10 Tips for reading comprehension of the DELE exam

Are you doing or do you want to do the preparation to DELE exam? 

We have already spoken on other occasions about this exam.

Today we are going to focus on the test of reading comprehension.

This test is one of the four pillars of the exam. 

But what is reading comprehension?

It is the ability to understand written text, both the meaning of his words and the meaning of it.

Reading comprehension can be one of the DELE exercises more complicated.

A many people find it difficult due to the differences between their native language and Spanish, or due to the complexity of some texts.

In this article I am going to give you 10 tips to help you pass this test successfully.

We will also see the reading levels and finally I will analyze all the tasks at each level DELE in reading comprehension, with some tricks to do them well.

I wouldn't miss it. Let's start! 

10 General Tips to Improve Reading Comprehension

How to work and improve reading comprehension?

Well, following the 10 tips What I'm going to give you next. 😉

They are advice that requires perseverance and much advance notice before taking the exam. So take it easy.

If you follow them, you DELE examiner You will be amazed at how well it will turn out.

1. Read a lot

Do you like to read? 

If so, you are lucky because if you are in the habit of reading, the reading comprehension test and its exercises will not be a big problem for you.

If you are not used to reading, you will have to make an effort.

When we say read, we don't just mean books.

You can read news, articles on the internet, comics, magazines…find what you like the most and start there. This way it will be easier to get into the habit.

2. Think and analyze what you are reading

I remember when I was in school that a teacher made us read books in class from time to time.

We had a small library, I would take any book and quietly read at my desk.

But you know what?

There was a problem.

While I was reading, my head was thinking about other things. Since I wasn't paying attention to the text, I later forgot everything I had read.

To avoid this, think and analyze what you are reading. 

When reading texts in another language it will be even more difficult. No problem.

Stop as long as you need.

Don't do like I did when I was little and pay attention to reading. 🤓

3. Adapt the chosen texts to your level

If you're going to climb a mountain, you don't start at the peak, right? 

Well the same thing happens here.

Read texts or books in Spanish that are in a level much above yours will frustrate you because there will be many words that you will not understand.

On the other hand, if you read texts that are too easy, you will get bored and feel like you are wasting your time.

We don't want to get frustrated or bored.

For this, Look for texts adapted to your level.

4. Read slowly, rush is not good

Enjoy the readings. 

It is true that in the exam you will have a time limit and you will not be able to stop for too long. 

Don't worry. First get into the habit of reading a lot and little by little you will gain speed.

If you get used to reading too quickly there will be many details that you will miss.

Read slowly, rush is never good.

5. Take note of what you are reading

While you read, take notes the vocabulary, some interesting ideas, what you don't understand, what you see as most relevant... everything.

There is no better way to assimilate something than by writing it down.. 

It is one of the best reading comprehension strategies there is.

6. Pause between paragraphs to assimilate ideas

How to get the main ideas from a text?

One of the best ways is pause at the end of paragraphs.

These small pauses between paragraphs will help you assimilate the ideas and synthesize them. 

Think of these pauses as a deep breath.

7. Find a quiet place to read

How to concentrate to read?

Are you that kind of person who needs absolute silence to concentrate?

Welcome to the club, I'm like that too.

And, clearly, there are no exceptions in reading.

Find a quiet place to read: a room isolated from noise, a library, a park with few people...

8. Reflect on what you have read

In some reading comprehension tasks at advanced levels, it is necessary to reflect to give your own assessment. 

Reflect on what you readIt means drawing a conclusion.

Practice this, develop your capacity for reflection with everything you read.

9. Use a Spanish dictionary

When reading texts or books in Spanish, the dictionary should be your ally.

It is clear that you cannot look up all the words that you do not understand because it can take a long time and many pauses in reading and therefore, you can lose track of the topic.

Try to find the ones that are repeated, the most important ones.

Those key words that if you don't understand them, you won't understand the rest of the sentence either.

Searching for words in the dictionary requires patience and will make reading even more leisurely.

