Do you have any advice on passing the DLPT 5?

I am taking the DLPT 5 for the second time in about a week. Just wanted to know if anybody had any advice on taking the test that helped them.Do you have any advice on passing the DLPT 5?
Well... you aren't allowed to reveal any portion of the test





So I will just tell you MY technique.





You decide when to press play on the audio, so you can only control what happens before that.





Read the questions first. And then mentally translate options A, B C, and D into your target language. Tell yourself, ';If C is the right answer I will hear these words'; (your mental translation) Use the second go round to determine if both C and D were spoken, which one was the actual relevent answer. For example: ';What did Erica find most exciting about mountain climbing?';. If she says both option C. ';The new flowers were exciting'; and D. ';But the most exciting part was my discovering a new species of bee nestled on top of the flowers pistil'; Obviously use your reason and move from your first inclination ';C'; and change it to ';D';. This is what the second play is good for.





Do the same process for the reading, translate yout options and look for those words. It will actually be easier for the reading than the audio using my method.Do you have any advice on passing the DLPT 5?
Study! But don't study the day before. Just get your brain geared up in your language. Taking too long of a break (even a few days) can really mix you up when you switch over from English. (I think you know what I mean.)





It's not an easy test. I heard horror stories about it before I took it the first time, and all of the sub-2 linguists running around kind of gave credibility to the stories.





I've found that using my language every day, not just when I'm forced to by the job, really helped a lot. Speaking is really the biggest aid --- if you can speak it, you can read it and hear it. The people who did poorly on the test were the ones who flaked out on their language hours by picking the fastest, easiest assignments to do. They never challenged themselves, and they paid for it. Always try to get language training a level above where you're currently at (if you're a 2/2, try going for 2+ or 3 material.) Taking an intermediate grammar course helped me on the 5, too --- grammar can be so sneaky, but a lot of people overlook the importance of it in level 2+ or 3 text and audio.





What's your language?
Study. If it is at all possible, try watching television or movies in your target language (should have been doing that all along) and reading newspapers or magazines. It is amazing how much you retain when you can see the language in action.
SOF has some refresher training on line (check in AKO) for languages. You may need to get on SIPR. Get some practice in the language leading up to the test to refresh your familiarity.