TEF Canada speaking section B: presenting an advert and convincing a friend

What section B asks you to do

The TEF Canada speaking test, run by CCI Paris Île-de-France (Le français des affaires), lasts 15 minutes and has two sections: section A (5 minutes) and section B (10 minutes). Both are conversations with the examiner.

In section B, the starting point is an everyday advert or notice. You talk about it with a friend: you present the document, then try to convince them to take part. The examiner plays the friend, and the conversation is informal.

• Time: 10 minutes, twice as long as section A.
• Your role: the person who has read the advert and wants to bring a friend along.
• The other person: the examiner, playing the friend.
• Register: an informal conversation.

The roles change from section A: you no longer ask the questions; you present, explain and argue, and the friend reacts to what you say. 10 minutes is a long time to talk someone into something: you need enough arguments to keep the conversation alive, and you need to bounce back when the friend hesitates.

How section B is marked

According to CCI Paris Île-de-France, section B assesses three skills: presenting a situation, developing and nuancing your ideas and holding an informal conversation. For the whole test, vocabulary, syntax (sentences, tenses, moods) and pronunciation are assessed too. Your performance is assessed by at least two graders.

Applied to a conversation between friends, that gives very concrete questions:

• Does your friend understand what it is about? What the advert offers, for whom, when, on what terms: a clear presentation, in your own words.
• Are your arguments developed? An idea, an example, what it changes for the friend, rather than a list of advantages.
• Can you nuance? Acknowledging a drawback (« C’est vrai que le mardi soir, ce n’est pas idéal… », “True, Tuesday evening isn’t ideal…”) before answering it.
• Is the conversation really informal? « Tu », a relaxed tone, questions to the friend, listening to what they say.
• Is your French still under control? Informal does not mean sloppy: vocabulary and syntax are assessed, and so is pronunciation, which our tool does not assess.

Since 11 December 2023, TEF Canada speaking has been scored out of 699, with its own NCLC conversion bands: NCLC 7, for example, runs from 456 to 493 points. Your results also show an « Équivalence ancien score » (old-scale equivalent: 310 to 348 for the same NCLC 7). IRCC’s Express Entry page, updated 16 October 2026, says this is the figure to enter in an Express Entry profile. All the bands are in our NCLC score chart.

What a strong conversation does

• It starts from the friend. If the instructions tell you something about them (in our example, he would like to meet people), that is your best argument: start there.
• It presents the document clearly. What the advert offers, for whom, when, on what terms, in your own words, without reading it line by line.
• It develops the arguments. « Tu vas rencontrer du monde » (“you’ll meet people”) is not enough; explain how: « on change souvent de partenaire, donc tu parles à une dizaine de personnes dans la soirée » (“you change partners a lot, so you talk to about ten people in an evening”).
• It varies the arguments. Practical (the day, the price, the free first class), social (meeting people), personal (moving, taking your mind off things), and the fun of doing something together.
• It answers doubts. Acknowledge the hesitation, answer it, then offer something concrete: « Si tu es mal à l’aise, on dansera ensemble au début. » (“If you feel awkward, we’ll dance together at first.”)
• It stays friendly and natural. « Tu », conversational expressions (« Dis donc », « Franchement », « Allez ! »: “hey”, “honestly”, “come on!”), questions that get the friend to react (« Qu’est-ce que tu en penses ? », “what do you think?”).
• It ends with a concrete proposal. A date, signing up together, a time to meet: « Je passe te prendre mardi à 19 h ? » (“Shall I pick you up on Tuesday at 7?”)

A 4-step method

1. The hook: start from the friend

Start with what you know about them, not with the advert: « Tu me disais que tu ne voyais plus grand monde depuis ton déménagement… » (“You were telling me you hardly see anyone since you moved…”). The advert then comes in as an answer to their situation.

2. Present the document

Say what the advert offers, for whom, when and on what terms, in your own words. An advert is only a few lines long: you can comment on it (what it promises, who it is for) and add a plausible detail, as long as you never contradict it. Do not spend all your time on the presentation: the heart of the section is the conversation that follows.

3. Argue and answer doubts

Put forward an argument, develop it with an example, then let the friend react. When they hesitate, work in three steps: acknowledge (« Je te comprends », “I get it”), answer (« mais justement… », “but that’s exactly why…”), propose (« et si on essayait juste le premier cours ? », “what if we just tried the first class?”). The most predictable doubts can be prepared when you practise:

4. Close with a concrete proposal

Don’t let the conversation fizzle out on an « on verra » (“we’ll see”): suggest a date, signing up together, a trial. « Allez, je nous inscris pour mardi ? Je passe te prendre à 19 h. » (“Come on, shall I sign us up for Tuesday? I’ll pick you up at 7.”) If the friend is still reluctant, a compromise beats giving up: « Viens au premier cours, et tu décideras après. » (“Come to the first class and decide afterwards.”)

