Bonjour à toutes et à tous ! In today’s article, I wanted to talk to you a little bit more about the main differences between DELF A1 and A2, which are two exams that you can take to assess your level in French.
The main differences between DELF A1 and A2 – Écouter
The structure
To know the differences between DELF A1 and A2, we first need to take a look at the structure of both exams and compare them. Both of them are composed of 4 parts :
– Reading comprehension (compréhension écrite)
– Listening comprehension (compréhension orale)
– Writing (production écrite)
– Speaking (production orale)
Both exams are scored out of 100 points, each part scored out of 25 points.
The main difference that we see is the duration. The DELF A1 should last about 1 hour and 20 minutes, whereas the DELF A2 should last 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Here’s how each exam should be divided:
| DELF A1 | DELF A2 |
Listening comprehension | Approx. 20 minutes | Approx. 25 minutes |
Reading comprehension | 30 minutes | 30 minutes |
Writing | 30 minutes | 45 minutes |
Speaking | 5 to 7 + 10 minutes | 6 to 8 minutes + 10 minutes |
From what we can see, there are not many differences between DELF A1 and A2 when it comes to structure.
The content
Let’s move on to the content of both tests. First of all, the level is different, as expected. In the DELF A2, we are expecting the candidate to have the four main skills slightly more developed.
Regarding the content of each sub-test, there are also some changes.
| DELF A1 | DELF A2 |
Listening | Listening to short recordings (up to 3 minutes) about everyday life situations and answering questionnaires. | Listening to short recordings (up to 5 minutes) about everyday life situations and answering questionnaires. |
Reading | Reading four or five documents about everyday life situations and answering questionnaires. | Reading several documents about everyday life situations and answering questionnaires. |
Writing | 2 parts:
– Filling in a basic form – Writing a postcard, a letter, or a short message (40 to 50 words). | 2 pieces of writing (60 to 80 words each):
– Talk about and describe an event or personal experiences – Write a message to thank, invite, ask for something, congratulate or apologize to someone. |
Speaking | 3 parts:
– Guided conversation (approx. 1 minute) – Exchanging information (approx. 2 minutes) – Role-play (approx. 2 minutes) | 3 parts:
– Guided conversation (approx. 1:30 mins) – Followed monologue (approx. 2 minutes) – Interactive exercise (3 to 4 minutes) |
The first two tests are still almost the same. However, the writing and the speaking parts change a little.
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The tasks
Writing
Speaking
Both A1 and A2 exams have 3 parts in their speaking tests.
In the first part, the guided conversation, the examiner asks the candidate to introduce themselves and can ask questions about their tastes and daily life.
In the DELF A2, the second part is the guided monologue. Here, the candidate needs to talk about a topic they have chosen. The main goal is to have the candidate talk about that topic continuously (a monologue!). They can share their experience, memories or even opinions. If the monologue is too short, the examiner could ask some questions in the end.
The interactive exercise is very similar to the role-play of the DELF A1 exam. The main goal here is to solve a problem that can occur in daily life situations. The examiner wants to assess the candidate’s ability to greet a person, but also to ask questions, request, or even negotiate.
