With
the TCF Quebec or TCF Canada exam results in your hand you can have your level
of French recognized throughout the world. Companies, schools, and universities
rely on this exam to evaluate applicants.
If
you are applying to immigrate to Canada, a language test is required in one of
the two official languages, English or French. TCF Canada is an approved option
by Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada in order to verify your French
language proficiency.
TCF Canada Exam
No
prior qualification is required to take the exam but candidates must be at
least 16 years of age. Once you’ve found an authorized test centre near you and
have registered and paid, you are ready to take the exam.
The TCF Canada consists of 4 modules that are designed to evaluate your proficiency in both oral and written skills:
The TCF Canada consists of 4 modules that are designed to evaluate your proficiency in both oral and written skills:
·
Listening:
39 multiple choice questions
·
Reading:
38 multiple choice questions
·
Speaking:
3 subjects organized in increasing order of difficulty
·
Writing:
3 topics organized in increasing order of difficulty
TCF Quebec
Registering
for the TCF Quebec would be the right choice if you plan a move to Quebec. The
Quebec Ministry for Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) requests
proof of the applicants’ knowledge of French. MIFI recognizes the TEF Quebec
(TEFAQ) examination results as part of the process to obtain a Certificat de
Sélection du Québec (CSQ). The Quebec Selection Certificate leads to the
issuance of a permanent visa.
TCF Quebec Exam
The
TCF Quebec is comprised of 1 to 4 examinations. It evaluates your proficiency
in standard French language in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
The
TCF Quebec format is:
·
Listening:
29 multiple choice questions
·
Reading:
29 multiple choice questions
·
Speaking:
3 subjects organized in increasing order of difficulty
·
Writing:
3 topics organized in increasing order of difficulty
How to Study for TCF
Canada or TCF Quebec
Though
the number of questions varies on the TCF Canada exam vs. the TCF Quebec exam,
the structure remains the same including listening, reading, speaking, and
writing sections. The speaking and writing sections are optional subjects and
may be required depending on your reason for taking the TCF.
Listening
Oral
comprehension is broken down into the following sections:
·
Section
1 tests understanding of how audio clips relate to a certain image
·
Section
2 tests understanding of minimal exchanges related to real life situations.
·
Section
3 tests your understanding of small conversations between Francophones
·
Section
4 plays a clip that may be a speech or a news report and you are testing on
your understanding of the content
Study tip for the
listening section
·
Listen
to French audio clips without repeating
During
the TCF Canada or TCF Quebec, you can’t repeat the audio clips, so you have to
be able to quickly understand the content.
Reading
·
The
reading comprehension section tests your skill in reading French. Several
excerpts are presented from single sentence to essays with multiple-choice
questions about the subject or specific information that was presented. At
least here you can reread the question, but your time is still limited.
Study tip for the
reading section
·
Practice
reading French quickly
Since
the TCF Canada and TCF Quebec are timed, practice reading French quickly so
when you are under pressure, you are able to understand it without rereading.
Try reading the kind of writing that is likely to show up on the TEF exams like
news articles or historical speeches.
Speaking
This
section takes the form of a face-to-face recorded interview with an examiner.
The examiner may ask you a general question, like “Tell me about yourself” and
more specific questions like, “I run a small business. Ask me questions about
how it’s run.”
Study tip for the
speaking section
· Get
a friend to help you prepare with a mock Q & A
Just
like a job interview, the speaking part of the exam requires you to think on
your feet so if you have someone sit across from you and ask you questions and
you have to answer in French, it puts you in a similar situation to the one you
will face on examination day.
Writing
This
section requires you to write about three scenarios. A previous exam question
was to “write about a hypothetical vacation you just took.”
Study tip for the
writing section
· Join
an online forum for Francophones
This
is one way to help you engage on a variety of topics. Key to success in this
section is to practice your writing as much as possible. The more you write and
practice in different forms (essays, blogs, letters, etc.), the more confident
you will be on exam day.
Register for the exam
Once
you have completed your preparation, you are ready to register for either the
TCF Quebec or TCF Canada exam. Ashton Testing offers the exams on weekends so
you can easily fit the testing into your busy schedule.
Bonne
chance!
