DELF B2 Practice to Gain Confidence and Excel in the Exam

Useful DELF B2 Practice Exercises and Tips to Help you Revise Effectively for the Exam

Looking to conquer the DELF B2 exam? Whether you’re aiming for academic pursuits or professional advancement, thorough preparation is key. Here, we delve into the best DELF B2 practice exercises to help you excel in this important French proficiency tes

If you are interested in studying in France or currently applying to French universities, obtaining the B2 level or even the C1 level in French is a requirement.

What could be the best method for DELF B2 practice? 

Let’s explore the different sections of the Delf test and see what are the most useful resources online, such as sample exam papers and tips, to excel in the DELF B2 exam.

1. READING COMPREHENSION – 1 hour / 25 points

You’ll have to study two documents and to answer various questions to test your comprehension. One text will be informative, such as a news brief or an article about some aspects of francophone culture. The other text will be on a controversial topic.

The best way to prepare for the reading part of DELF is to work on a variety of materials. Regular reading of French novels, quality newspapers, and magazines will help you improve your understanding of grammar structures and vocabulary.

2. WRITTEN EXPRESSION – 1 hour / 25 points

You’ll be given a document such as a letter, article, or review and you’ll be asked to give your personal opinion in approximately 250 words. Be sure to read the document very carefully and make sure that you understand the task given to you. Consider your intended audience: there’s a difference between writing a letter of complaint and a movie critique, for instance. Think about what you should say in your introduction, the different points you want to make, and how to draw a good conclusion.

For your own practice, keeping a journal or writing short stories are great ways to improve your knowledge of French grammar structures and vocabulary. If you write a little bit every day, you’ll soon find that it gets easier. You could write about the following topics:

• Personal experiences (vacation memories, meeting your best friend…)
• Book reviews / movie reviews
• Letters to the editor
• Essays

You can train your French writing skills on Le Point du FLE, ideal for writing academic texts in French.

3. LISTENING COMPREHENSION – 30 minutes / 25 points

You’ll listen to two different French recordings:

1. A short one (2-3 minutes, played once), typically an interview or piece of news, along with a multiple-choice questionnaire.
2. A longer one (up to 8 minutes, played twice) speech, radio or TV show, documentary, etc., with multiple-choice and essay questions.

Take advantage of the short time you have to read over the questions so that you know what to listen for. Answer the questions accurately and don’t worry about writing in perfect French: you’ll be assessed more on comprehension than on expression.

You can and should practice for at least a few minutes every day: listen to the radio, watch TV and movies, talk to people. These two websites contain many audio and video documents: TV5 Monde and RFI SAVOIRS.

4. ORAL EXPRESSION – 50 minutes / 25 points
   

You’ll have 30 minutes to prepare a 10-minute oral presentation based on a short document. Then you’ll discuss your presentation with two examiners for 10 minutes.

Read the document carefully. Think very carefully about what is being said and what are the implications. You can agree or disagree with the author but in any case, you will need to use short quotations from the text and examples from the news to support your point of view.

Obviously, you should practice your French with native speakers as much as possible – and preferably not the same. By speaking with a variety of people, you’ll become more comfortable with different speaking styles, speeds, and accents – which will improve your listening comprehension at the same time.

What are the Best Resources Online to Prepare for DELF B2?

Some Useful Resources Online and Past Papers to Best Prepare for DELF B2

• First of all, you’ll find DELF sample exams, from level A1 to B2, provided with the transcript of the listening comprehension and the exam keys on CIEP‘s website.
• RFI Savoirs helps you prepare the oral comprehension section here.
• The University of Calgary in Canada also offers solid exam training and tips to help you get ready not only Delf B2 but also for DALF C1 and C2.
• You can also train online with self-corrected exercises provided by the Institut français de Milan and the CIEL de Bretagne.
• Lastly, you can find oral expression sample presentations on the websites of USB Munich & Curriculum Services Canada.