There are many books and other material out there, that can be used to self study for the DELF A1. However there are just a few that are actually developed for self-guided study.
Here our top pick of books to use for self study. Theses books will help you prepare for the DELF A1 or any other french exams, such as the TCF or TEF. I also included a sample chapter, so that you can see how the book is organised before you decided to buy.
Where to find Self-Study DELF, TCF or TEF exams books?
If you are in France, a number of bookstores such as FNAC have them available. However, if you are another country please try the online store Amazon. Many Amazon stores ship to different locations around the world. Also remember to compare the different amazon sites as the prices will vary depending on where you are.
Alternative Resources for French Exam Self-study
Remember also there are other resources that can help you self study for you french exam. A few includes the best podcasts to improve your comprehension as well as apps from both itunes and andriod that were designed for level A1 french exam, that can be very useful. There are also free DELF A1 practice exercises for you.
Self Study Books for french oral expression
Competences niveau 1 Expression orale A1, A2. written by Michele Barfety and Patricia Beaujouin , CLE national
This book is part of a series that is currently only available in 100% French. As a result, it is for adults and older adolescents who are actually false-beginner level learners. This means if you already have some basic knowledge of french, that would be an advantage.
The beauty of this book is that while it is used in the classroom, in addition to a regular classroom textbook, it so comprehensive that you can also used it if you are someone who is studying on your own, i.e. self-learning.
It includes fifteen lessons divided into five units, each with a theme and specific functional goals. Each lesson is aimed at fulfilling the requirement, for you to attain level A1 and A2 of your French exam. There are a great variety of supplement texts, that is there to help you improve how you speak in french as well as additional grammar points. At the end of each unit, an assessment allows the learner to assess their learning. Finally, we find all the corrected transcripts, exercises and activities at the end of the book.
All in all I found this to be a great book for learning French, due to how focus this book is to the learners needs.
Self Study Books for french reading comprehension
Competences niveau 1 Comprehension ecrite. written by Michele Barfety and Patricia Beaujouin , CLE national
This book is for adults and older adolescents false-beginner level learners. It can be used in the classroom, in addition to a manual or self-learning. It includes fifteen lessons divided into five units, each with a theme and specific functional goals.
Each lesson starts by defining the objective of a specific requirement of your exam. This objective shows the grammar, vocabulary, orthography etc and how this lesson relates to the syllabus of your A1 French exam.
There is a wide variety of media texts, as a result, you will get sufficient practice for you exam. At the end of each unit, an assessment will allow you to assess exactly what you have acquired in that unit. At the end of the book,you will also find all the corrected exercises and activities.
Self Study Books for french oral comprehension
Competences niveau 1 Comprehension orale. written by Michele Barfety and Patricia Beaujouin , CLE national
This manual provides guided preparation activities and tests for the listening comprehension of the DELF A1 level. However, the skill level which will be acquired is at A1 and A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and as a result, can be used for exams such as the TCF and TEF.
This collection of exercisei s aimed at adult learners and teenagers totaling at least 80 hours of French. Listening exercises can be usedin the classroom, in addition to a manual or for self-learning.
This book includes fifteen lessons divided into five units, each with a theme and specific functional goals.Each lesson provides additional and progressive exercises, as well as lexical and grammatical tools to consolidate your knowledge. At the end of each unit, an assessment allows you to assess your learning. At the end of the book,there is the transcription of recordings and the corrected exercises.
Self Study Books for french production oral level A1
Competences : Expression Ecrite by Slyvie Poisson-Quinton . CLE international
This self-learning book is for adults and older adolescents false-beginner level learners. It includes fifteen lessons divided into five units, each focused on a specific set of objectives: spelling, grammar, and practice in writing. Each lesson gives an overview of what you will learn in that chapter. At the end of each unit, an assessment allows you to assess their learning.
At the end of the book, you will find the corrected exercises and activities This is great because it allows you to practice different response based on the suggestions which are pretty much identical to what you will see in your French exam.
Check out the sample Level A1 Sample Chapter for production Ecrite
Self Study Support for Level A1
Knowing your grammar structure and how to spell words in french can make the differences between a 70% and a 90%. key tip: ALWAYS check your spelling and grammar before handing your exam paper. It is better to not have the required word count in the production ecrite section of the exam than to meet or exceed the required word count for the production ecrite section and have bad grammar and a lot of orthographic faults. The following two books will be very helpful to get you on the right path.
Grammar progressive du francais,Niveau Debutant CLE International
Grammaire Progressive Du Francais is a grammar text book aimed at foreign language students of French at the beginner (level A1.1 and A1) level.·The organisation is very simple, which makes it easy to use. It offers on the left page grammar rules, on the right page of exercises and communication activities.
This book starts from the basics (the article, the indefinite, the pronoun “en”, verbs) and covers essentially everything you will need grammatically for your exam. It is the reference grammar book for people taking the DELF, TCF french exam at the A1 level.
My recommendation: Buy the Niveau debutant if you are a true beginner. However if you have had some experience learning french then I would recommended the level intermediate ( the blue book).
Orthographe progressive du francais, CLE international
Level debutant for level A1 and level intermediate for level A2. Buy the debutant if you are a true beginner. However if you have had some experience leaving french then I would recommended the level intermediate.
Which books do you recommenced for people studying the DELF TCF or TEF exam on their own?