When I visited Paris for the first time in late November 2021, I knew only three words in French: bonjour, bonsoir, and merci. Fast forward to early October 2024, and I’m sitting at a classroom desk and earning a score of 71 on the B2 DELF exam– without any stressful preparation or extreme study tactics. In this article, I outline all the methods and techniques I used to learn French quickly and pass the national language test.

A few facts about me and my personality, some of which definitely contributed to me being able to learn French quickly:

My first language is English
I have many years of formal education in the Spanish language, so I was already familiar with the concepts of conjugations and cognates
I spend a lot of time alone– my free time is my own, and I was able to dedicate a considerable amount of time for my personal interests, which included learning French
During this time before taking the exam I was mostly single (hence all the free time), but the times when I was dating I would only speak in English
I love to keep busy– my anxiety tells me if I’m not being productive then I’m wasting my time, so I’m naturally inclined to find things to learn or improve upon
I only like learning if I find it fun– if something becomes boring I disengage and quickly switch methods

If you are preparing to someday take the B2 DELF exam and are curious about exactly how I managed to pass it considering I started from virtually nothing less than three years prior, continue reading for a rough timeline and a list of all the methods I personally tried and benefited from.

Picking up my French B2 DELF diploma from the Alliance Française in Paris

Everything I did to learn French and pass the B2 DELF Exam in less than 3 years

The First Year: Non-Intensive

Rosetta Stone

As soon as I returned from my first visit to Paris, I was motivated to get more familiar with the French language and my first instinct was to download Rosetta Stone. I loved the format and found it easy to follow, and it took me nearly three months of daily practice in their app to complete all the levels they have for French. The progression was natural and logical, and I felt like it gave me a great foundation and some useful context for when I was ready to explore other learning methods. I used their app for daily practice, but I created my account and easily browsed their plan and subscription options on their desktop site.

Sign up for 3 months of Rosetta Stone for as little as $20/month

Podcasts

I tried listening to a few different French language learning podcasts so I could be more regularly exposed to the language. The practice was pretty passive and effortless, but I felt like it helped me considerably with my comprehension skills and I was able to gain some familiarity with the pronunciation. My favorite podcast was Little Talk in Slow French, which discusses current events at a clear and slower pace, and then at the end of each episode the host repeats the entire script but at a normal pace. I loved this particular format, because I really felt like it trained my brain to listen and understand. The topics that are covered in Little Talk in Slow French are also interesting and relevant, so it felt good to consume content that increased my awareness in current affairs. The host also uploads transcripts for each episode, so regardless of your level you can access additional assistance to follow along if necessary.

Find it on Apple or Spotify

Rewatching familiar movies

This was one of the language-learning methods that I remember was especially helpful when I was studying Spanish many years ago: I would rewatch movies that I’ve already seen in English, but in French with no subtitles. However, I personally don’t like watching movies that are dubbed, so I resorted to only rewatching animated films and cartoons. I was able to find all the Disney films from my childhood available in French on Disney+, and the practice was useful for improving my comprehension skills. The key is to rewatch something you are already familiar with, so you’re not lost in the plot and can really allow yourself to focus on the dialogue and exchanges throughout each movie. I feel like whenever anyone mentions “learning language the way kids do” this is the method that first comes to mind for me– not because the content is childish, but because you are “placing” yourself in situations where you have to rely on your own understanding of past experiences to comprehend whatever it is you’re observing. I find that learning based on context and experience is more memorable and more impactful than methods that involve a lot of translation.

The Next Six Months: Not a lot of progress

I then moved to Paris within a year of my first ever visit. As much as one would think that immersion would automatically help me improve my French, it wasn’t the case. Pretty much every interaction I was having was still in English, and I was still traveling in and out of France quite often. My roommate and all my French friends spoke perfect English, so I didn’t have much exposure to situations that would force me to learn. During this time I was focused on other things, and learning French wasn’t my biggest priority.

The Next Year and a Half: More Intensive

I moved into my own apartment

Due to a series of unrelated and unplanned events, I found myself in a situation where I needed to find my own apartment in Paris, as fast as possible. I was also newly single at the time, so was left to do everything on my own with my limited French. I was very lucky that throughout the experience I met with many kind, helpful, and patient people, and managed to secure an apartment. This process of dealing with movers, delivery services, electricians, utility workers, customer service agents, etc, was really the first time I was somewhat forced to try using my French in the real world. It was humbling– and in retrospect I remember that within that month my French progressed more than it did in the previous 1.5 years combined. Gaining even the smallest ounce of independence in the language also motivated me to continue making more of an effort to improve.