But what is more rewarding than learning a new word and understanding a sentence that you couldn't understand before?

10. Talk about what you have read

Tell someone what you have read It is another foolproof method to improve your reading comprehensions.

By doing this, you will put your own words to what you have read and you will assimilate it much better. 

Additionally, you will practice the skill of summarizing.

Find a friend who knows how to listen and talk to them about the content of your reading.

Ask him questions about what you tell him, this way you will see if your speech is clear and if he understands you well.

Different reading levels

Did you find my 10 tips and reading comprehension techniques?

I hope so. 🙂

Now let's talk about the reading levels.

These levels will help us understand DELE tasksand what type of reading they are looking for in each one.

1. Literal level: what does the text say? 

This is the first reading what we should do 

In the literal level we must understand the information explicit from the text.

That is to say: understanding words, interpreting sentences well, recognizing grammatical structures and understanding the topic of the text.

2. Inferential level: what evaluation can I make of the text?

In the inferential level We add our personal experience and our intuition to interpret what the author means.

It is time to make assumptions and interpret, according to our opinion, what the author wants to express.

3. Level critic: what judgment do I have about the text?

At the critical level we look for content evaluation.

But be careful: Evaluating the text does not mean only saying whether you like it or not.

You must give some arguments convincing to defend your assessment. 

How to control these 3 types of reading and use them in the DELE exam 

Control these 3 types of reading and understanding is essential.

At the end of the day, are the skills that they ask for in the reading comprehension test of the DELE exam, especially in the high levels. 

We are going to offer you a series of tips to develop and enhance them in preparing for and taking the exam.

Think about what prior knowledge you have about the topic of the text 

Whatever the topic of reading comprehension texts, you surely have somerelated prior knowledge.

This will help you understand it better, interpret it properly and argue your judgment.

In case you do not have knowledge on that topic, focus on what the text tells you and perform the inferential level and the critical level about that information.

Don't make things up about something you don't know.

Look for information in the title, images or even the text index to better understand

Have you ever heard the following expression?

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Sometimes in We can extract a lot of information from the images. Also in the title or in the index. 

Think that they are elements that give representative information of the text you are going to read.

So Look carefully at the images and read the titles and indexes.

Make connections between what you know and the text

If you have knowledge about the topic of the text, use it to your advantage and demonstrate it.

This is especially useful in levels C1 and C2, in which reading, oral and written tests are mixed.

Even if there are parts of the text that you don't understand, adding your knowledge will make it seem like you have understood the text better.

By this, I don't mean that you talk about things that have nothing to do with the text. 

NEVER do that.

Always stick to the content they propose to you and use your knowledge to complement the text and add value, not to divert the topic.

Create mental images or schemes about the text

The human mind works very well whenwe associate ideas.

Therefore, it is good create mental images that are associated with some words or parts of the text.

You can also make schemes to classify ideas and improve text comprehension.

Ask yourself about what you read to get new ideas

While you are reading the reading comprehension exercises, try to ask yourself questions:

• “What did the author mean in this sentence?”
• “What words can I use in this context to seem more technical and formal?”
• “What do I really think about this topic?”

This type of questions They will be very useful to you inferential understanding and criticism, since they will help you get new ideas and create better arguments.

Look for what the author is trying to convey and relate it to your ideas.

Try to analyze what the author wants to convey and relate it to your ideas.

Once again, ask yourself correct questions In this section it will be very useful to you:

• “Why is the author so interested in this topic?”
• “Why have you put so much emphasis on this paragraph?”
• “What do you want to convince me of?”
• “Do I agree with your ideas or do I disagree with some things?”

Write or tell what the text says in your own words

For better understand the texts of reading comprehension, make your own summaries can help you.

Write or tell what the text says in your own words.

Add everything you know and your conclusions to better understand the text itself

I return to the idea of add your knowledge about the text.

When you write about what you know and contribute your conclusions, it also improve your understanding ability of the text itself.

Therefore, do not be afraid and contribute your knowledge and opinions.

