You have reached the end of the intermediate course. This last lesson is not new grammar — it is how to prove what you now know. The DELF is the French Ministry of Education's official diploma, it never expires, and it is the document employers and universities actually recognise. Here is how each paper works and how to attack it.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| le DELF | luh DELF | Diplôme d'études en langue française |
| le DALF | luh DALF | the C1/C2 diploma above it |
| une Ă©preuve | ĂĽn ay-PRUHV | a paper, an exam section |
| le barème | luh bah-REM | the marking scheme |
| une consigne | ĂĽn kohn-SEE-nyuh | a task instruction |
| la moyenne | lah mwah-YEN | the pass average |
| une note Ă©liminatoire | ĂĽn not ay-lee-mee-nah-TWAHR | a disqualifying mark |
| un centre d'examen | uhn sahntr deg-zah-MAN | an exam centre |
Four papers, 25 points each, 100 total. You need 50/100 to pass — and at least 5/25 on every single paper. Score 24, 24, 24 and 4 and you fail with 76 points. Never abandon a paper because you feel strong elsewhere.
| Paper | B1 | B2 |
|---|---|---|
| Compréhension orale (CO) | ~25 min, 3 recordings | ~30 min, 2 recordings |
| Compréhension écrite (CE) | 35 min, 2 texts | 1 h, 2 texts |
| Production Ă©crite (PE) | 45 min, ~160 words | 1 h, ~250 words |
| Production orale (PO) | ~15 min + 10 prep | 20 min + 30 prep |
The jump from B1 to B2 is mainly about argument. B1 asks you to describe, narrate and give a simple opinion. B2 asks you to take a position, defend it, handle a counter-argument and structure the whole thing.
| Do this | Why |
|---|---|
| Read every question before the audio plays | You get 30 seconds. This is the highest-value half-minute of the exam — you learn what to listen for. |
| Underline the question word | Pourquoi, combien and quand tell you exactly which sound to hunt. |
| Answer during the first listening | Use the second pass to verify, not to start. |
| Never leave a blank | There is no negative marking. A guess is free. |
| Let a lost word go | Chasing it costs you the next three sentences (Lesson 24). |
The texts are authentic press and web writing, so everything in Lessons 18, 19 and 24 applies directly: headline syntax, nominalisation, and the journalistic conditional.
| Do this | Why |
|---|---|
| Read the questions first | Turns reading into targeted searching. |
| Watch for vrai / faux avec justification | Both halves are marked. An unjustified "vrai" usually scores zero. |
| Quote the text for justifications | Copy the sentence. Do not paraphrase it. |
| Beware conditional verbs | aurait déclaré means "allegedly" — a favourite trap for true/false items. |
| Don't answer from world knowledge | Only what the text says counts. |
| B1 | B2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Task | Letter, article or forum post | Argued text: letter of protest, contribution to a debate, formal article |
| Length | ~160 words | ~250 words |
| What earns marks | Task completion, clarity, basic connectors | Structure, nuance, concession, register control |
10 min — read the consigne twice, note who you are writing to and why, sketch a thèse/antithèse/synthèse plan (Lesson 21).
40 min — write straight through. Do not stop to polish.
10 min — proofread only for agreements, verb endings and accents.
That last ten minutes is the cheapest scoring opportunity on the whole exam. Check, in this order: past-participle agreement (Lesson 10), subject–verb agreement, adjective agreement, and the -er / -é confusion. Also count your words and respect the register: an informal tu in a letter to a mayor is a visible error.
The B2 oral has one long task: you receive a short document, get 30 minutes to prepare, then present a monologue suivi defending a position, followed by a debate with the examiner.
| Stage | What to do |
|---|---|
| Preparation (30 min) | Find the document's problématique. Plan three points. Write keywords only — never a script. |
| Introduce | Name the document's topic and source, state your position, announce your plan. |
| Develop | Three points, each with an example. Use the connectors from Lesson 21. |
| Conclude | Restate the position; open outwards with a question. |
| Debate | The examiner will push back. Concede, then rebut — do not simply repeat yourself. |
Examiners mark interaction. A fluent recitation with eyes down scores worse than a slightly hesitant delivery with eye contact and genuine engagement. Keywords, not sentences.
Silence costs marks; visible thinking does not. These phrases are natural French, not filler.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| C'est une bonne question. | say tĂĽn bon kes-TYOHN | That's a good question. |
| Comment dirais-je… | ko-mahn dee-RAY-zhuh | How shall I put it… |
| Si je comprends bien… | see zhuh kohn-prahn bee-EN | If I understand correctly… |
| Pourriez-vous répéter ? | poo-ree-ay voo ray-pay-TAY | Could you repeat that? |
| Ce que je veux dire, c'est que… | suh kuh zhuh vuh DEER | What I mean is… |
| Disons que… | dee-zohn KUH | Let's say that… |
And if a word escapes you, circumlocute rather than stalling: c'est une sorte de…, c'est le contraire de…, c'est ce qu'on utilise pour…. Examiners reward this. It is precisely the B2 skill of coping with gaps.
| When | Focus |
|---|---|
| 3 months out | One past paper to find your weakest of the four. Daily listening (Lesson 24). |
| 2 months out | One written production per week, corrected. Drill the subjunctive and participle agreement. |
| 1 month out | Full papers under timed conditions. Practise the oral aloud, with a recording. |
| 1 week out | Re-read your own corrected writing. Review connectors and formulas. No new material. |
| The day before | Rest. Check the centre address and what ID you need. |
The DELF is run by France Éducation international, and the recordings use standard metropolitan French with occasional regional or African francophone voices. B2 is the level French universities typically require for admission, and it is accepted for certain naturalisation applications.
The DELF is offered in Canada too, and Québec runs its own TEFAQ and TEF Canada for immigration purposes — these score speaking and listening on a Québec-relevant scale and are what the immigration points system actually uses. If your goal is Québec rather than France, check which certificate the programme requires before you book: they are not interchangeable, and both are valid proof of the French you have built here.
Write CO, CE, PE or PO.
1. You score 24, 24, 24 and 4. Do you pass?
2. What's the best use of the 30 seconds before a listening recording?
3. A word escapes you during the oral. Best move?