The TEF Canada speaking test: two conversations, marking and scores

The two sections

The TEF Canada speaking test, run by CCI Paris Île-de-France (Le français des affaires), is not a presentation: both sections are conversations with the examiner, who plays a role. Each one starts from an everyday document, an advert or a notice. Each section has its own page with a method and two annotated examples.

Section A: getting information on the phone

You have read an advert (a job offer, a service, a leisure activity, a flat…) and you call to find out more. You ask about ten questions; the examiner plays the person you are calling. The conversation is formal, so you address them as « vous ». Method, French question forms and two annotated calls: TEF Canada speaking section A.

Section B: presenting an advert and convincing a friend

This time you tell a friend about the document: you present it, then try to convince them to take part. The examiner plays the friend and the conversation is informal, so you use « tu ». At 10 minutes, it is the longer part of the test. Method, arguments and two annotated conversations: TEF Canada speaking section B.

English has one “you”; French has two, and this test asks for both. « Vous » (with matching verb forms and polite phrases such as « Pourriez-vous… ? ») for the call in section A, « tu » for the friend in section B. Practise switching, and keep one register per section from start to finish.

The sections share their letters with the TEF Canada writing test, but the tasks are different: in writing, section A is the continuation of a news story and section B an opinion letter.

What the graders assess

According to CCI Paris Île-de-France, the skills assessed differ from one section to the other, on top of a shared base for language. Your performance is assessed by at least two graders.

What that means in practice:

• In section A, your questions need to be relevant, varied and well formed, and you need to follow up when an answer stays vague. Asking about something the advert already says teaches you nothing.
• In section B, your friend needs to understand what the document offers, then hear developed arguments that concern them, and answers to their doubts.
• In both sections, the register has to fit the situation, and your French is still assessed when the conversation is relaxed.

Scores out of 699 and NCLC

Since 11 December 2023, every TEF Canada test is scored out of 699, and each skill has its own NCLC conversion bands. The speaking bands are not the same as those of the other tests: NCLC 7, for example, runs from 456 to 493 in speaking, from 428 to 471 in writing and from 434 to 461 in reading and listening.

Your certificate also shows a second column, the « Équivalence ancien score » (old-scale equivalent). Here are both columns for speaking:

Below 328 out of 699 (or 181 on the old scale), the level is below NCLC 4. The old-scale column in IRCC’s table stops at NCLC 10. In that column, the speaking bands are identical to the writing bands. Sources: CCI Paris Île-de-France, « Correspondance Score TEF – Niveau NCLC », and IRCC’s Express Entry language test results page (modified on 16 October 2026).

For a test taken between 1 October 2019 and 10 December 2023, a single scale applied to all four skills: it is in our full NCLC chart, with a calculator. Aiming for NCLC 7 in every skill? Our NCLC 7 guide brings together the thresholds for each test.

Express Entry: which column to enter

According to IRCC’s page on language test results for Express Entry (modified on 16 October 2026), you must enter in your Express Entry profile only the results in the « Équivalence ancien score » column of your certificate: the system is not compatible with scores out of 699. Example: NCLC 7 in speaking is 456–493 out of 699 and 310–348 on the old scale.

For an immigration application, all four tests (reading, listening, writing and speaking) are required and must be taken on the same day to be recognised by IRCC.

Citizenship: speaking is one of the two tests

For a citizenship application, TEF Canada has only two tests: listening and speaking (CCI Paris Île-de-France). According to IRCC’s page on proof of language skills for citizenship (dated 11 September 2025), applicants aged 18 to 54 must show CLB/NCLC 4 or higher in speaking and listening. In CCI’s table, NCLC 4 in speaking is 328–386 out of 699.

These paragraphs summarise the official pages as of their dates; they do not replace IRCC’s instructions for your own application.

How to practise

• Work on both registers. « Vous », the polite conditional and phone phrases in section A; « tu », a direct tone and conversational expressions in section B. Switching from one to the other takes practice.
• Act it out with a partner. Someone plays the examiner: in section A they answer your questions; in section B they hesitate and make you argue. Time yourself: 5 minutes, then 10 minutes.
• Build a toolkit. For section A, question forms and phrases to ask for clarification; for section B, types of arguments and answers to the most predictable doubts (time, money, level).
• Record yourself and listen back. It is the simplest way to work on pronunciation, which is one of CCI’s criteria but which our tool does not assess.
• Use the free official resources. On its « Se préparer » page, CCI offers sample tests (speaking included), preparation talks on video, interactive practice tutorials and preparation articles, all in French.

To plan your weeks across writing and speaking, follow our free 4-week TEF Canada preparation plan.

Our practice tool: what it assesses, and what it doesn’t

The practice block below lets you answer an original advert written for this site, for section A or section B, or a prompt of your own. Here is exactly what it does.

• You record your answer, or type it. Recording happens in your browser and is limited to the exam time. Without a microphone, you can type what you would say.
• The examiner is not simulated. You record only your own lines, pausing briefly after each question as if they were answering. The tool gives you a guide for the length of your own lines: about 2 min 15 s in section A and 6 min in section B.
• The recording is transcribed, then deleted. Only the transcript is kept, with the report.
• The assessment is based on the transcript. It covers what you say: your questions or arguments, your follow-ups, register, vocabulary and syntax. Pronunciation and intonation are not assessed, and neither are the examiner’s lines. Speech rate and transcribed hesitations are shown for information only, not scored.
• The level is an estimate. For TEF Canada, the tool rates your performance on a 20-point scale, derives an NCLC level from it, then shows the official speaking band out of 699 for that NCLC level, plus the old-scale band. It is an approximation: you get an estimated band, not a score out of 699. Estimates go up to “NCLC 10 or higher”.
• Very short answers are capped. A few sentences cannot show a high level over 5 or 10 minutes: the estimate is then limited, and the report says so.
• Free preview, full report. The preview shows your estimated NCLC level and your 2 most important corrections. The full report, with a correction pack or a pass (see pricing), adds every correction with an explanation, a score for each of the 6 criteria (achieving the goal; interaction; developing and nuancing; register; vocabulary; syntax, tenses and moods), the task-requirements check, your top 3 priorities, useful phrases and a model answer on the same prompt. Each corrected answer uses 1 correction.

Our tool is independent of CCI Paris Île-de-France and IRCC. Its levels are estimates for practice: only CCI Paris Île-de-France issues TEF Canada results.

Practise speaking and get your answer corrected

Record your answer (or type it): free preview with your estimated NCLC level and your 2 most important corrections. The assessment is based on the transcript: pronunciation is not assessed.

TCF Canada TEF Canada

Task Section A · Getting informationSection B · Convincing

Yoga au parc

Vous avez lu cette annonce et vous êtes intéressé(e). Vous téléphonez pour avoir plus d’informations. Posez une dizaine de questions. L’examinateur joue le rôle de votre interlocuteur.

Another prompt · I have my own prompt

Ready 00:00

Record my answer

The recording is transcribed and then deleted: only the transcript is kept with the report.

No microphone? Type what you would say

Your answer, as you would say it (in French)

0 words · Without a recording, speech rate and hesitations are not measured.

Correct my spoken answer

Free preview: estimated level and the first 2 corrections. Full report with a pack or a pass (1 correction per answer).

TEF Canada speaking FAQ