Always with appropriate language and information related to the content.

Reading comprehension tasks in the DELE exam

How many reading tips and techniques have I given you today!

I should be the official advisor of the DELE exam. 😁

Next, I will break down reading comprehension test tasks at each level by answering the following questions:

• What is evaluated? 
• What is the task like? 
• What are the texts like?
• Tricks to do it well

In this way, you will be super clear everything about this test and you will be able to pass it with the highest grade. 😊

The information that I am going to offer you about the I have extracted the first three questions from the Cervantes Institute. 

In the portal Cervantes Institute DELE exam is all the detailed information about the exams and each test.

You can see the reading comprehension specifications and practice with exam models.

Reading comprehension Level A2

We start with the basic level: A2. The test of reading comprehension at this level you have 4 tasks with 25 items in total. Hard 60 minutes and has a maximum score of 25 points.

Task 1

• What is evaluated? 

Extract the main idea and identify specific and simple information.

•  What is the task like? 

Read a text and answer five questions with three answer options each. 

• What are the texts like?

Basic texts of personal letters, emails, short texts.  Length: 250-300 words.

• Tricks to do it well

Read the texts with the questions carefully, underline the important words.

Discard the question options that you do not see in the text.

Task 2

• What is evaluated? 

Extract relevant ideas and identify explicit information.

•  What is the task like? 

Eight texts to read and answer questions with three answer options each.

• What are the texts like?

Short informative texts: magazine articles, brochures, advertisements, posters, etc. Length: 50-80 words, each text.

• Tricks to do it well

Familiarize yourself with these types of texts before going to the exam. They are very short and you can find them very easily on the internet.

Task 3

• What is evaluated? 

Extract specific information in commonly used informative or descriptive texts.

•  What is the task like? 

Read three texts and relate them to the six statements that correspond to each one. 

• What are the texts like?

They are simple informative or promotional materials: magazines, newspapers, brochures, forums, recipes... Length: 100-120 words, each text.

• Tricks to do it well

Since there are three different texts, take your time to read them and get the important ideas from all three. Don't be in a hurry to move on to the next text ahead of time.

Task 4

• What is evaluated? 

Identify essential ideas and topic changes in short and simple narrative texts.

•  What is the task like? 

Read a text and answer six questions with three answer options.

• What are the texts like?

Biographical sketches about current people, blog entries, stories, magazines, travel guides, etc. Length: 375-425 words.

• Tricks to do it well

Here we have a longer text. Remember to take breaks in paragraphs and take notes.

Reading comprehension Level B1

We enter the intermediate level: B1. The tough reading comprehension test 70 minutes, has 5 tasks with 30 items. The maximum score is 25 points.

Task 1

• What is evaluated? 

Extract the main idea and identify specific information in very short texts.

•  What is the task like? 

Read nine short texts and match six of them with the six statements that correspond to them.

• What are the texts like?

Advertisements, billboards, notices... Length: texts of 20-60 words; 

• Tricks to do it well

Look for the most relevant information in each text to later relate it to the 6 statements. Since they are so brief, it won't be difficult.

Task 2

• What is evaluated? 

Extract the main ideas and identify specific information in simple informative texts.

•  What is the task like? 

Read a text and answer six questions with three answer options.

• What are the texts like?

Informative text. Length: 400-450 words.

• Tricks to do it well

Before you start reading the text, read the questions first and take note of the key words. This way you will know what you should pay more attention to.

Task 3

• What is evaluated? 

Locate specific information in descriptive, narrative or informative texts.

•  What is the task like? 

Read three texts and relate them to six statements.

• What are the texts like?

Anecdotes, travel guides, experiences, fragments of biographies... Length: 100-120 words each text.

• Tricks to do it well

Read a text first and relate it to the corresponding statements. Do the same with the second and then with the third.

Task 4

• What is evaluated? 

Reconstruct a text from its cohesive elements.

•  What is the task like? 

Read an incomplete text and select, from the eight available fragments, the six that complete it. 

