SERIOUS countdown to DELTA

Tomorrow will be a long travel day, and a long revision day as well.

After nearly 9 months of  preparing the Cambridge DELTA Module One, I will finally and grimly walk into an Alsatian classroom and take a 3-hour, pen and paper exam.

The exam conditions seem almost ancient. The test can in no way be done online, or monitored anywhere but in specific test centers. 

So tomorrow morning, I am flying from Rodez to Paris to Strasbourg in order to be on-site for the exam that will start the next day at 9am. 

Preparing DELTA Module One has been an eye-opening experience. When I read the program, I thought I pretty much knew  this stuff:

1. Theoretical perspectives on language acquisition and language teaching
2. Different approaches and methodologies, including current developments
3. Language systems and learners’ linguistic problems
4. Language skills and learners' problems
5. Knowledge of resources, materials and reference sources for language learning
6. Key concepts and terminology related to assessment

How wrong I was! I had my own ideas about teaching English, of course, and things I had read hither and thither, but I had never put it all together.

After hundreds of hours of reading, learning terminology, and struggling to master phonetic transcription, I hope I can do so (ellipsis) on Wednesday morning.

Wish me luck...