Preparing for the DELF Exam: Tips and Resources!

So you’re taking the DELF B2 exam? Me too! Issued by the French Ministry of National Education, the DELF diploma is recognized internationally for life. 

As the exam splits into 4 parts – oral production, written production, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension – there is a lot to prepare for. As such, I wanted to share a couple of general tips and resources specific to each evaluated competence. They are by no means a guarantee to success, but simply things I have found useful and hope you will too. 

Note: most of the mentioned resources are Canadian and may only be available in Canada

General Tips

1. Spread your study sessions over a period of time: Especially when learning a language, it is so, so important to learn over an extended length of time. Unlike a math or chemistry assignment, you can’t procrastinate everything to one night. In my opinion, learning a language comes with familiarity and everyday use; it integrates itself into your speech, it becomes spontaneous and second nature.
2. Make a plan: This one ties in with the last tip. Make a day-to-day schedule and/or checklist of French preparatory things to practice. It can be as simple as listening to 1 podcast, learning 1 vocabulary word, and/or reading 1 news article per day. It can be just 30 minutes of writing a French journal entry, or 2 hours watching a movie. There are lots of interesting options available!
3. Practice exams: Be sure to check out the DELF website for practice exams, both to do exercises on each competence, and also to familiarize yourself with the format. There is a new format for 2021: https://www.france-education-international.fr/hub/diplomes-tests; http://www.delfdalf.fr/delf-b2-junior-version.html

Resources:

Oral production – Resources

1. Talk to people: Your French teachers, your family, your friends… nothing substitutes that real life (or Zoom) conversation, practicing spontaneous speech. The Alliance Française (AF) is a good resource for this; they generally host cultural events each month to practice French in a real-life context. Check here to find a local AF: https://www.af.ca/af-in-canada/ 
2. The DELF website practice prompts are definitely the best resource for this, I honestly can’t think of anything else!

Written production

1. Game-style questions to practice anglicismes, grammar/syntax, spelling, rules of writing, vocabulary, and general culture: https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/fr/jeu-quiz/index-fra
2. Writing a letter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCybzfLG-Gs&t=22s 
3. More on writing a letter: https://communfrancais.com/2019/02/08/ecrire-une-lettre-au-delf-b2-junior/ 

Listening comprehension

1. Radio emissions and podcasts (I personally love the podcasts): https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio  
2. Documentaries: https://ici.tou.tv/categorie/documentaire 
3. TV: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/tele 
4. Audiobooks: Check with your local library or just buy your own.

Reading comprehension

1. Books, books, books! Check with your local library or just buy your own. 
2. News articles: https://ici.radio-canada.ca 
3. Create vocabulary study sets with Quizlet

References: Featured image