• What are the texts like?

Catalogs, instructions, recipes, narrative texts... Length: 400-450 words.

• Tricks to do it well

Read the text and step by step reconstruct the gaps looking for the fragment that best fits, following the order of the text. Do it in a draft first because it is possible that as you progress you will want to rectify it.

Task 5

• What is evaluated? 

Identify and select grammatical and lexical structures to complete simple texts.

•  What is the task like? 

Read a text with six spaces and choose one of the three options available for each space.

• What are the texts like?

Letters to the editor, formal letters, electronic messages. Length: 150-200 words.

• Tricks to do it well

Study and master Spanish grammar at level B1.

Reading comprehension Level B2

We continue with the intermediate level. now we go up to exam DELE B2. The reading comprehension test at this level lasts 70 minutes and has 4 tasks with 36 items. The maximum score is 25 points.

Task 1

• What is evaluated? 

Understand relevant ideas and concrete information in complex informational texts.

•  What is the task like? 

Read a text and answer six questions with three answer options each. 

• What are the texts like?

Complex informative texts. Length: 400-450 words.

• Tricks to do it well

The text can be complex and have many words that you don't know. Don't stress about this; Focus on answering the questions and try to guess the meaning of words you don't know from the context.

Task 2

• What is evaluated? 

Locate specific and relevant information and extract the author's feelings or evaluations.

•  What is the task like? 

Relate four readings with questions or statements.

• What are the texts like?

Four expository texts that contain different points of view, comments, anecdotes, etc., on the same topic.  Length: 130-150 words each text.

• Tricks to do it well

Choose one of the four texts, read it and then try to relate it to the corresponding statements.

Do the same with the other 3 texts.

Task 3

• What is evaluated? 

Reconstruct the structure of a text and identify the relationship between ideas.

•  What is the task like? 

Read an incomplete text and identify, among eight possible fragments, those that correspond to its six spaces. 

• What are the texts like?

Opinion articles, news, letters to the editor... Length: 400-450 words.

• Tricks to do it well

Read the text and try to relate each space to the statement that makes the most sense. Do it first in draft in case you correct it later.

Task 4

• What is evaluated? 

Identify appropriate grammatical and lexical structures to complete a complex text.

•  What is the task like? 

Read a text with fourteen spaces and choose one of the three options available for each space. 

• What are the texts like?

Literary, historical texts, biographies... Length: 400-450 words

• Tricks to do it well

You must know the grammar and lexicon of the Spanish B2 level very well.

Reading comprehension Level C1

We arrive at advanced level. From DELE C1, all skills are mixed (reading, listening, oral and written). All tests have a little bit of everything. 

I'm going to focus on the test 1: reading comprehension and use of language. 

It is the test that works the most in reading comprehension exercises.

In this test there is 5 tasks with 40 items. Hard 90 minutes and has a maximum of 25 points.

Task 1

• What is evaluated? 

Understand the general idea and specific data.

•  What is the task like? 

Read a text and answer six questions with three answer options.

• What are the texts like?

Instructions, contracts, prospectuses, reports... Length: 650-750 words.

• Tricks to do it well

As the text is quite long, do a first reading of everything. Then, select the statements one by one and look for the information in the text.

Task 2

• What is evaluated? 

Reconstruct the structure and identify the relationships between ideas in long texts.

•  What is the task like? 

Read an incomplete text and identify, among seven available fragments, those that complete the six spaces.

• What are the texts like?

Literary texts in which experiences, trips, plays, etc. are narrated. Length: 550-650 words.

• Tricks to do it well

First do a general reading of the text, without thinking about the fragments. Then focus on each fragment one by one and try to put it in its place.

Task 3

• What is evaluated? 

Identify the content, intention and author's point of view in news, articles or reports.

•  What is the task like? 

Read a text and answer six questions with three answer options.

• What are the texts like?

Long specialized texts: essays, monographs, opinion articles, newspaper reports... Length: 550-650 words.

