12.1 The 15-Minute Preparation Period & Note-Taking Strategy

Prepare Tasks 1 and 2 in Fifteen Minutes

General DELE B1 provides 15 minutes of advance preparation before its 15-minute oral test. The official guide assigns this preparation to Tasks 1 and 2: a brief presentation on a selected topic and the following conversation. The photographs for Task 3 are chosen during the examination; they are not part of a three-task advance-preparation dossier.

Use this time to organize the message you want to communicate. You may take notes and consult an outline, but you must not limit your performance to reading it. The purpose is spoken communication, not the recitation of a written essay. That distinction should determine both your notes and your rehearsal.

Understand the Two Examiners

The entrevistador manages the exchange, asks questions and provides a holistic rating. The calificador listens without participating and provides analytic ratings for coherence, fluency, correction and range. The official weighting is 40% holistic and 60% analytic. The analytic assessment groups Tasks 1–2 and Tasks 3–4, with equal weight for the two pairs.

Speak to the interviewer as your conversational partner. You do not need to monitor the rater’s notes or interpret a neutral expression as a negative judgment. Exact seating positions, compulsory continuous eye contact and body-language percentages are not published scoring rules. Concentrate on listening, responding and being understandable.

An initial contact exchange helps establish the interaction. Follow the interviewer’s lead instead of trying to deliver your presentation before the first task starts. A greeting such as Buenos días and a clear answer to a simple personal question are enough to begin naturally.

Select a Topic You Can Develop

You choose a Task 1 topic from two options. Read the topic and guiding questions, then decide which lets you give concrete information with language you control. The most familiar subject is often useful, but do not choose from a single word in the heading: check all the requested areas.

Suppose one topic concerns a memorable trip and another concerns learning a skill. For the trip, can you describe the setting, events and reactions? For the skill, can you explain how you began, what was difficult and what you plan to do next? A topic is manageable when you can develop its actual questions, not merely name a few related nouns.

Do not assume every prompt must contain an identical past-present-future structure. That can be a helpful organizing idea when the questions invite it, but the selected prompt governs the content. A specific event may need more past narrative; a preference may need comparison and reasons.

A Suggested 1–7–4–3 Preparation Plan

The following is independent practice advice, not an official allocation within the fifteen minutes:

This totals fifteen minutes and reserves no advance photograph-preparation block. If your topic choice takes longer, shorten the rehearsal rather than abandoning the outline. Practice this routine on several new prompts so you can adapt it without watching a clock constantly.

Write Cues That Trigger Speech

A useful outline is brief enough to consult at a glance. For a topic about learning to cook, it might read:

• Inicio: universidad; vivir solo; comida cara.
• Dificultad: organizar compras; quemé la primera tortilla.
• Ayuda: mi abuelo; recetas sencillas; cada domingo.
• Ahora: cocinar dos veces por semana; ahorrar.
• Opinión: habilidad útil; compartir comida con amigos.

Each cue can generate a connected sentence. Cuando empecé la universidad, vivía solo y gastaba mucho en comida preparada develops the first line. The next cue naturally leads to an incident. The notes support meaning rather than prescribe every word.

Avoid filling the page with a complete script. That encourages you to look down, read and lose the interaction. However, do not invent a fixed Band 0 or Band 1 penalty merely because someone glanced at a complete sentence. The published requirement is not to limit yourself to reading an outline; assessment depends on the actual spoken performance.

Prepare for Conversation without Memorizing Replies

Task 2 develops the selected topic with the interviewer. Anticipate questions such as ¿Por qué fue importante?, ¿Qué fue lo más difícil? and ¿Lo recomendaría?. Note an example or reason for each, not a paragraph to recite regardless of the actual question.

If your presentation says cooking saves money, be ready to explain how: Compro verduras para varios platos y llevo comida al trabajo. If asked whether everyone should learn, a balanced answer might be Creo que es útil, aunque depende del tiempo y de la situación de cada persona. Neither response requires an elaborate formal debate.

Prepare repair expressions as well: ¿Podría repetir la pregunta?, ¿Se refiere a mi experiencia o a la situación en general? and Lo que quiero decir es.... These can help restore understanding. Use them when needed, rather than inserting long “thinking” formulas into every answer.

Move from Preparation to Performance

Before leaving preparation, check that your outline has a clear beginning, development and ending and that it follows the selected topic. Bring or use notes only as permitted by the examination instructions. Do not rely on personal devices, a dictionary or a prewritten outside script.

In the oral room, let the interviewer introduce each task. For the presentation, glance at a cue, then express the idea. In conversation, listen to the actual question rather than searching for a memorized answer. For the later photo task, inspect the two options as instructed and choose then; use the descriptive skills practiced in Chapter 13.

If nervous, pause briefly, breathe comfortably and start with a simple clear sentence. There is no need to maintain a fixed words-per-minute rate or perform a breathing protocol. Rehearsal with fresh prompts, understandable speech and responsive conversation provide better preparation than an elaborate performance ritual.