DLPT study plan
DLPT · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Listening comprehension & Reading comprehension
Set a baseline by completing one full-length listening passage set and one reading passage set under timed conditions, then score them with a simple correct/incorrect log
Build a personal vocabulary capture sheet organized by topic area (military, political, economic, social) and log at least 40 unfamiliar terms or idioms from authentic audio
Establish a daily 20-minute listening habit using native-rate news or podcast audio at normal speed, noting where comprehension breaks down
Identify your target language's register markers (formal broadcast vs. colloquial interview) and write a one-page reference of the differences you notice
Your checkpoint
A baseline score report plus a 40-item vocabulary sheet tagged by topic and register
Listening comprehension
Train gist listening: summarize five 2-3 minute authentic audio clips in two sentences each without pausing
Practice note-taking shorthand for numbers, names, dates, and places while listening, then reconstruct the facts from notes alone
Drill connected-speech phenomena (elision, assimilation, reduction) by transcribing 60 seconds of fast colloquial speech and marking every reduction
Compare your transcript against the audio to isolate the top five recurring perception errors and log them
Your checkpoint
Five gist summaries plus an annotated 60-second transcript with error log
Listening comprehension & Reading comprehension
Move to detail listening: answer inference and speaker-attitude questions on four audio passages, justifying each answer with the exact phrase that supports it
Read two opinion or editorial texts and map the author's argument structure (claim, evidence, concession, conclusion)
Cross-train: read the transcript of an audio clip you found hard, then re-listen and note what reading added
Expand vocabulary capture to 80 items, adding collocations and discourse connectors rather than isolated words
Your checkpoint
Four justified inference answers plus two argument maps and an 80-item vocabulary sheet
Listening comprehension & Reading comprehension
Complete a half-length timed mock in both domains and record per-section accuracy
Analyze every missed item by cause: vocabulary gap, speed, inference error, or distractor trap
Re-listen to the three hardest audio segments at reduced speed, then again at native speed, until you can paraphrase them
Read two dense informational texts (reports, analyses) and practice skimming for structure before answering detail questions
Your checkpoint
A half-mock score sheet with a written cause analysis for every missed item
Reading comprehension
Practice scanning: locate specific facts in long texts within a time limit, then verify by re-reading only the relevant paragraph
Build a distractor-pattern list (near-synonym traps, scope shifts, true-but-irrelevant statements) and tag ten practice questions against it
Read three texts across different genres (news, technical, literary) and compare how vocabulary and syntax shift by genre
Increase reading speed by timed re-reads of the same passage, targeting measurable words-per-minute gains
Your checkpoint
A distractor-pattern taxonomy with ten tagged examples and a reading-speed log
Listening comprehension & Reading comprehension
Complete a full-length timed mock in both domains under exam conditions with no pausing or re-reading
Review the mock within 24 hours and rewrite every wrong answer as a correct statement in your own words
Drill the weakest question type identified in the mock with a focused set of 15 items
Practice stamina management: two back-to-back listening sections to simulate fatigue and note accuracy drop-off
Your checkpoint
A full-mock score with a rewritten correct-answer log and a fatigue-accuracy note
Listening comprehension & Reading comprehension
Target your two lowest-accuracy question types with daily micro-sets and track accuracy per type
Rehearse the full exam sequence in one sitting to lock in pacing and section-transition routines
Review the entire vocabulary sheet and retire mastered items, keeping only active problem terms
Practice handling unfamiliar topics by working two passages in domains you know least about
Your checkpoint
An accuracy-by-question-type table showing improvement over the week
Listening comprehension & Reading comprehension
Take two final full-length timed mocks on separate days and compare scores for stability
Review only error logs and the retained problem-vocabulary list; stop introducing new material
Confirm logistics: test format, section timing, and rest strategy, and write a one-page exam-day plan
Do a final light pass on distractor patterns and inference justification so the method is automatic
Your checkpoint
Two final mock scores plus a one-page exam-day plan
Milestones
Week 2: You can summarize a 2-3 minute native-speed clip in two sentences without pausing and your vocabulary sheet has at least 40 tagged items.
Week 4: Half-mock completed in both domains with every missed item assigned a written cause; listening accuracy at or above your week-1 baseline.
Week 6: Full-length timed mock completed under exam conditions with a rewritten correct-answer log for all errors.
Week 8: Two final mocks show stable or improving scores, and your retained problem-vocabulary list is short enough to review in one sitting.