Esame orale DELF B1 (production orale): cosa chiede ogni parte e come esercitarsi ad alta voce

This page is for anyone preparing the speaking part of the DELF B1, the production orale. It explains what each of the three parts asks you to do and how the examiners score it, using the sample papers and evaluation grid that France Éducation international (FEI) publishes, linked in the sources. Then it shows how to rehearse each part out loud. A short section near the end covers the DELF A2 and B2 orals.

Dia is a practice partner. It isn't affiliated with FEI, which runs the DELF, and it doesn't give DELF scores or predict your result. The format below comes from official material as of November 2026. Check the current details with your exam center, and do at least one official sample paper under real conditions before the day.

The DELF B1 oral at a glance

The DELF B1 has four papers, each scored out of 25. To get the diploma you need at least 50 of 100 overall and at least 5 of 25 on every paper; below 5 on any one paper, you fail whatever your total. Listening, reading and writing are taken in a room with other candidates. The oral is individual: you sit alone with two examiners.

The oral itself takes 10 to 15 minutes. Before it you get 10 minutes of preparation, which are for the third part only: you draw two topics for part 3, keep one and prepare it. Then the three parts follow one after another, and the examiner tells you when you move from one to the next.

Part	Preparation	Length	What you do
1. Entretien dirigé	None	2 to 3 minutes	Talk about yourself and answer the examiner's questions
2. Exercice en interaction	None	3 to 4 minutes	Play a role in an unusual everyday situation and find a solution with the examiner
3. Expression d'un point de vue	10 minutes	5 to 7 minutes	Say what a short text is about, give your opinion in a talk of about 3 minutes, then answer questions

How the 25 points are given

The examiners fill in one grid for the whole oral, with six criteria. Three of them score the task in each part, up to 4 points each. The other three score your French across all three parts: vocabulary (up to 5 points), grammar (up to 4) and pronunciation and fluency (up to 4).

That puts 12 of the 25 points on doing what each task asks. The other 13 depend on how you speak from the first "bonjour" to the last "au revoir". FEI's explanation of the criteria shows what B1 means here. For grammar, it expects simple sentences and also complex ones, which it describes as long sentences with several conjugated verbs. For pronunciation, it asks for speech that is fairly fluent and easy to follow, at a pace neither too fast nor too slow, with liaisons, and with an accent that doesn't get in the way of understanding.

FEI's advice for the day itself: greet the examiners when you arrive and when you leave, look at them while you speak, and if you don't understand something, ask them to repeat it or to speak more slowly.

Part 1: entretien dirigé (guided interview)

This part has no preparation and lasts 2 to 3 minutes. You talk about yourself, your activities and interests, your past, your present and your plans. The examiner opens with a question such as "Bonjour ! Pouvez-vous vous présenter, me parler de vous, de votre famille ?" and keeps the conversation going with questions like "Où avez-vous passé vos dernières vacances ?", "Que voulez-vous faire plus tard ?" or "Parlez-moi de vos passe-temps préférés."

The official advice is to cover past, present and future, to say what you like and don't like and explain why, and to organize what you say. At B1 a list of facts ("J'ai 32 ans, je suis ingénieure, j'aime le cinéma") is thin. The grid asks you to talk about your hobbies and plans and explain them: why you moved, what you want to do next and why.

How to practice part 1 with Dia

• Tell Dia you're preparing for the DELF B1 and ask it to play the examiner for the entretien dirigé. Speak out loud, since the exam is spoken, and ask Dia to use "vous" with you, as the examiner will.
• Give a reason or an example in every answer. If you say you like cooking, add what you made last weekend and what you're going to cook for friends next week. That puts a past tense, the present and the future into one answer.
• Ask Dia for follow-up questions you haven't prepared, for example about your last holiday or your ideal job.

Part 2: exercice en interaction (role play)

This part has no preparation either and lasts 3 to 4 minutes. You draw two situations, choose one and play the role it gives you. The examiner plays the other person. FEI states the goal as dealing with an unusual situation and finding a solution to a problem.

In the official sample paper, you bought a piece of clothing during a stay in France and it turns out not to suit you. The ad promised "satisfait ou remboursé" (satisfied or your money back). You ask for a refund, the seller refuses and offers an exchange, and you insist on getting your money back. The other sample situations include a hotel room that doesn't match your booking in high season when the hotel is full, a colleague who would rather have a simple meal than the big retirement party you suggested, and a French friend who doesn't want to go away with you for the weekend.

In every sample the other person says no at first. Your job is to move the conversation toward a solution and stay polite while you do it.

The criteria for this part look at:

• Politeness that fits the situation: "bonjour" or "salut", "s'il vous plaît", "merci", "au revoir", and "tu" or "vous" depending on who the examiner is playing. A seller or a hotel receptionist gets "vous"; a friend gets "tu".
• Proposing solutions, insisting, and giving your opinion with examples to back it up.
• Reacting to the examiner: answering their questions and reactions, commenting on their point of view, and checking what they tell you.