Rereading familiar books

It was during this time that I was gifted one of my favorite books (in English), and was inspired to immediately reread it in French. The concept was similar to when I would rewatch familiar movies in French– I was aware of the plot, so I wouldn’t be totally lost in the story line if I read the book in French. I then searched for a number of other titles that I loved, especially those that were originally written in French. This practice gave me exposure to important aspects of written French like spelling and varying sentence structures, and definitely improved my reading comprehension.

Signed up for my first real French class at the Alliance Française in Paris

I was motivated to take my French seriously and started researching reputable language schools in Paris that were reasonably priced and had availability in the coming weeks. I read great things about the Alliance Française, and signed up for their next session. I was then invited to take their online placement test to determine my French level and managed to score a 60% on grammar, a 90% on comprehension, and my verbal submission was apparently convincing enough because I was placed at level B1. Considering how much time I spent just passively exposing myself to the language with various types of written, visual, and verbal content, and how little time I spent actually producing anything in the language, I thought the comprehension and grammar assessments were fair. As for my verbal submission, I think there were a few things in particular that helped me: I remember at the time I would focus on the main words (subjects and verbs) of a phrase when attempting to speak, I had a decent accent, and I would tend to speak fast in order to “skip over” all of the French articles that I didn’t know. I was also nervous when recording my submission, so I rushed through some of my responses which may have led to them being interpreted as concise and efficient. (Pure luck!)

I excitedly yet nervously arrived for the first session of my B1 French class to a wonderful and welcoming teacher (Véronique), and friendly classmates (several of whom I continue to keep in touch with to this day!). As this was my first ever real French class after having exposed myself to the language by various other methods, I seemed to have “light-bulb moments” daily when having grammar rules explained to me. I felt like all the synapses in my brain were connecting, and I was grateful to have had a decent amount of context and experience to apply the grammar rules to while learning in this organized classroom setting. The level of placement seemed fair and accurate, and I really enjoyed the structure of a physical class, and the sense of accountability it created to consistently show up in person. I think the only factor that I needed to adjust to was the fact that it had been well-over a decade since the last time I was a student in a collaborative classroom setting, physically sitting in a desk. Technology is well-integrated in the classes at the Alliance Française in Paris, with the use of digital smart-boards that convert classroom notes into PDFs to be shared electronically. It was a notable change from when I was a university student back in the early 2000’s!

This was their Compact Intensive Two-Week Course (4 hours a day, 5 days a week). You can browse the AF Paris course catalog here.

Grammar and Communication workshops at the Alliance Française

The Compact Intensive Two-Week Course I took at the Alliance Française was great– I loved the experience and it helped me see real and tangible progress in my French. However, the time commitment was not sustainable for me and my work schedule. But I was eager to continue, and browsed their course catalog for their offering of in-person grammar and communication workshops that usually consisted of four three-hour sessions over a two-week period. In between my work and travel, I was able to attend two communication workshops and one grammar workshop over the following few months.

Fitness classes

During this time I was also motivated to start working out again and discover some of the many reformer pilates studios that were popping up all over Paris. I had been doing pilates somewhat regularly for more than 10 years, so was fairly well-versed in the “language” of the sport. I tried out a few studios that I found on ClassPass, and found a handful of French-speaking instructors that taught great pilates classes. Every time I would work out, I felt like I was getting bonus French lesson– and now I only go to fitness classes if the instruction is in French. This practice has helped me considerably with vocabulary, understanding various accents, communicating about real-time experiences, and meeting new friends.

You can discover fitness classes in your city and use my ClassPass code for 20 bonus credits by clicking here.

The entrance of the Alliance Française in Paris

French through Theatre Techniques at the Alliance Française

I noticed I was losing a little bit of interested in traditional grammar classes, and I know that I am most motivated to learn anything when I find the methods more dynamic. I got an email from the Alliance Française in Paris stating that they were going to start offering French language courses “through theatre techniques”, and while I was never a theatre kid and have never been interested in acting, I was intrigued. The level was mixed for B1, B2, and C1 students, which was also very interesting to me. I signed up just for the sake of doing something different and it was definitely out of my comfort-zone.