One advert, two conversations: B1 then C1

This advert was written for this site, like all our practice prompts: it is not a real exam question. The examiner plays Samuel, the friend. For readability, both conversations are shortened: in the exam, the exchange lasts 10 minutes.

Conversation 1 — estimated B1 (excerpt)

The conversation gets the essentials right: the document is presented (salsa, beginners, Tuesday evening, free first class), the candidate builds on what he knows about his friend (he wants to meet people), answers every doubt and gets a yes, in a friendly tone. What keeps it at B1:

• the presentation repeats the lines of the advert in one sentence, without saying why it concerns the friend;
• the arguments are stated, not developed: « C’est bien pour ça » (“it’s good for that”);
• the same argument comes back three times (the free first class);
• the answers to the friend’s doubts are one sentence long and offer little that is concrete, apart from dinner after the class;
• simple sentences linked with « et », « mais », « alors », and everyday vocabulary;
• three errors: « tu m’as dit que tu veux » → « que tu voulais » (sequence of tenses); « Tout le monde ne sait pas danser au début » (“not everyone can dance at first”) says something other than what the candidate means → « Personne ne sait danser au début » (“nobody can dance at first”); « beaucoup des gens » → « beaucoup de gens ».

Between friends, dropping the « ne » of the negation (« c’est pas grave », « je sais pas », « tu perds rien ») is normal in spoken French: that is not what holds this conversation back. Estimate: B1, roughly NCLC 6 if section A is at the same level. Our tool would then show the speaking band for NCLC 6, 422 to 455 out of 699: an estimated band, not a score.

Conversation 2 — estimated C1 (excerpt)

Key words: tomber sur (to come across), une soirée en boîte (a night at a club), la glace est brisée (the ice is broken), crevé (exhausted, informal), des cours à l’unité (pay-as-you-go classes), Marché conclu ! (It’s a deal!)

Same advert, same doubts from the friend, but a very different conversation:

Estimate: C1, roughly NCLC 9 if section A is at the same level (estimated band 518 to 555 out of 699). The candidate’s lines are longer because they develop each point, and each one answers what the friend has just said.

Useful phrases between friends

A few glosses: « En gros » (basically), « Ça te dit ? » (do you fancy it?), « Sans compter que… » (not to mention that…), « Tu n’as rien à perdre » (you’ve got nothing to lose). Informal does not mean sloppy: the odd casual expression sounds natural between friends, but grammar and precise vocabulary are still assessed.

Costly mistakes

• Reading the advert instead of presenting it. Reciting « Salsa pour tous, cours débutants le mardi soir… » is not presenting a situation: rephrase it and connect it to your friend.
• Giving a monologue. Firing off arguments without letting the friend speak or listening to what they say: section B is a conversation.
• Arguments that don’t speak to this friend. « Le sport, c’est bon pour la santé » (“exercise is good for you”) applies to everyone; « toi qui veux rencontrer du monde » (“you, who want to meet people”) applies only to him, and that is what convinces.
• Repeating the same argument. « Le premier cours est gratuit » once is an argument; three times is a sign that you have no other. 10 minutes call for varied arguments.
• Giving up at the first doubt. « Bon, tant pis » (“oh well, never mind”): you stop trying to convince, which is the whole point of the section. Ignoring the friend’s doubts does not convince either: answer them.
• The wrong register. Using « vous » with the friend, or switching from « tu » to « vous » halfway: it is an informal conversation. At the other extreme, sloppy French packed with slang hides what you can do.
• Contradicting the document. Announcing a class on Thursday when the advert says Tuesday evening, or promising that every class is free: you can comment on the advert, not rewrite it.

To practise with our tool, record only your own lines: the hook, the presentation of the document, your arguments and your answers to the friend’s doubts. First jot down three or four likely objections, then answer them one by one, pausing briefly each time as if the friend had just spoken. The assessment is based on the transcript: pronunciation is not assessed. The level shown is an estimate; the preview is free and the full report comes with a pack or a pass (see pricing).

Your turn: present this advert and get your conversation 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

Cours de salsa

Vous avez lu cette annonce. Vous en parlez à un ami qui aimerait rencontrer du monde. Présentez-lui le document et essayez de le convaincre de s’inscrire avec vous. L’examinateur joue le rôle de l’ami.

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Section B FAQ