Russia’s First Fully Domestic CELPE-Bras Exam Session Held at MSLU

From March 11 to 13, Moscow State Linguistic University hosted the first fully domestic session of CELPE-Bras — the official international Portuguese proficiency exam for foreigners — ever held in Russia. This marks a milestone in the development of Portuguese language education in the country.

Unlike the previous session in October 2024, which involved Brazilian examiners, this session was entirely organized and conducted by MSLU’s Department of Portuguese under the leadership of professors Kseniya Nechaeva and Zoya Dolgikh. A team of six certified examiners, including native speakers Flavia Stucchi and Jéssica Carvalho, assessed 20 candidates from Russia and Belarus.

Candidates, many of whom were MSLU graduates, demonstrated strong language skills. Final results, including certification at one of four proficiency levels, will be announced in late May, as the exam is administered globally in over 30 countries and requires centralized evaluation by Brazilian experts.

The CELPE-Bras exam includes a three-hour written section and a 20-minute oral interview tailored to each candidate’s interests. It prioritizes communicative competence and genre-based writing over isolated grammar or phonetics skills. Importantly, any variety of Portuguese is accepted.

The Department of Portuguese is planning preparatory courses for future candidates. The next CELPE-Bras session at MSLU is scheduled for September. For more information, visit the website of Brazil’s National Institute for Educational Studies (INEP).