FEI also suggests starting by presenting the situation and the problem, then proposing solutions and saying what you think of the examiner's proposals.

How to practice part 2 with Dia

• Describe a situation to Dia in one or two sentences, the way the exam card does, and say who it should play. For example: "Tu es vendeur dans un magasin de vêtements. J'ai acheté une veste la semaine dernière, la publicité disait 'satisfait ou remboursé', et je veux être remboursé. Refuse d'abord."
• Practice insisting politely. Phrases like "Je comprends, mais..." and "Pourtant, votre publicité dit bien que..." let you push back without sounding aggressive.
• Run the same situation twice, once with Dia as a stranger ("vous") and once as a friend ("tu"), so switching register becomes automatic.
• Make up a new situation each day: a cancelled train, a noisy neighbor, a parcel left at the wrong address, a gym that won't let you cancel your membership. You won't know the situation in advance, so variety helps more than repeating one scene.

Part 3: expression d'un point de vue (giving your opinion)

This is the part you prepare. Before the exam starts you draw two short texts, keep one and have 10 minutes to prepare it. In the exam you identify the theme the text raises and give your opinion in a personal talk of about 3 minutes. The examiner can then ask you a few questions. The whole part lasts 5 to 7 minutes.

In FEI's samples each text is one paragraph adapted from the French press, ending with questions such as "Qu'en pensez-vous ?". The topics are working from home, summer jobs for teenagers, young people who volunteer, stress before exams, and the French and cooking.

The official advice for the preparation time:

• Read the text carefully and find its theme first.
• Write your ideas on the sheet as notes, without full sentences.
• Organize them as a detailed outline or a diagram.
• Plan an introduction (present the document and its theme, and say how your talk is organized), then a development (your opinion on the theme, with examples).

The criteria for this part ask you to present the subject, explain the main points of your thinking with precise examples and relevant arguments, give your talk a structure, and link your ideas with connectors such as d'abord, ensuite, par contre, donc and enfin.

How to practice part 3 with Dia

• Find a short French text on an everyday topic (a paragraph from a news article, or one of FEI's sample texts) and set a 10-minute timer. Write notes only, as you will on the day.
• Give your talk to Dia out loud for about 3 minutes. Then ask Dia to act as the examiner and ask you two or three questions about your opinion, including one that challenges it.
• Afterwards, ask Dia which connectors you used and where you jumped from one idea to the next without linking them.
• Use a new topic each time, since you won't know the theme in advance.

Phrases for the role play and the talk

• Asking for help in the exam: Pardon, pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ? / Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ?
• Opening the role play: Bonjour, excusez-moi, j'ai un problème avec... / Je voudrais..., s'il vous plaît.
• Proposing: Est-ce que vous pourriez... ? / Je vous propose de... / Et si on... ?
• Insisting politely: Je comprends, mais... / Pourtant, ... / Je suis désolé(e), mais ce n'est pas possible pour moi.
• Accepting or refusing a proposal: D'accord, ça me va. / Non, je ne suis pas d'accord, parce que...
• Introducing your talk: Ce texte parle de... / Le thème de ce document, c'est... / D'abord, je vais parler de..., ensuite...
• Giving your opinion: À mon avis, ... / Je pense que... / Personnellement, ...
• Concluding: Pour conclure, ... / En résumé, ...

Say them out loud until they come without thinking, then use them in a role play or a short talk with Dia.

A four-week routine

1. Week 1: part 1. Answer Dia's interview questions every day, with a reason or an example in every answer.
2. Week 2: part 2. One new situation a day, half of them with "tu" and half with "vous".
3. Week 3: part 3. One text a day: 10 minutes of preparation, a 3-minute talk, then Dia's questions.
4. Week 4: full runs. Pick a part 3 text, prepare it for 10 minutes, then do all three parts back to back. Do at least one FEI sample paper with a teacher or a French-speaking friend, because on the day there will be two people across the table.

If you're taking DELF A2 or B2

The scoring rules are the same at A2 and B2: four papers out of 25 each, at least 50 of 100 overall and at least 5 of 25 on every paper. The oral is different:

• DELF A2: three parts (entretien dirigé, monologue suivi, exercice en interaction), 6 to 8 minutes, with 10 minutes of preparation.
• DELF B2: two parts (monologue suivi and exercice en interaction), 20 minutes, with 30 minutes of preparation.

The drills above still apply. For B2, make your talk longer and ask Dia to argue back harder. If you're taking the TCF or TEF instead, their speaking tests use a different format, so practice with their own sample tasks.

Dia corrects your mistakes gently and explains them. If you get stuck, Dia switches to your own language to help you through it, and then you go back to French. You can speak or type, so you can still run a role play when you can't talk out loud. Ask Dia to run a part 2 or part 3 task the way the exam does. If you're not sure B1 is the right level for you, our 10-minute CEFR self-assessment helps you check. Start practicing French with Dia.