Exam preparation
An 8-week study plan, week by week, to prepare for the DELF B2 for free: method, resources, mock exams and the final days.
By Équipe DELF B2 · · · 8 min read
Knowing how to prepare for DELF B2 matters more than the money you spend. With a clear plan, one hour a day and the right free resources, eight weeks are enough for a candidate close to B2 level. This guide gives you a week-by-week study plan, the resources to use and how to organise your mock exams.
Before you start, measure your starting point with our free B2 level test. It tells you which paper to work on first.
The DELF B2 has four papers marked out of 25: listening (30 minutes), reading (1 hour), writing (1 hour) and speaking (20 minutes, after 30 minutes of preparation). You need 50/100 overall and at least 5/25 in each paper. Every detail is in our DELF B2 exam guide.
Register first: an exam date gives you a concrete goal. Registration often closes several weeks before the written papers. See our DELF B2 registration guide.
The plan below is based on about one hour a day, six days a week, around fifty hours in total. Consistency beats duration: thirty minutes every day is better than four hours on Sunday.
Take a first full exam, untimed, to discover the format. Note your difficulties in a notebook: vocabulary, timing, accents, organising your writing. Read the method for each paper.
Listen to an authentic 3- to 5-minute document every day: radio news, a report, a debate. Practise reading the questions before listening and spotting key words. Follow our DELF B2 listening method.
Read one press article a day and sum it up in three sentences. Identify the author's thesis and arguments. Time yourself: in the DELF B2, managing your time on long texts makes the difference.
Learn the structure of the formal letter and the article. Write two 250-word texts during the week, then mark them with the official grid.
Pick one social topic a day, prepare it in 30 minutes and record a 5- to 7-minute talk. Listen back. Use our DELF B2 speaking phrases.
Take a full exam under real conditions, in one morning. Mark it and analyse every mistake. Spend the rest of the week on your weakest paper.
Take another full exam, on a paper you have never seen. Compare your scores with week 6. Review linking words and the set phrases for the letter and the speaking test.
Do short exercises on your weak points and reread your notes and mistake log. Two days before the exam, stop full papers. The day before, get your documents ready and rest.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 10 minutes | Review yesterday's vocabulary (cards or an app). |
| 30 minutes | The week's main exercise: listening, reading, writing or speaking. |
| 15 minutes | Correction and analysis of mistakes in your notebook. |
| 5 minutes | Plan the next day's session. |
This simple structure stops you wasting time deciding what to do. It also keeps a written record of your progress.
One hour a day isn't always possible. Here is a realistic pace for someone with a job:
At this pace, plan 10 to 12 weeks instead of 8. The key is never to skip more than two days in a row.
Note your score out of 25 for every paper you take. A simple table is enough:
| Week | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | …/25 | …/25 | …/25 | …/25 |
| Week 6 | …/25 | …/25 | …/25 | …/25 |
| Week 7 | …/25 | …/25 | …/25 | …/25 |
If a paper stays below 12/25 in week 6, give it half of your sessions until the exam: it is the one that will make the difference.
| Paper | Free resource | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | Radio news, podcasts, TV5Monde Apprendre | Every day |
| Reading | Online press, editorials, opinion pieces | Every day |
| Writing | Our formal letter and article guides | Two texts a week |
| Speaking | Social topics, recording on your phone | Three talks a week |
Knowing how to prepare for DELF B2 for free comes down to these simple resources, used regularly.
Set small weekly goals rather than one distant target. If you can, work with a partner for speaking. And remember why you are taking the DELF B2: study, work or citizenship. Successful preparation is above all regular preparation.
| Day | One-hour session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Read the formal letter guide and learn the set phrases. |
| Tuesday | Write a formal letter in one hour. |
| Wednesday | Mark the letter with the grid; rewrite the weak passages. |
| Thursday | Read the article guide and study the annotated example. |
| Friday | Write an article in one hour. |
| Saturday | Mark the article and review linking words. |
Preparing with one or two other candidates works very well for speaking: each person takes turns as candidate and examiner. For writing, swap texts and mark them with the official grid. Conversation groups at libraries and associations are also a good free option.
If you can tick these five points, your preparation is done: all that is left is to rest.
| Days | Programme |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Discover the format and take a full paper, untimed. |
| 3 to 4 | Listening and reading: method and two exercises a day. |
| 5 to 7 | Writing: structure of the letter and the article, one text a day. |
| 8 to 10 | Speaking: one recorded talk a day using the useful phrases. |
| 11 | Full mock exam under real conditions. |
| 12 to 13 | Targeted work on the weakest paper. |
| 14 | Review your notes and rest. |
This plan won't deepen your French in two weeks, but it will stop you losing points through not knowing the format.
Should you study grammar separately? Only the structures that keep causing errors in your writing: the subjunctive, agreements, relative pronouns. Should you learn model texts by heart? No: learn structures and set phrases, then adapt them. Should you practise with a timer from day one? Not at first: understand the method, then add the timer from week 3.
These free tools are enough: the quality of your preparation depends on regularity, not equipment.
Keep all your material in one folder, paper or digital: past papers, corrections, method sheets and your mistake log. The day before the exam, this folder is what you reread. Having everything in one place also shows you how far you have come, which is a real boost in the final week. Small, steady steps win, and they are far easier to keep up than long, irregular sessions.
Read next: for your mock exams, download our DELF B2 practice test PDF, and practise with our reading and listening examples. To choose a textbook, see our comparison of the best DELF B2 books.
Read next: to follow this plan on no budget, our guide to free DELF B2 preparation gathers the best official and online resources.
With four weeks, merge the weeks in pairs: listening and reading in the first week, writing and speaking in the second, then one mock exam a week. With only two weeks, focus on the format, one full mock exam and your weakest paper.
Whatever your timeline, the rule stays the same: know the format, work on every paper and take at least one timed mock exam. That is the heart of knowing how to prepare for DELF B2.
Yes. With authentic material, the official France Education international samples, TV5Monde and RFI resources, and our free test no. 1 of each paper, you can prepare fully without paying for classes.
If your level is already close to B2, 8 weeks at one hour a day is usually enough. From a shaky B1, plan for 4 to 6 months instead.
Two or three full exams in real time, during the last three weeks. Before that, work paper by paper.
No. Classes mostly help with speaking, because you need someone to listen and correct you. On your own, record yourself and listen back.
Reread your method notes and set phrases, check your notice of exam and ID, then rest. Don't try to learn anything new.
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