What to Do the Week Before Your DELE Exam: Tips from an Official Examiner

Your DELE exam is only a few days away. You have studied for months, and now the question is: what should you do the week before your DELE exam without burning out?

As an official DELE and SIELE examiner, I see the same pattern in every session. The candidates who do best are not always the ones who studied the most in the final week. They are the ones who arrived rested, organised and familiar with the exam format. Here is exactly what I recommend.

Last-Minute DELE Preparation: Consolidate, Don’t Learn New Things

The week before the exam is not the time to tackle a new grammar topic. Your brain needs to organise what you already know, not absorb new content.

Instead:

• Review your own mistakes. Go back to your corrected essays and mock exams, and make a short list of the errors you repeat most.
• Revise useful connectors (sin embargo, por lo tanto, en cambio, además, aunque). They make your writing and speaking sound more natural and organised, and examiners notice them.
• Read your list out loud every day. Ten minutes is enough.

Do a Full DELE Mock Exam with Real Timing

If you only do one thing this week, make it this: a complete mock exam under real conditions, with a timer, no phone and no dictionary.

This helps you:

• check your time management, which is one of the most common reasons candidates lose points;
• get used to the length of each section, so nothing surprises you on the day;
• discover which task makes you most nervous, so you can practise it again.

After the mock, don’t obsess over the score. Focus on what you learned about your timing.

DELE Oral Exam Tips: Prepare Strategies, Not a Script

In the oral exam, examiners can easily tell when a candidate is reciting a memorised text, and it doesn’t help you. What we want to see is real communication.

Instead of memorising, prepare:

• Flexible phrases to gain time while you think: Es una buena pregunta… / Déjame pensarlo un momento… / Desde mi punto de vista…
• Ways to give and justify your opinion: Creo que…, porque… / Por un lado…, por otro lado…
• Phrases to interact naturally with the examiner: ¿Se refiere a…? / No estoy seguro de haberle entendido.

Remember: it’s fine to make a small mistake and correct yourself. Self-correction shows control of the language.

DELE Writing Tips: Follow the Instructions of Each Task

Many candidates lose points not because of their Spanish, but because they don’t follow the instructions. In the writing tasks, this happens all the time.

Check that you know how to:

• respect the word count required for each task;
• cover all the points the task asks for (if it asks for three things, include all three);
• adapt your register: formal for a complaint or an official letter, informal for a message to a friend.

What to Bring to the DELE Exam (and Other Practical Details)

Stress on the exam day often comes from small things. Prepare them in advance:

• Read your exam summons (convocatoria) carefully: address, time and the date of your oral exam, which may be on a different day from the written part.
• Bring the same ID document you used to register.
• Pack your materials: check the summons for what you need to bring (pencil, eraser and so on).
• Plan your route and aim to arrive early. Rushing in at the last minute is the worst way to start an exam.

How to Manage Stress Before the DELE Exam

This sounds obvious, but I see it in every session: tired candidates make more mistakes.

• Sleep well, especially the two nights before the exam.
• Keep studying light: short review sessions, not ten-hour marathons.
• Expose yourself to Spanish in a relaxed way: a podcast, a series, a conversation with a friend. Keep your ear active without stress.
• The day before, stop studying in the afternoon. Go for a walk and trust your preparation.

DELE Exam Day Tips: One Task at a Time

When the exam starts:

• Read the instructions of every task, even if you think you know them.
• Watch the clock, but don’t panic. If one question is taking too long, move on and come back later.
• Don’t let one difficult task ruin the next one. Each task is a new opportunity.
• In the oral exam, breathe, smile and talk to the examiner as a person. We are not there to trick you. We want to see what you can do.

Final Thought

The last week isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the right things: consolidating, practising the format, organising the details and arriving calm. If you’re still building your study routine, my guide on how to learn Spanish in 2026 will help you plan for the long term.

If you are preparing for a future DELE or SIELE session and want a strategy designed by someone who knows exactly what examiners look for, book your free trial class and let’s plan your preparation together. You can also find out more about my DELE & SIELE exam preparation.

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