Is it important to get a certificate? Getting a certficate is a good decision, in case we want to prove what our level in English is. Those documents don’t prove that we’re fluent in English though. These kind of exams that we need to pass to get a certificate involve questions to meassure our listening, speaking, reading and writing. If someone is good at those skills in their target language they’re probably close to fluency. However, we have to remember that it’s still an exam which means that we don’t need to be fluent in our target language to get a high score. For example, when we were in school we probably had one subject that we hated. If someone didn’t like biology, they would try to memorize every topic, one night before. Then, pray to remember them in the exam. Sometimes, this way of studying worked others not. In case it worked we’ll probably forget about those topics because our real goal was to pass the biology exam rather than learning something about biology. Another reason has to do with strategies in exams. if our porpose is to get a certficate, fluency could be replaced for a good strategy. Techniques for reading, listening or filling a blank gap in order to get a high score are important in those exams. I know it because I was enrolled in a language school where the professor was really focused in teaching those tecniques. In my opinion, certificates are important and useful as long as we need a document that speak for us that we have a great level in English. Although, the benefits and challenges that mean learning a language should be more important for us.