vaguette Newbie France Joined 5147 days ago 10 posts - 11 votes
| Message 1 of 26 14 May 2010 at 10:59am | IP Logged |
Hi there.
I was wondering if anyone has recently passed the DELF B2 and if so, could you describe your experience? How difficult was it, was the oral comprehension difficult (I'm especially worried that the recordings will be bad quality as we did some practice and one of the recordings was incomprehensible because it was taken from the internet and had digital distortion).
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Salv Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5252 days ago 7 posts - 9 votes Studies: English* Studies: French
| Message 2 of 26 14 May 2010 at 11:47am | IP Logged |
Il y a quelques examples sur http://www.ciep.fr/en/delfdalf/sujet.php
Vous pouvez télécharger l'audio, si c'est mieux.
Edited by Salv on 14 May 2010 at 11:48am
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vaguette Newbie France Joined 5147 days ago 10 posts - 11 votes
| Message 3 of 26 14 May 2010 at 12:47pm | IP Logged |
Thanks, I've been to their site. I was mostly after personal experiences as opposed to exercises.
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victor Tetraglot Moderator United States Joined 7157 days ago 1098 posts - 1056 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) 6 sounds Speaks: Cantonese*, English, FrenchC1, Mandarin Studies: Spanish Personal Language Map
| Message 4 of 26 16 May 2010 at 5:11am | IP Logged |
Vaguette, I think it's hard to say without hearing more about your background in the French language. I happened to take the test four years ago, when the DELF was just reformed, and I found it a relatively straightforward test, somewhat easier than the exercises in the "Réussir le DELF B2" preparation book from Didier.
In my case, the oral comprehension recording was a regular French interview on the radio, spoken at regular (back then it seemed to me fast) speed, but the DELF and DALF rarely give you distorted recordings. Even at the C2 level, the recordings are rather clear. They are more concerned about your comprehension of details rather than being able to hear through distorted noise. Know how to take quick notes of essential details while the recording is running because you will most certainly be tested on them. Brushing up on French culture and current events definitely helps.
Otherwise, the test was rather lengthy. I sat through a reading and writing test on the same day, but of which were on a similar theme. Just questionnaires and simple answers, and a letter to write at the end.
My oral exam was on a separate day, the subject chosen at random, and I was given half an hour to prepare. The jury was very sympathetic and just asked a few questions after my "discours".
Even though I found it straightforward, I have heard from numerous people that it is a very difficult test and challenging for most people. The way to find out is to do practice tests and try to judge yourself.
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vaguette Newbie France Joined 5147 days ago 10 posts - 11 votes
| Message 5 of 26 17 May 2010 at 10:39am | IP Logged |
Thanks Victor. I have my oral exam this Friday and then the written/listening components the following week. I am starting to get very nervous. Actually I was feeling fairly secure about the exam until I bought the CLE International DELF B2 book! I have tried doing their activities but the comprehension orale is too difficult...namely as the questions asked are complicated and the instructions convoluted..also the recordings (which are using actors as opposed to authentic material) speak incredibly fast. I played an example to my French husband and even he had trouble following! So I am hoping that it's just the book I chose and the exam itself won't be as difficult!
I can follow radio programs and the television usually without too much difficulty and at my French school we did some examples (from another book) and I didn't find it beyond me, aside from one recording which was distorted (the rest were challenging for sure but not out of reach). I'm really not used to exams though, my studies have always involved writing papers as opposed to exam conditions so it's really quite new for me and so I am quite stressed out! I had hoped that the CLE International book would help me better prepare but it's completely useless....
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starst Triglot Senior Member China Joined 5353 days ago 113 posts - 133 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) Speaks: Mandarin*, Japanese, EnglishC2 Studies: FrenchC1, German, Norwegian
| Message 6 of 26 18 May 2010 at 3:50am | IP Logged |
Bonne chance, vaguette! I'll take it in June. It will be very kind of you if you can share your experience with me after taking the test :)
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vaguette Newbie France Joined 5147 days ago 10 posts - 11 votes
| Message 7 of 26 20 May 2010 at 6:37pm | IP Logged |
Thanks starst, I'm taking the oral production part of the test tomorrow and I'm so nervous! I will let you know how it goes!
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starst Triglot Senior Member China Joined 5353 days ago 113 posts - 133 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) Speaks: Mandarin*, Japanese, EnglishC2 Studies: FrenchC1, German, Norwegian
| Message 8 of 26 21 May 2010 at 7:25am | IP Logged |
vaguette wrote:
Thanks starst, I'm taking the oral production part of the test tomorrow and I'm so nervous! I will let you know how it goes! |
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Don't worry. Generally speaking, the oral part is still not that difficult in B2 ;) How was the written part going?
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