General information for candidates

T The Centre for the Greek Language, specifically the Division for the Support and Promotion of the Greek Language, has been assigned the overall and exclusive responsibility for the examination procedure through which the certificate is awarded. The exams take place in Examination Centers proved by the CGL in Greece and abroad. They have been organised each year since 1999 with an increasing number of examination centres and candidates, as shown on Table 1.

Table 1: examination centres and candidates during 1999 – 2006

YEARS	EXAMINATION CENTRES	CANDIDATES
1999	13	565
2000	24	1004
2001	31	1326
2002	46	1940
2003	48	2081
2004	61	2263
2005	68	2504
2006	70	2760
2007	79	2768
2008	98	3031
2009	111	3438
2010	117

Eligible candidates are foreigners (including those of Greek origin) who are at least twelve years old on the examination date. Candidates younger than sixteen are advised to avoid taking the examination for Levels C and D, as the examination content at these levels may require general knowledge and experience they lack.

Candidates are tested on four levels of linguistic proficiency and are assessed in four skills, namely, production and comprehension of written language, production and comprehension of spoken language. For a Certificate of Attainment in Greek to be issued, the candidate must pass all four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). In case they fail even one of them, they fail the whole examination. Final assessment of successful candidates does not appear on certificates in numerical terms; only the following classifications are used: "Good", "Very Good" or "Excellent".
Candidates should register directly at the examination centre of their choice and not at the Centre for the Greek Language from the beginning of February until around the end of March.
The results are announced by the examination centres in late July, and the certificates are awarded by the examination centres to successful candidates at the end of September.