What it means to go from A1 to A2
A1 is survival: introducing yourself, asking for something, saying where youâre from, talking about routines and basic needs with short sentences.
A2 is a huge step towards freedom. You donât just âget byâ anymore. You can hold simple conversations and talk about daily life with more detail: experiences, plans, likes, comparisons, and typical situations like going to the doctor, doing paperwork, travelling, looking for a flat, or going to a restaurant.
If youâre in A1 right now, your goal for A2 is this: being able to talk about your everyday life with simple but clear sentences, without getting blocked by every word.
Before talking about the exam: the base you truly need
Some people try to prepare for DELE A2 without consolidating the basics, and thatâs why everything feels âhardâ. Itâs not. The base is just missing.
If youâre starting from zero, these are the pieces that really build your level:
Pronunciation and rhythm. You donât need to sound perfect. You need to be understood easily, and your brain shouldnât be fighting with sounds while youâre trying to form a sentence.
Useful phrases and repeatable structures. At beginner levels, memorising structures like âQuieroâŠ, Me gustarĂaâŠ, Voy aâŠ, Tengo queâŠâ gives you confidence very quickly.
Minimal but solid grammar. Gender and number, agreement, the present tense, ser and estar, hay/estĂĄ, and the most common prepositions. This supports everything else.
Vocabulary by real-life themes. Not endless lists. Think in scenes: home, shopping, restaurant, health, work, travel, family.
What to study in A1 so you can reach A2 well
In A1, itâs best to prioritise what helps you build sentences fast.
Present tense of the most frequent verbs: ser, estar, tener, ir, querer, poder, hacer, decir, gustar.
Basic questions: qué, cuål, cuåndo, dónde, cuånto, cómo, por qué.
Structures that save you in any conversation: âQuieroâŠâ, âNecesitoâŠâ, âMe gustarĂaâŠâ, âNo entiendoâ, âÂżPuede repetir?â, âÂżCĂłmo se diceâŠ?â
Simple connectors so you donât speak âin jumpsâ: y, pero, porque, tambiĂ©n, entonces.
What changes in A2 (and what they ask from you without you noticing)
In A2 you start telling things with more precision.
The past appears naturally. You donât need to master every past tense like in C1, but you do need to be able to say sentences like: âAyer fuiâŠâ, âEsta semana he hechoâŠâ, âEl año pasado vivĂâŠâ
The future appears with ir a + infinitivo: âVoy a estudiarâ, âVoy a viajarâ, âVoy a llamarâ.
Comparisons start: mås que, menos que, tan⊠como.
Functional vocabulary grows: pedir, explain a problem, respond politely, organise a plan.
What DELE A2 looks like inside (so it doesnât feel like a mystery)
DELE A2 is divided into two blocks.
Block 1 includes reading and writing. Block 2 includes listening and speaking.
To pass, you need 60% in each block. That means a minimum of 30 points in block 1 and 30 points in block 2.
This matters because you canât compensate one part with the other. If you do very well in speaking but youâre weak in reading and writing, it wonât save you. And the other way around, neither.
The simplest way to organise yourself if youâre starting from zero
You donât need a perfect plan. You need a small routine that repeats.
A structure that works very well for beginners is this:
A bit of input every day. Easy reading or short audios, even if itâs only 10 minutes.
A daily micro-output. One written sentence or 30 seconds speaking. Small, but consistent.
A weekly review. Notice what repeats in your mistakes: gender, prepositions, verbs, past.
And above all, study by themes and by tasks. This avoids the classic chaos of jumping between videos, PDFs, and resources without knowing if they âwork for DELEâ.
Typical mistakes when you start from zero (and how to get out of them)
Translating word by word. In A1-A2, itâs better to memorise complete structures that sound natural. Your brain needs blocks, not loose pieces.
Trying to learn everything at once. Pronouns, subjunctive, rare periphrases, advanced connectors. No. First, focus on what gives you real communication.
Studying only vocabulary and not practising sentences. Knowing âmesa, carta, cuentaâ is fine, but what helps you pass is being able to say: âUna mesa para dos, por favor. ÂżNos puede traer la carta? La cuenta, por favor.â
Resources that truly help if youâre aiming for A2
If your goal is to pass DELE A2 confidently, it helps to prepare in an organised way, task by task.
Here are two very direct options:
My DELE A2 online course: https://a2.aporeldele.com/
It has 42 lessons and around 12 hours of vĂdeos with subtitles, notes, and some downloads. Everything is explained task by task with strategies for reading, listening, speaking, and writing. It includes commented examples, direct chat with me for questions, a student community, and a group call before each exam session (itâs recorded and added to the course, and there are already many available). Access is immediate and for life.
My book to prepare DELE A2 with models: https://amzn.to/3Tvylte
If you like practising with exam-style papers, you have 4 DELE A2 models in book format to train with the real structure.
If youâre not sure where you are, you can do the level test (orientative): https://nivel.aporeldele.com/
And if you want to see all the levels available (A2, B1, B2, C1, C2), theyâre here: https://aporeldele.com/cursos
A final idea so you donât give up halfway
When you start from zero, progress doesnât show from one day to the next. You notice it when you look back and realise that before you couldnât say anything, and now you can order in a restaurant, talk about your weekend, and understand a simple audio.
Donât aim to sound perfect. Aim to communicate with more calm each time.
ArriĂ©sgate y equivĂłcate mĂĄs. Thatâs where A1 becomes A2.
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