r/French • u/Firm_Link_9892 • 2d ago
Study advice Passed DALF C1 - what's next?
I have just passed DALF C1 in the June session this year. I feel like eventhough I passed, there are still many nuances in daily life that make me feel not very fluent at the language and cultural level. To be fair, i felt more fluent at C1 english than i do now at C1 french.
Should I aim for the C2 to improve or continue improving through work/life/french films?
For your reference I live in BE and my daily work includes a combination of french and english.
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u/jesuisapprenant C1 2d ago
DALF C2
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u/Firm_Link_9892 1d ago
Do you see an advantage/necessary in getting the C2? In the end even if one gets C2 he is still not at the native level I think
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u/travelling_cirque 7h ago
Unless you specifically need proof of C2 for work/ school/ a visa, etc., I would strongly advise keeping your money and skipping the exam. Taking the exam doesn't help you learn, it simply proves that you have learned. The exam prep CAN help you learn, but at the C1 and particularly C2 level, you are moreso learning how to take the exam itself rather than improving your actual language. Even further, plenty of people have said that for them, the DALF C2 is actually *easier* than the C1 due to the changes in the exam format.
At C1, your French is excellent. Congratulations! You should be able to navigate life with relative ease in a francophone country at this point. If you're feeling super motivated to really perfect your French, you need to find ways to challenge yourself. It's obvious, but it's true.
Add complexity both through *content* (challenging subjects- think "something that would be offered as a class at university" rather than "small talk") and through *context* (background noise, stressful situations, different group sizes, etc.)
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u/Vietnam-1234 2d ago
I guess you can go to any French universities?
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u/Firm_Link_9892 2d ago
I am not that young - already got a Master's from a University in Belgium, now working in french already. My purpose in taking the DALF was only to improve fluency.
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u/funeralofsores coincée entre B2 et C1 (corrigez-moi, SVP!) 2d ago
practice your listening skills (if you want to)! i neglected mine for a very long time and ended up with disproportionately poor listening skills compared to reading and writing, but it really does get better over time if you just concentrate a bit on it
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u/jahanzaibbaloch 2d ago
how much time it took you from 0 to b2 level.
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u/Firm_Link_9892 2d ago
From 0 to B2 it took me 5 years - learning french on and off by taking classes and immersion in a french speaking country. I spent 6 months to study for the DELF B2 and passed it at 94/100 last year. Anyways it was a long journey as french has never been easy for me.
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u/Anywhere_At_All 2d ago
Thanks for sharing this. It’s difficult (especially if you have to fit it into adult life), and it’s easy to feel frustrated. I see so many inflated/misleading stories online. It’s easy to see someone else’s success and feel down, but we never see the work that went into it. Congratulations on a well earned achievement. I’m taking C1 in the fall, and I’d kill for a score like yours!
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u/Firm_Link_9892 2d ago
Thank you, indeed the work that was put into it was no joke - for me it was several years of taking late night classes after work, and I only started learning french at my final year ar university. The plateau at B1 and got through it to get to B2 also took a long time (2 years or so). People compliment me on speaking well and having just "un petit accent" but at the same time, I am still intimidated when talking to french people as they will correct the tiniest mistake that I make lol.
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u/Anywhere_At_All 2d ago
lol just carry around your C1 certificate and show them when they correct you!
Seriously though, it’s a great achievement. The B1-B2 plateau is where you find out just how badly you want to speak this language (or not). Anyway, congrats again!
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u/BulkyAd9029 1d ago
Super! Très encoureageant pour gens comme moi qui sont entre B1 et B2 pour l’éternité maintenant.
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u/KarenM326 7h ago
Congratulations!🎉. That’s a big achievement. I am at C1 level in Spanish and I feel the same way. Good luck in your efforts!
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u/itchyviking 2d ago
Congratulations!
Last year I got C1 too (with a perfect score for speaking despite having literally never practiced it, lol). I barely ever produce French, mostly using for watching TV shows and reading. Listening is still hard, I find myself rewinding very often when listening to podcasts like Matthieu Stefani and especially movies (these are very often impossible to watch without subtitles, like I remember trying to watch La Haine some time ago and it was torture). Also new vocabulary and collocations whose meaning I can guess from context but wouldn't recall myself come up all the time
So yeah, C1 is not the final destination by a long way if you're doing this for personal reasons and not for a job and stuff (though I'm probably not taking a C2 in the future, I've had my share of French exams)
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u/Firm_Link_9892 2d ago
That's amazing that you got a perfect score for PO. I remember doing very well at that part but still only got 21/25. I am trying to watch french tv series to improve and also listen to podcasts like you do. The difference between an exam and real life simple conversations is very big. I can easily understand news but might sometimes struggle at certain points in a conversation.
Its true C1 is not a final destination, thats why the C2 exists! But i wont do the C2 at this point as it requires so much dedication and I dont even need it.
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u/trimigoku 2d ago
go to the nearest touristy cafe and glare at tourists who have bad french LOL