If you’ve been looking for a French language school to hone your language skills in France, you’re bound to have come across these terms without having a clue what they are, what they stand for, who they’re for and how they can benefit you. Today’s your lucky day: we’re going to answer all your burning questions about the DELF and DALF French exams!
What do DELF and DALF stand for?
DELF stands for diplome d’etudes en langue francaise and DALF stands for diplome approfondi en langue francaise. The main difference between the two is that DELF is for elementary to intermediate levels (A1-B2) and, as you may have guessed from “approfondi”, DALF is for more advanced levels (C1-C2).
What are the exams for?
These exams are awarded by the French Ministry of Education and officially recognise your proficiency in the French language.
Who are they for?
Anyone who needs to prove their proficiency in French for residential, academic or employment reasons. For example, a B1 in the DELF exam can help you gain French citizenship whilst a B2 is often the minimum for gaining university admission. Basically, if you want to live, work or study in France, you’re going to have to take a DELF or DALF exam at some point.
Where do you sit the exam?
ACCORD French Language School in Paris recommends the Prosodia exam centres due to their high volume of exam sessions (10 per year). There’s one in central Paris and one in the Parisian suburbs in Pantin.
How do you register for the exam?
If you’re taking a DELF or DALF exam preparation course at the accredited ACCORD French School to better your chances of success, tell them which date you’d like to take the exam and they will contact the exam centre on your behalf to confirm availability or research alternative options for you and then will help you complete all the necessary paperwork. You will be sent a convocation or invitation to sit the exam when the centre has received your paperwork and payment. Then you just have to turn up on the date and time stated on your convocation and nail it!
Can you register last minute?
Unfortunately not. The exam centres themselves recommend checking availability at least 8 weeks before the exam date you’re interested in. On top of that, the deadline for registration tends to be approximately 3 weeks before the exam date.
How can you better your chances of achieving the level you need?
Taking a DELF or DALF exam involves a great deal of planning and financial outlay, which is why you don’t want to have to take it twice. You need to achieve the level required for your studies, career or citizenship first time, and the best way to do that is with an exam preparation course.
ACCORD Paris provides 3 specific DELF/DALF preparation courses which all include a General French morning course with 2 specific DELF/DALF afternoon classes per week plus an extra afternoon class and/or one-to-one lessons depending on which suits you best.
If you’d like to find out more about our partner French schools, French courses in France or French exams, please contact Active Languages on info@activelanguages.co.uk
