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Jour-J Considerations: Things to Keep in Mind on Exam Day

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If you're lucky enough to take an exam online (some TOEFL tests, IELTS, etc) you can setup an ideal test taking environment at home. Plenty of water, a quick bathroom break, and absolute silence. However, if you're taking an exam like the DELE or DELF/DALF you'll need to report to an in-person testing site. The quality of these sites can vary widely. Here are some tips to maximize success on game day:

  • Room size and acoustics matter. You could be in a 100 person air-conditioned auditorium with surround sound speakers, or in a dinky classroom with tiny desks and only 10 other test takers with a single crackly speaker at the front. If you're having trouble with listening comprehension, acoustics can be the difference between a 10 or a 15 / 25.
    • Advice: pay a little extra to go to the best facility possible. For example, I took the DALF at the Sorbonne in Paris knowing the facilities would be world-class.
  • Distractions increase exponentially with the number of people. Sneezing, coughing, pens dropping, people asking to go to the bathroom, someone tapping their foot, someone sneaking a glance at your paper (this happened to me). There's a lot that can take your mind off the test.
    • Advice: try taking 1-2 practice sessions in a cafe. Not a high-traffic one, but one with a little light background music and a couple other people.
  • Proctor variance. There are multiple proctors, especially at the larger testing sites. Some of them are strict and watching that timer like a hawk, and some of them are distracted! During my production orale, the people in the back half received almost 15 minutes of extra prep time because we were running late.
    • Advice: Never game plan for more time to complete a particular section of the test. However, getting 100 people to move to a different location between sections, proctors watching tiktok and ending the writing section 5 minutes late -- it all adds up. Mentally prepare to be on site for a solid half day.

Last note: my test site organized alphabetically. This is likely a very common practice. Last names starting with A went in to the rooms first, started their orale exams first, etc. Last names starting with Z had a little extra padding to show up to the exam late, go to the bathroom, etc. But they waited the longest and got out last as well!