as the CELI, can only be taken in Italy.

The CILS B1 for citizenship (CILS B1 Cittadinanza) consists of four sections and will take  2.05 hours to complete, with a 15 minute break.  

The four sections are:  

• the listening section  
• the reading comprehension and syntax section  
• the writing section  
• the oral section  

What are the best strategies to pass the Italian CILS Cittadinanza?

The listening section (PART 1)

Preparing for the Listening Section

The Italian CILS B1 for Citizenship consists of 2 audio recordings.

What’s the best way to improve your listening skills in order to pass the CILS Citizenship test?

Your listening skills are not perfect at this stage, and you can probably understand when Italian is spoken slowly and uses simple vocabulary. That’s totally normal at your level.  

However, if you want to improve your Italian listening at this point, you should start using audio materials that are suitable for your level.  

How do you know what kind of Italian audio resources are appropriate for you level? Easy. The rule of thumb is that if you don’t understand most of it, you are not using the correct audio source for your level. To challenge your listening and gradually improve, you should not try to understand a movie or even the Italian TV news (that will turn into an overwhelming activity and is not useful to hone your intermediate listening skills). Instead, it would help if you listened to audio sources that are slightly higher than your current level of Italian. Ideally, it should be challenging, without being too difficult or too easy.  Like this, you’ll help your brain absorb the new language naturally and consciously.  

That means that you should listen to understandable content (you understand most of it).

A great technique to enhance your listening skills at this level is to use Italian short story books with incorporated audio for beginner or intermediate levels. You can find a comprehensive list of the best short stories available with slow audio on my blog here:

REMEMBER: the key to improving your listening skills in Italian is being exposed to the right content at the right level as much as possible.

The reading section (PART 2)

Preparing for the Reading Section

The Italian CILS for Citizenship (B1) consists of 2 short texts and lasts 40 minutes. The first text requires you to complete multiple-choice answers. The second text is a vocabulary-based exercise about choosing the right word for each gap.  

How to improve your reading to pass the B1 Italian language exam?

At this level, it is recommended that students use the Italian short stories for levels A2–B1 (see above links) or use A2 reading content out of an Italian textbook, like Al Dente 1 or Al Dente 2 (some of the best pre-intermediate textbooks available on the market, in my opinion)

Reading is a fundamental part of your Italian language learning process (often and mistakenly underrated!). When reading, you naturally pick up on the natural language patterns and use the passive vocabulary and grammar you’ve learned in different situations.

The short stories are great because they are short and you can easily choose those that adapt more to your actual level. If you want to improve your beginner or intermediate reading skills, it is recommended to use these short stories in simple Italian.  

The writing section (PART 3)

Preparing for the Writing Section

The writing part for the CILS B1 Cittadinanza consists of two writing prompts. Usually of of them involves writing an e-email (around 80 words) and the second one involves writing a short essay (approximately 100 words) about a general topic regarding your life (e.g., describing your latest birthday or vacation).  You’ll need to choose and complete only one prompt.

How to improve your Italian writing to pass a certification?

Needless to say that you need to practice your writing skills to pass this task.  Writing won’t only help you pass your Italian exam, though. It’s also a fantastic way to brush up on high-frequency errors, prepositions, and verb conjugations in Italian.  

The most important part is to have your Italian texts corrected and edited by your professional teacher (best case scenario) or your language exchange partner. Most learners use their language exchange partners only to practice their conversational skills. Why not use your Italian conversation partner to have your short essay corrected? It is guaranteed you will be surprised at how much you can learn from your mistakes.

A writing prompt can serve as a magical tool to point out your common mistakes in grammar and vocabulary. In this case, despite having reached an intermediate level, she was misusing the words meglio/migliore, male/cattivo, and il/lo. Addressing high-frequency mistakes is essential. If you don’t do that at the due time, they will become automatic mistakes and spoil your overall fluency in the long run.  

The oral section (PART 4)

Preparing for the Oral Section

The speaking part for the CILS B1 Cittadinanza consists of four speaking prompts, and you’ll have the chance to choose which one you want to expand on. Once you start talking about your chosen topic, the examiner will step in with some questions to test your ability to debate and be engaged in a real conversation. Before this, you’ll also be asked to introduce yourself.  

The speaking part lasts around 3-5 minutes, and it is recorded on the spot.