DELF B2 (TIPS, FAQs, ETC.) FRENCH

It's been two days since I took my DELF B2 exam. Since I promised a post breaking down/analyzing how things went, here goes:

1. Listening

What happens: There is a long audio that you get to listen to twice. Before the first audio rolls, you get, like, 1 minute to read all the questions. After the first listen, you get around 2-3 minutes to answer the questions (not sure about the exact # of minutes). Then you get a second listen, and then another few minutes to answer.

Then you get a shorter audio clip. This one is played only once.

The audio clips are, excuse my language, HELLA fast. You can get interviews, snippets from radio programs, etc. so not only is the quality kinda bad, the people don't speak clearly. They have accents, slurs, skip over words, speed up in random places. You have been warned. This part is quite tricky.

As for the questions, a lot of the times you'll be stuck between two answers. The thing I hated so much while taking the test was, I wasn't sure WHICH option to pick! Like, some of the answers were so vague / similar / technically could be right. This reminded me a lot of the SATs/ACTs, where the answers are never clear but always blurred.

Personal story: Also, the person who was conducting our exam kinda screwed up and he messed up the radio. The last audio didn't play so he made us take the last part AFTER the Reading and Writing section.

2. Reading

What happens: You have to read two pieces of writing/articles and have to answer around 10-13 questions for each piece.

This part was relatively easy. The articles are straightforward. The vocab can trip you up a bit, but you can easily guess their meanings based on the context of the articles. I found the readings enjoyable and the questions doable.

Though I'm not 100% sure, I think that the questions go in chronological order. So I advise you to not start the questions from the middle. It's actually easier to start from the LAST question (but this is really just a personal thing I do). I just climb up from there.

3. Writing

What happens: You have to either write a formal letter (to like your boss or a company director or something), critique, article, debate, etc. about a topic. I had to write an argumentative article. My arguments were quite weak, and my organization sucked, but I included a lot of sweet expressions, connectors, fancy-shmancy words.

You're supposed to write 250 words. Though I didn't count properly, I wrote 390.

You're also usually given a blank piece of paper to write notes and organize your arguments. Use this wisely!

Personal story: 
I was so pissed because our exam conductor NEVER told us when the Reading section finished! So I just sat there thinking, "Man this Reading section is lasting a looong time..." only to find out that the Writing part had already begun! My heart dropped to my stomach. I had around 40 minutes left so I frantically read the prompt, planned a bit, and wrote. I was seriously hoping for a Letter, but we had to write an Argumentative Article instead. Ugh. I didn't get to proofread my essay. Also, my essay was so, so unorganized. Waaaaaaah. I was panicking, okay?

Oral/Speaking:

What happens: You have to choose 2 pieces of paper (which you can't see), read the titles of the two papers, and choose one. Then you are given 30 minutes to prepare and take notes. (TIP: Don't write long sentences, but bullet points with words) Then you enter a room where two judges will debate with you on the subject. They will ask you questions.

Breathe, speak slowly, make eye contact, sound confident.

I kind of babbled a lot. I really like speaking and having conversations in French so I tend to just go on and on about my thoughts....not exactly the best for this debate-style exam, but whatever. One of the judges looked really kind and laughed, smiled, and maintained eye contact. The other looked kind of mean and rarely made eye contact.


Things they may/may not tell you during the exam:

1. You can only write with black or blue ink pen! Work done in pencils will NOT be marked. However, I advise you to bring a pencil, nonetheless, because it's good for taking notes. You can always erase what you wrote. (I personally forgot my eraser so my paper looked messy as heck, but whatever).

2. This depends on what country you're taking the test in, but some centres do not allow you to use whiteout. In Uruguay, whiteouts were permitted, but in Mexico, they were not. Bring one just in case.

3. If you make a mistake -- like check the wrong box or something, don't worry, you can check the correct box AND circle the box / your answer. The box that has the check and circle will be seen as your final answer.

4. Take your time during the Speaking portion. I spoke a bit too quickly and lasted only around 12 minutes. Although I'm not exactly sure if there is a time limit/requirement, I think the Speaking part is supposed to last around 20 minutes. But if you don't manage to speak enough, don't fret. Quality > quantity.

5. WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BRING?

• A black / blue pen
• Pencil and eraser or whiteout (just in case, you know) 
• ID card or passport or anything of that sort
• Your DELF receipt (I think this depends on the Alliance Francaise. The one here in Mexico required you to bring the receipt claiming you paid for the exam. But they didn't even check this...so I wouldn't fret over this. Like, if you actually paid, you're registered. The end.)
• Ok, I don't know how to say this in English, but a Convocatoria. This basically is a sheet of paper with some information about you, your CANDIDATE NUMBER **, and some information about the test (like where it's going to take place in, when you have to come, etc.) It's kind of like a receipt / ticket, similar to the one you have to print out when you take the TOEFL, SAT/ACTs, etc...... The thing is, I didn't know about this Convocatoria until the night before the exam (bad idea. Oops!) so I kind of freaked out when I realized I didn't have one. Apparently they were supposed to email this to us so we could print it out, but I never received this email. I said f*** it and went to sleep. The next day, turns out no one else had their Convocatoria, so the examiner went around to each candidate and showed them their Candidate Number. 

** Candidate Number: Usually if you took a DELF exam before (no matter what country), you have a registered candidate number. While it doesn't matter if you decide to receive a new candidate number for each time you sign up for another test, you CAN sign up using your previous candidate number. I, for instance, took my A1 and A2 in South Korea. When I signed up for the B1 exam in Uruguay, I used the candidate number that I was given during my A1 & A2 exam. Then I reused it again for the B2. 

Overall, I think the exam went O.K. Not too well, not too badly. My brain hurt a lot after the exam was over. I was pissed at the exam conductor for screwing up and not doing his job properly. He also left the room quite often (AND LEFT THE DAMN DOOR OPEN) so a lot of annoying, useless background noise seeped into the room. 

The results will come out in 3 weeks, I believe. Let's hope I passed. I know you only need over 50% to pass, but I think the Listening part will screw me over. Wahhh.