If you're preparing for the DELE C2, you already know it's nothing like anything you've done before. The oral exam, in particular, intimidates even people who have been living in Spanish for years. Thirty minutes of preparation, three tasks, mediation, debate, press headlines, and the feeling that "nivel de hablante culto" (educated-speaker level) has to be demonstrated in 20 minutes.
Don't worry. Here you have a free DELE C2 oral exam sample PDF to download, and a walk through the exam exactly as I see it from the inside as an examiner. The idea: for you to arrive knowing exactly what happens in each task, what you'll be assessed on and which mistakes are worth avoiding.
I'll tell you everything step by step, with no strange jargon, with up-to-date information from the Instituto Cervantes and with plenty of practical pointers so that the material you download really works for you.
Download the free DELE C2 oral exam sample
Let's start with what you came here for. Here's the sample so you have it to hand while you read:
Download the DELE C2 oral exam sample (free PDF): https://recursos.aporeldele.com/oralc2
Inside you'll find the three tasks in the real exam format, the input materials (texts for Task 1, questions for Task 2 and press headlines for Task 3) and the instructions exactly as they'll be handed to you on exam day.
My advice: download it, have a first look through it and then come back here. You'll understand everything that follows much better if you've already seen what the paper looks like.
What the DELE C2 oral exam is like
Straight to the point. Since 2024, the DELE C2 oral exam has officially been called Prueba 3: Destrezas integradas: comprensión de lectura y expresión, mediación e interacción orales (integrated skills: reading comprehension and oral expression, mediation and interaction). It used to be called simply "destrezas integradas". The change reflects the fact that mediation is now measured explicitly, in line with the CEFR Companion Volume.
The basics:
Total length: 20 minutes.
Preparation beforehand: 30 minutes.
Number of tasks: 3.
People in the room: 2 (an interviewer and a marker, who takes notes and doesn't intervene).
The three tasks are done back to back, with no breaks. And Task 3, careful, is not prepared in the preparation room: you're handed it once you're in the exam room.
Let me take you through it task by task.
Task 1 of the DELE C2 oral exam: an oral presentation based on several texts
This is probably the most demanding task in the entire exam. You'll be given a choice between two topic options. Once you choose one, you'll receive a dossier with several materials on that topic: usually two or three journalistic, essay-style or academic texts, and a graph, infographic or complementary image.
Your job during the 30 minutes of preparation:
Read all the materials in the dossier.
Identify the key ideas and how they relate to each other.
Prepare a coherent oral presentation that integrates the information from the different texts.
When you enter the room, you have between 6 and 8 minutes to give a monologue-style oral presentation. It's mediation through and through: you integrate the information from several texts, organise it with your own structure and convey it to the interviewer, who hasn't read those materials.
Important: they're not asking you for a summary, or for three summaries in a row. They're asking you to mediate. To select, prioritise, connect and evaluate. And all of that in an educated register and with rich vocabulary.
Quick trick: organise your presentation with a visible structure. An introduction with the overall topic, two or three thematic blocks that cross-reference information from the texts, and a closing section with your own assessment. If the examiner can see that architecture, you've already won half the task.
Task 2 of the DELE C2 oral exam: conversation and interaction on the topic
When you finish your presentation, the interviewer will step into the ring. They'll ask you questions, ask you to qualify what you've said, argue with you, suggest counterexamples. That's Task 2.
It lasts between 5 and 6 minutes. What's assessed? Your ability to:
Argue and counter-argue.
Justify your opinions with facts, examples, comparisons.
React to what the examiner puts to you, rather than delivering parallel speeches.
Keep up an adult, educated, nuanced register.
This task is where the real C2 comes out. Your answers can't be flat or straight out of a textbook. You're expected to say things like "matizaría que…", "depende del enfoque que adoptemos…", "no es tanto una cuestión de X como de Y…".
My advice: don't be afraid to show doubt or complexity. At C2, the ability to see nuance is highly valued — not having a simplistic opinion, recognising that a topic has layers. That's what level looks like.
Task 3 of the DELE C2 oral exam: an informal conversation about press headlines
Here comes the moment my students fear the most. Task 3 is not prepared. You're given the sheet in the exam room, you have a few seconds to read it, and the two of you start talking.
What will they give you? A sheet with press headlines dealing with one and the same topic from different angles (or, in some samples, with related but contrasting topics). The interviewer starts an informal conversation based on those headlines and you have to give opinions, evaluate, compare and debate.
It lasts between 5 and 6 minutes. It's an open, unscripted conversation in which you're expected to react quickly, offer well-founded opinions and sustain an adult exchange about current affairs.
Why is it so hard? Because there's no preparation, because the headlines can deal with topics you don't know well, and because you can't lean on notes there. Only on your C2.
Quick trick: even though you can't prepare the content, you can bring a mental kit of structures for giving opinions, comparing, expressing doubt, qualifying and rephrasing. Phrases like "lo que me llama la atención es…", "no comparto del todo la idea de que…", "ahora bien, si lo miramos desde otra perspectiva…". These are worth gold in Task 3.
Download the free DELE C2 oral exam sample PDF with a real Task 3 example: https://recursos.aporeldele.com/oralc2
How the DELE C2 oral exam is assessed
Let me explain it without tying you in knots. There are two people in the room: the interviewer, who talks with you and gives a holistic mark (an overall view, 40% of the grade), and the marker, who takes notes in silence and gives an analytic mark (60% of the grade, spread across the three tasks).
The analytic mark uses these categories for each task:
Fluency.
Accuracy.
Range.
Task fulfilment (this changes depending on the task: Mediación y CT1, Cumplimiento de la T2, Cumplimiento de la T3).
Each category is scored on a scale of 0 to 3 bands.
