Exam 1: DELE Spanish Languages Certification - Level C1
To kick off my year of language exam studying, I figured it would be best to suss out the requirements of each of the exams I’m planning to take so I can better focus my study efforts 💪💪💪
This is one exam I’ve actually been wanting to do for a long time, simply because an actual certificate that says I have an advanced level of Spanish would open many doors for me, so it’ll be my main focus for the most part of the year.
I’ve been studying Spanish since i was in high school and it’s a language that I’ve just always had a passion for learning. I carried on studying Spanish at university and ended up majoring in it and even writing my thesis about a particular linguistic feature of the language 👩🎓👩🎓👩🎓
all this study, plus the fact that i have been living in Spain for a while has let me develop my language skills to the point where I can communicate just about anything to just about anyone without too much trouble, despite still making a fair few grammatical errors in spontaneous speech and missing some key vocabulary
however i feel like my skills have kinda plateaued at a B2 level, as I haven’t really felt a push to want to focus on improving my grammar, vocab and pronunciation
🌟 ¿when am i gonna do it?
If all goes to plan (i.e. pandemic permitting), I’ll take this test on the 22nd of May 2021. This is (as i worked out) 166 days before my birthday deadline which gives me plenty of time to study for the other 3 exams and it also gives me a chance to resit it before my birthday if I fail lmao
but most importantly I want to take it on this date because I want to do it while I’m still in Spain so I’m in the best possible head space/environment for it ✌️
🌟 ¿what will be on the exam?
The exam itself is made up of 4 separate sections, each section has 2-5 tasks, and each task has 1-10 parts 🤯🤯🤯 altogether, the exam will take 4 hours to complete omg
in short, the four sections are reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
in long, the four sections are given as:
Comprensión de lectura y uso de la lengua (reading comprehension and use of language) - basically in this section I have to read given texts and write responses/answer questions about them
Comprensión auditiva y uso de la lengua (aural comprehensionn and use of language) - I answer questions to recordings of conversations
Destrezas integradas: comprensión auditiva y expresión e interacción escritas (integrated skills: aural comprension and written expression and interaction) - I’ll be writing long form responses to reading materials
Destrezas integradas: comprensión de lectura y expresión e interacción orales (integrated skills: reading comprehension and oral expression and interaction) - first I’ll be speaking in response to a written text, then i converse with the examiner about a given theme and finally I have to hod an informal debate about a topic and eventually come to an agreement with my speaking partner
🌟 ¿what will i need to do?
in order to pass this exam i recognise i’ve got some key areas to work on for each section:
improving my vocabulary, familiarizing myself with different styles of writing and improving my reading speed and accuracy
familiarizing my self with different accents and dialectal words and phrases (any variety of Spanish could appear in the exam recordings!!)
improving my spelling and learning connecting phrases and conventions to use in formal writing
learning more idiomatic phrases and informal expressions, improving pronunciation and accuracy of my speech (look sometimes i’m still gonna accidentally say el mano or la mapa i mean more the grammar side lmao)
annnnnnd bc that destroyed my confidence these are some things I recognise that i’m pretty good at and can keep improving:
understanding the key messages of texts!
following most conversations even if they’re on a topic i don’t know much about!
knowing where most accent marks go!
speaking without hesitation!
look idek at this point lmao stay tuned
these last few weeks have been a bit chaotic and so i’ll give myself some time to settle into my new schedule before working out any set study plan, but for now I’ll start by looking at past/practise exams to see how i go and where my weakest points are and make note of what themes/topics are likely to appear in the exams to begin studying the relevant vocabulary. I’m also going to do a big review of all things like grammatical structures and verb conjugations, and finally, to ease myself into doing more readings, i’ll find some easier texts (such as YA novels, introductory texts to certain topics) and practise writing reviews about them 📚📚📚
at some point I’ll also try to get some one on one lessons with a tutor to further refine my skills but that will definitely have to come later
this post is super long omg so if you’ve made it this far reading thanks for sticking around 🤗🤗🤗 but honestly after writing all this out i’m pretty excited to get started studying for this exam!
please do let me know if you’ve got any tips for studying for this type of exam - i’d love to hear your experiences!!
~ ~ ~ 384 days to go ~ ~ ~