But I immediately loved it– the format was unlike anything else I had ever done to learn a language, and over the course of that first four-week session, I felt like my abilities in the French language had transformed. In a short amount of time I gained confidence, fluidity, and creativity, and even developed my sense of humor in the language. I ended up signing up for another four-week theatre technique class at the Alliance Française a few months later, and both my teachers (Anne and Charlie) were fantastic. The classes were dynamic, interesting, lively, varied, and ultimately fun. Time seemed to fly by and I was always engaged and never bored. The techniques varied between things like reading scenes, writing scenes, creatively re-writing and re-imagining scenes, playing roles, and playing games, in addition to some improvisation, memorization, and pronunciation work. I also think because the level was mixed (B1, B2, & C1), I was able to progress considerably and learn from other students that were more advanced than me. Overall, the format of this class was one of my absolute favorite and most transformational methods to learn French.

Theatre Classes at the Alliance Française are typically 4 hours a day, 3 days a week, for 4 weeks. You can browse the AF Paris course catalog here.

Other various workshops

In between theatre and pilates classes, I also started signing up for all different types of workshops around Paris to get exposed to the language in different settings while also participating in doing things that I love and was already familiar with. I found workshops for floral arranging, cooking classes, art classes, ceramics classes, and pastry making, which were all taught in French. I was usually the only person in each of these workshops that didn’t fluently speak French, but always managed to fully participate and have a great time. Placing myself in new situations was also a practice in building confidence, communicating with different kinds of people, and learning new vocabulary.

Transcribing books

Throughout my limited but varied experience in French up until this point, I realized that in the few opportunities I had to practice writing French by hand, I had a lot of trouble with spelling. It was frustrating and intimidating to have to write in French, and it almost felt like learning another language. But one day in one of my theatre classes, I noticed my teacher Charlie writing on the board in really lovely cursive. I was inspired and started practicing writing French in cursive, and something just clicked. The language is fluid, so it felt natural to write in a manner that was also fluid– and all of a sudden I felt like I was able to spell more easily.

I then thought to find a new book in French that I was interested in reading, and start transcribing it. While walking around Paris, I saw a linguistics book in a shop window whose title caught my eye: “La langue anglaise n’existe pas, c’est du français mal prononcé” or in English, “The English Language Doesn’t Exist, It’s French Pronounced Poorly”. Not only did the practice of transcribing while reading allow me to better understand the contents of the book, but it also granted me the experience of filling stacks of journals with my French handwriting, something I never imagined myself doing. I was exposed to more variance in sentence structure, was able to physically develop muscle memory in my hand and in my posture, and I also learned an enormous amount of new vocabulary. In a short amount of time, the experience also taught me how to handwrite quickly in French, which is one of the most important skills needed to pass the B2 DELF exam.

Discover the book “La langue anglaise n’existe pas, c’est du français mal prononcé” here. It’s a bit like reading the dictionary, but if you are interested in linguistics like I am, you will enjoy learning about the evolution and shared history of the French and English languages.

Registered for the B2 DELF Exam

While I was making steady progress in the French language, I didn’t have any concrete goals of what I wanted to achieve other than “get better”. I then thought I take an exam to have measurable proof that I was improving, and decided to sign up for the B2 DELF to give myself something to work toward. The test date was set for early October 2024, but registration was required a few months in advance.

I signed up to take the exam at the Alliance Française in Paris because I was already comfortable and familiar with the location. There were fewer ‘unknowns’ that could contribute to additional, unnecessary stress on exam day– I already knew exactly how long it takes me to get there by metro, and I already knew the exact locations of the administration desks, elevators, bathrooms, etc.

Click here to view registration details and dates for upcoming exams at the Alliance Française in Paris.

Completed one lesson of my B2 DELF online prep course

I thought signing up for the B2 DELF was going to light a fire underneath me and motivate me to study. But I assumed wrong– I didn't speed up any of my learning habits, and while I did purchase an online B2 DELF preparation course, I decided it was boring after one module and never opened it again. However, I did gain some valuable insight in that single module: that within the reading comprehension sections of the exam, the answers to each of the questions will appear in chronological order within the text. This point may be obvious to some, but it wasn’t obvious to me and it was the first time I heard this tip. I used this strategy to my advantage during the test and I do think it helped save me time and gave me confidence in my answers.