• Tricks to do it well

Read the questions one by one and locate them in the text to find the correct answers.

Task 4

• What is evaluated? 

Locate specific and relevant information in short texts on academic topics.

•  What is the task like? 

Read six texts and relate them to eight short statements. 

• What are the texts like?

Reviews or summaries of presentations, theses, bibliographic files, etc. Length: 100-150 words each text.

• Tricks to do it well

Read the first fragment and then read all the statements to find which one or which one it relates to. The same text can be related to several statements.

Task 5

• What is evaluated? 

Identify the appropriate structures and lexis in a complex text.

•  What is the task like? 

Read a text with fourteen spaces and choose one of the three options available for each space. 

• What are the texts like?

Texts on specialized topics from magazines, textbooks and newspapers. Length: 375-425 words.

• Tricks to do it well

You must master the grammar and lexicon of Spanish DELE C1.

Reading comprehension Level C2

And we finally arrive at the last level. In the DELE C2 There are three major tests in which all skills are mixed. 

Let's talk about the first test: Language use, reading and listening comprehension.

This test has 6 tasks of 52 items. Hard 105 minutes and score up 33.33 points.

Task 1

• What is evaluated? 

Identify the appropriate vocabulary, style and meanings of a very complex text.

• What is the task like? 

Read an incomplete text with twelve spaces and choose one of the three options available for each one. 

• What are the texts like?

Complex, specialized or literary text. Length: 300-400 words.

• Tricks to do it well

Have command of the Spanish language at level C2. Know many verbs and synonyms.

Task 2

• What is evaluated? 

Reconstruct the structure and identify the relationships between ideas in long written texts.

• What is the task like? 

Read an incomplete text and identify, among the seven available fragments, those that correspond to its six spaces. 

• What are the texts like?

Travel notebooks, blogs, stories, etc.  Length: 550-650 words.

• Tricks to do it well

The difficulty of the text and the fragments will be high. Read them carefully and start doing the exercise when you have a clear idea of ​​the important idea of ​​each fragment.

Task 3

• What is evaluated? 

Locate important information in short academic texts.

• What is the task like? 

Read six texts and relate them to eight statements.

• What are the texts like?

Reviews, theses, research articles, etc. Length: 100-150 words each text.

• Tricks to do it well

Start reading the statements and relate them to the texts one by one.

Task 4

• What is evaluated? 

Understand the main points and extract data from an oral text.

• What is the task like? 

Listen to a monologue and identify, among twelve available options, five ideas expressed in the text. 

• What are the texts like?

Conferences, speeches, long presentations... Length: 700 -750 words.

• Tricks to do it well

From this task, listening is mixed with reading. Did you read our article on listening comprehension in DELE? It's a good time 😉.

Task 5

• What is evaluated? 

Recognize intentions and implications in auditory texts.

• What is the task like? 

Listen to a conversation and relate fifteen ideas to the person who expresses them. 

• What are the texts like?

Two or three oral texts from radio or television, from people who speak in interviews, programs or debates. Length: 800-850 words

• Tricks to do it well

On the first listen, take as many notes as you can, without responding to the exercise. On the second listen, you should already relate the ideas to the corresponding person.

Task 6

• What is evaluated? 

Understand and identify specific data in debates or interviews.

• What is the task like? 

Listen to a conversation and answer six questions with three answer options each.

• What are the texts like?

Long radio or television text on complex topics. Length: 800-900 words.

• Tricks to do it well

The same as before. It is a very long audio that is heard twice.

Use the first listening to identify what is most important, know what each person says, take notes... and in the second listen, answer the questions.

We have already finished this super guide on reading comprehension of the DELE exam. 

It has been long, but it has been worth it. 

Do you want to take the DELE exam and obtain an excellent grade?

Then sign up for our DELE courses inHispania, Spanish school. Here you can prepare for the exam in person.

If you prefer, you can also access our courses of online DELE exam preparation to study quietly from your home.

A big hug!

Article written by Charles  Martinez for Hispania, Spanish school

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