I intend to continue with my usual reading and watching/listening, except I'm currently ramping it up a bit. I'm about 400 pages behind on the Super Challenge and I hope to have that caught up by the end of March. Besides that, I'm toying with a few resources, some of which I want to set firm goals with, and others I will more likely dabble with. I keep getting ideas of things I think would be good to work on, and I feel like I need to set them out in a list so that I can filter them out and prioritize what will be the most useful. It might even be more useful to categorize my resources as well.
Target date: 2 June
- Kwiziq -- get A2 score into the 90s (early April), get started on the B2 section
- FUN Mooc Vivre en France - A1 -- I decided to use these moocs because they use a lot of DELF exam style questions. I've already done 11% of this course (2/16 lessons) in 2 days, so I expect to complete this in a few weeks. Although I'm not really learning anything new, it is helpful to use these basic skills in exam style questions. As I proceed, I'm sure I'll come across some things I don't know or have forgotten about.
- FUN Mooc Vivre en France - A2 -- this level of the mooc is obviously more relevant towards doing the A2 exam. I plan to work on this across the month of April.
- Le DELF 100% reussite: Livre A2 -- This is a targeted exam-specific revision guide. I intend to work on the listening and writing exercises pretty quickly (perhaps by the end of March?) and then spend a lot more time on the writing and speaking sections. I will probably save the actual practice tests for the final 2 or 3 weeks before the exams.
- Other past papers: I found 4 past papers on http://www.delfdalf.fr/delf-a2-sample-papers.html, and a few more on https://www.french-exam.com/category/delf-dalf-exam-preparation/delf-a2/, although some of the pages on the latter site may be missing things. All these tests are based on the previous version of the DELF exam. I plan to work on some of these first, probably starting mid-April, and save the tests from my revision guide for May (since those tests will be closer to the new version).
- Orthodidacte -- I still feel that spelling is a problem for me, and I'm sure I'll lose some marks unnecessarily because of this. My solution is to use the tried and true French method of doing dictées. I have completed 11/21 of the A1 dictées in the FLE section and I plan to finish these soon and then get working on the A2 level in which there are 27 dictées. After that I might try some of the dictées for native school children, or just work through the A2 FLE dictées again. The problem is: I have taken over a year to do those 11 dictées, so if I want to meet my minimum goal (complete the A1 and A2 FLE dictées), then I need to pick up the pace!
- S’entrainer au TCF avec TV5MONDE -- a series of 17 podcasts designed for test prep for the TCF. Each podcast lasts around 15 minutes and the TV5Monde website has a pdf booklet to accompany each episode. As TCF is a single exam for all levels, I expect this will be a lot more advanced than what I need for the A2, but it might be worth dabbling in. Website: https://apprendre.tv5monde.com/fr/article/les-livrets-dentrainement-au-tcf-r-avec-tv5monde
- Grammaire progressive du français -- I have the A1/A2 books as well as the B1 book. However, I've figured out I don't really like workbooks because if I make a mistake it's hard to go back and do the same question later. That's one thing I like about Kwiziq: make a mistake and you'll get the same question again later. Probably, with these books I should just take the "do it and move on" attitude, knowing I'll be tested on the same things by other resources. Also, a bit like PM, I feel like I've spent money on these books so I ought to use them. But these are currently firmly in the "dabble" category rather than priority.
Regarding the four skills to be tested: - Listening-- I am currently listening to an audiobook or podcast while commuting, and listen to a 10-minute news bulletin from Europe 1 while walking the dog most evenings. Combined with the practice material from the DELF revision guide, this should be sufficient.
- Reading -- currently I mostly read fiction, but I should probably start doing something like reading a newspaper article on regular occasions, and/or find more reading material which is more relevant to the exam.
- WRITING -- bleedin heck, I really need to practice writing. Fortunately, the moocs have writing tasks, which are not marked, so I'm planning to put them on Lang-8 for some feedback. I've found a few exam prep websites with general tips for writing for the A2 exam, but really I just need to do it. I think one of the blockages is just getting started. It would probably help to find or make a list of potential A2 writing tasks, and work on them. I know there are a few specific things that I would be expected to write about, e.g. a letter or email responding to an invitation, and there are formal parameters (e.g. the greeting) which are expected to be used. The revision guide will be a good place for some help here.
SPEAKING -- bloody hell, this is the real bugbear! I can't afford an online tutor, but I've always intended to start a language exchange "someday". That someday needs to become a lot sooner if I'm going to get some practice! In addition, I feel like I should take some of the things I write (see above), and keep practicing them orally. I'm considering doing some language islanding, and writing, memorizing and practicing out loud a series of standard paragraphs which could be models for both the writing and speaking sections.
I have other thoughts bouncing around in my head, but I've run out of time! I think tonight I'll put together a tentative timetable on Excel. And then do some of the stuff listed above.