To pass the DELE C2 you need at least 70% in each of the exam's three groups of tests. The oral exam belongs to Group 3 (together with Task 1 of the listening comprehension, in the case of the C2). That's why a bad oral exam can't be offset by good written papers — watch out for this.
What are examiners looking for at C2? Naturalness, lexical richness, sustained grammatical accuracy, spontaneity, the ability to qualify. They don't expect a total absence of mistakes; they expect that when something fails you, you're able to rephrase and carry on, without the discourse breaking down.
How to get the most out of the sample you've downloaded
Having the sample in PDF is only the first step. Here's a four-step plan to squeeze everything out of it:
Step 1: Read it calmly, no stopwatch. Familiarise yourself with each task. Look at how the instructions are worded. Read the texts. It's important that the format feels familiar before you move on to the mock exam.
Step 2: Do a real mock exam. Set the 30 minutes of preparation. Time everything. Record yourself doing the three tasks back to back. And, I repeat, do NOT prepare Task 3: give yourself the 20 seconds of reading time and start.
Step 3: Listen to yourself mercilessly, but without being cruel. Note down three things: where the discourse breaks down, which mistakes keep coming back, and which parts sound unnatural or too memorised.
Step 4: Do it again in a week. Ideally with a different topic or changing something. The improvement shows on the second take.
If you want to combine this work with mock exams corrected by me, mediation templates, vocabulary organised by task and full video lessons task by task, my DELE C2 course covers all of it: https://c2.aporeldele.com/
Typical mistakes in the DELE C2 oral exam
These are the slips I see over and over again in candidates who are one step away from a pass but can't quite cross the line:
Summarising the texts instead of mediating. In Task 1, lots of people produce three consecutive summaries, one per text. Wrong. You have to integrate. Cross-reference. Compare. Prioritise. That's mediation.
Speaking in a neutral register. For a C2, an educated register is expected. That means precise vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, advanced connectors, rhetorical devices. If your spoken Spanish sounds like a very fluent B2, you won't get there.
Flat opinions in Task 2. "Sí, estoy de acuerdo, me parece bien". That isn't C2. You have to qualify, contradict, problematise.
Freezing in Task 3 for lack of topic knowledge. Not knowing about the specific topic is no excuse. At C2 you're expected to be able to give an opinion even on things you know little about, leaning on structures, rhetorical questions, analogies.
Memorising whole speeches. It shows a mile off. And the moment the examiner takes you off script, you go blank. Better to bring flexible blocks, not closed monologues.
Apologising every time you hesitate. Saying sorry five times per task doesn't make you humble; it robs you of naturalness. Rephrase and carry on.
Speaking too quietly or too fast out of nerves. The marker has to be able to hear you properly. If your imaginary microphone swallows your voice, you lose points for something that isn't level.
Confusing mediating with translating. Mediating isn't transferring word for word. It's transforming the content for your interlocutor, with your own voice, your own organisation and your own assessment.
Frequently asked questions about the DELE C2 oral exam
How long does the DELE C2 oral exam last?
20 minutes in total, plus 30 minutes of preparation beforehand for Tasks 1 and 2. Task 3 isn't prepared; you're handed it in the exam room.
How many tasks does the DELE C2 oral exam have?
Three tasks: an oral presentation integrating several texts (mediation), a conversation and interaction on the topic, and an informal conversation about press headlines.
What mark do I need to pass the oral exam?
You have to get at least 70% in Group 3 (which at C2 includes the oral exam). You also have to pass the other two groups of the exam. The overall DELE C2 result is Apto or No apto (pass or fail).
Did the DELE C2 oral exam change in 2024?
Yes, but the changes are mostly a matter of naming and marking scales. The three-task structure stays the same. What's new: the exam is officially called EMIO (Expresión, mediación e interacción orales — oral expression, mediation and interaction), the marking categories become Fluency, Accuracy, Range and Task fulfilment, and the markers receive a sheet of main ideas for Task 1.
Can I take notes during the preparation?
Yes, during the 30 minutes of preparation you can take all the notes you like and bring them into the exam room for Tasks 1 and 2. My recommendation: notes, not a full text. If you bring a written speech and read it out, you'll lose marks for sure.
What are the Task 3 headlines like?
They're headlines written by the Instituto Cervantes for the exam, not press cuttings. They usually deal with the same topic from different angles or present opposing perspectives. The idea is for you to have material to give opinions, debate and qualify.
The essentials
The DELE C2 oral exam is Prueba 3 of the exam and has been called EMIO (Expresión, mediación e interacción orales) since the 2024 update.
It lasts 20 minutes, with 30 minutes of preparation beforehand, and has three tasks.
Task 1: an oral presentation based on several texts. It's mediation.
Task 2: conversation and interaction on the topic, with the examiner arguing and probing for nuance.
Task 3: an informal conversation about press headlines. It isn't prepared.
You're assessed on four categories (Fluency, Accuracy, Range and Task fulfilment) on a scale of 0 to 3 bands. You need 70% in the oral exam's group to pass.
Working with a realistic sample and doing timed mock exams is what makes the biggest difference on exam day.
To start preparing properly, the first thing is to download the sample and do your first mock exam:
Download the free DELE C2 oral exam sample PDF: https://recursos.aporeldele.com/oralc2
If you need a complete guide with corrected mock exams, mediation templates, educated vocabulary organised by topic and video lessons task by task, here's my online DELE C2 course: https://c2.aporeldele.com/
And if you're still torn between sitting the C1 or the C2, you can take the level test first to get your bearings: https://nivel.aporeldele.com/
For free resources, reminders before each exam session and examiner's tips I only share there, I'll see you in the newsletter 💌: http://recursos.aporeldele.com/boletin