Tested into a traditional B2 class at the Alliance Française

While I did spend about a year in-and-out of B1 and mixed level classes and workshops, I didn’t have any proof that I was actually at a B2 level before signing up for the DELF exam. I planned on signing up for one more four-week traditional grammar class at the Alliance Française to be better prepared for the exam, and hoped that I would qualify for B2 after retaking their placement test. It was a bit of a gamble and a wish, but I did in fact get placed in my first official B2 class. This class was also a great learning experience, and I remember we frequently did reading comprehension and listening comprehension exercises that were similar to the format found in the B2 DELF exam. Attending this class was essentially my only “preparation” ahead of the exam.

Took the B2 DELF exam, and passed!

As the exam day approached, part of me was nervous, part of me had absolutely no idea how I would do, and part of me was at ease knowing I had nothing to lose and that I was only taking the test as a personal gauge of my capabilities in French. It had been decades since I last took a formal, academic exam, and in the days leading up to it I remembered and re-adopted the approach that I maintained during every level of schooling I had experienced throughout my life: I never stressed or pushed myself, and was happy if my score was an accurate reflection of my abilities. The day before the exam, I finally decided to spend some time reviewing the format and how each section would be scored. This was helpful and would have likely been more helpful if I had done it more in advance, but I’m just sharing the reality of how prepared/unprepared I was going into it.

The first day of the exam (which consisted of the Oral Comprehension, Reading Comprehension, and Written Production sections) was a little nerve-wracking. I felt confident about the comprehension sections, but didn’t fully complete my thoughts in the written section (though I did at least reach the minimum word-count requirement), and I was worried how my score would be impacted. When I left the building after the first day of the exam, I remember feeling especially grateful that I had so much transcription experience because I was able to at least write quickly. If I did not have this skill, I likely would not have even met the minimum word-count and that could have disqualified my entire score. I then returned at a later date to complete the Oral Production section of the exam (that’s how the format was decided at the Alliance Française in Paris, I’m not sure if it’s the same at other exam centers). I met the minimum time requirements for both the monologue and the debate, and felt like I had expressed my opinions relatively clearly using a varied vocabulary. However, when I left that day I still had no idea how I would be scored.

While I was told to estimate about six weeks to learn my score, I received an email within two weeks letting me know I had passed! And not only did I pass, but I scored 71/100– much better than I imagined for myself, and higher than the minimum overall score of 50 required to pass. My score for each section is detailed below:

Oral Comprehension: 21.5/25
Reading Comprehension: 23.5/25
Written Production: 11/25
Oral Production: 15/25

I was then notified a few months later to come pick up my official diploma in person at the Alliance Française. It was a very proud moment, and I’m glad to have taken the exam when I did so I can already be prepared with my language certification if I am to ever need it in the future.

My top tips to prepare for the B2 DELF exam

Having successfully passed the B2 DELF exam, I’m often asked which learning methods were most effective, and if there’s anything I wish I did differently when preparing. These are the three tips that first come to mind:

Having a varied education
I think having learned French through a wide variety of methods is what contributed the most to me being able to learn quickly. Exposing yourself to different techniques will help you determine what you respond to the best, and you can focus on the methods that are most effective for your personal learning preferences. Gaining experience using some techniques may also help you improve in other areas. For example, listening to podcasts regularly can help you improve your comprehension while watching movies or news programs, which in turn help you develop points of view that you may need to express while taking the exam.
Learning to write quickly by hand
As I mentioned a few times in this article, developing this skill likely helped me avoid disqualification from the entire exam. In our digital age, we tend to have fewer and fewer opportunities to write anything by hand, and even less-so in another language that we’re learning. Being experienced in writing quickly by hand in French will also allow you to focus on the content, grammar, and clarity of the written production section of the exam, which are all factors that go into how it is scored.
Getting familiar with the test format
This is something I wish I had devoted a little more time to before taking the test. One way to do this is by actually completing exam preparation programs (something I didn’t do), or you can also go to the official B2 DELF exam website (linked here) which outlines exactly how each section is scored, the time that is allowed, expectations for how to pace yourself, and examples of questions and prompts.

Continuing my progress in French

While passing the B2 DELF exam was certainly an important milestone in my French language learning journey, I still feel like I have a long way to go and I’ve been especially motivated to continue making progress. Stay tuned for my next guide that will outline all of my favorite and most effective methods for continuing to learn French, including those that I’ve been partaking in since passing the exam: starting to date in Paris, taking private lessons on Preply, completing the Lingoda Language Sprint, and signing up for Babbel Live classes, to name a few.

Are you preparing for the B2 DELF exam or simply wondering what methods and techniques can help you learn French fast? If you have any questions about my personal experience or anything I’ve mentioned in this article, let me know below in the comments!