Have you taken a French exam before? If you're studying for DELF B1, you may have completed DELF A1 or A2 in the past.
But be warned! B1 French is a step up in ability from beginner to intermediate. The DELF B1 exam reflects this by requiring much more from its examinees. You need to craft and express opinions, as well as understand much longer passages of audio.
To help you with this jump from everyday to complex language, we've crafted a study guide for DELF B1 French. Read on for how to prepare yourself for each exam section, plus some tips for the exam day itself!
Table of contents:
Reading
The B1 reading exam requires you to read and analyse two pieces of text. You may be presented with multiple-choice and/or essay-style questions.
How to prepare for DELF B1 reading
B1 French expects you to understand a wider range of topics than A2. Therefore, practice reading B1 material on more complex subjects. For example, look out for B1-rated news articles in French, and practice forming an opinion on what you read.
When you read, make sure to look up all words you don't recognise. While you may not retain them all, it helps to broaden your understanding in general.
An even better technique is using reading materials specifically designed for learning French. Check out all our B1 French reading exercises here!
Reading exam tips
We have three tips to help you with the reading exam on the day:
- Before you start answering the questions, reread the text to ensure you've understood it correctly
- Take extra care if you run into multi-part questions or ones using word play
- Answer the questions completely but succinctly – a sentence or two should do it, just enough to show that you understand
Writing
The writing exam requires you to express opinions on a subject through one large piece of text. This could be in the form of a letter, essay, article, or similar medium.
How to prepare for DELF B1 writing
As you'll be writing a structured piece of text, we suggest reading text just like it! Read articles and opinion pieces in French rated at B1 level. This will familiarise you with appropriate expressions you can use in your own work.
Then practice what you've learned with writing exercises that help you spot your mistakes. We have a whole list of B1 French writing exercises to help you get started. Or to push your skills, we publish a new writing and listening challenge every Friday for our Premium users!
Writing exam tips
Before you begin structuring your answer, make sure you've understood the prompt correctly.
Pay the same attention to your text's structure as you would when writing an essay in English. Plan an outline of how you will lay out your points, and write an effective introduction and conclusion if appropriate.
And don't forget to write in a style that suits the intended audience!
Speaking
The three-part speaking exam requires you to express your opinions on a topic as well as engage in conversation.
How to prepare for DELF B1 speaking
Practice speaking as often as you can with native or fluent speakers. Even if you know some French speakers, it can be great to chat online with others. This variety helps you to get used to different speaking styles and accents.
If you don't have access to French speakers, try the tips found in these articles:
- Practice speaking French, whether or not you're in France
- Online speaking practice
- Solo speaking practice
Speaking exam tips
For the first two exercises, be sure to listen carefully to the examiner and keep your conversation on-topic.
For the third exercise, use your 10 minutes of preparation to read the text and form an opinion. Pick out phrases from the text that you want to quote in your answer.
Listening
In this section of the exam, you'll listen to three audio clips. Then you'll answer multiple-choice and essay questions about the clips.
How to prepare for DELF B1 listening
Both passive and active listening can help you prepare for this exam.
Our active listening French exercises present you with an audio clip, give you a chance to transcribe it, and then show you the correct answer. This can help you practice listening with a view to understanding.
Specifically for the B1 exam, you can review past DELF B1 exam listening questions. These allow you to get used to the style of exam questions so you're completely prepared.
In fact, you can view entire B1 sample papers online to help you prepare for the exam!
Listening exam tips
Here are our top three listening exam tips:
- Listen for the gist the first time, and specific details the second time
- Don't let unfamiliar words distract you from the main points
- Focus on writing an accurate answer, not a grammatically perfect one
Choose the best DELF B1 exam study tools
With the right study tools, you can thoroughly prepare for all four parts of the DELF B1 exam. They'll not only help you practice but point out your mistakes so you can improve.
That's how all of our exercises work! We have French B1 lessons to teach you the theory, exercises on all four skills to help you use it, and kwizzes to track your progress. Sign up for a FREE Kwiziq French account today to get started!
Bonne chance!
