TEF Canada Speaking Test Format: Section A and Section B Explained

The TEF Canada speaking test (expression orale) lasts 15 minutes and has two parts: Section A (5 minutes), where you ask questions to get information about an advertisement, and Section B (10 minutes), where you present an ad and convince a friend. You sit face to face with an examiner, and the test is recorded.

This page describes the format as published by the test owner, CCI Paris Île-de-France (le français des affaires). Formats can change, so check the official pages before your exam date. If you are sitting TCF Canada instead, see the TCF Canada expression orale tasks.

What does the TEF Canada speaking test look like?

	Section A	Section B
Length	5 minutes	10 minutes
Name in the examiner's booklet	Conversation formelle	Conversation amicale
Goal	Obtain information	Present, then convince
Your role	A caller phoning about an ad	A friend who has seen an ad
The examiner plays	The advertiser	A friend who disagrees
Register	Formal (vous)	Informal (tu)

Sources: the TEF Canada presentation page for the 5 + 10 minute structure, and the examiner's booklet, Livret de l'examinateur EO 2024, for what the examiner does.

What happens in Section A?

You are given an advertisement (an apartment to rent, a course, a job, a travel agency) and asked to phone the advertiser. The examiner picks up with something like Allô ? and plays the role. The instruction to the candidate is to ask about ten questions (posez une dizaine de questions).

What the booklet tells the examiner to do is worth knowing:

• Answers are partial on purpose. An examiner may say Cela dépend, nous avons plusieurs formules and wait to see whether you follow up.
• Surprises are planted. The test looks at how you handle something the ad did not say.
• The examiner does not ask you questions. They make statements and answer. The conversation is yours to drive.
• There is no timed preparation in the booklet. You receive the document and the examiner checks you understand the task, rephrasing if needed.

The task criteria named in the booklet are the relevance of your questioning, taking initiative and handling the unexpected, and the quality of the exchange.

What happens in Section B?

You present a document (an ad for an activity, trip or service) and then try to convince a friend, played by the examiner, to join you. The examiner opens informally (Salut ! Tu vas bien ?) and is told to disagree and raise counter-arguments. If you skip the presentation, the examiner prompts you for it.

The task criteria named in the booklet are the presentation of the facts, the quality of your argumentation, and the quality of the exchange. Your language (vocabulary, grammar, fluency, pronunciation and register) is assessed too. The full grids are in the booklet's annexes, so read them at the source.

How is it assessed?

The booklet says the test is always audio-recorded. The examiner assesses it using a grid, and a second evaluation is made by the test owner's evaluators from the recording. If there is no recording, there is no result. Your centre can tell you the current procedure.

What tricks work in the room?

None of these are secrets, and none are a substitute for practice. They follow from the format above.

1. Count your questions in Section A. About ten in five minutes is roughly one every thirty seconds, which is faster than most people expect.
2. When the answer is vague, ask a precise follow-up. Ça dépend de quoi, exactement ? is the sort of move the criterion on handling the unexpected is looking for.
3. React before you ask the next question. Ah, d'accord. Et... makes it an exchange, not a list.
4. Present before you persuade in Section B. Give the facts of the ad in a few clear sentences first.
5. Answer the objection you actually heard. The friend disagrees on purpose. Acknowledge it (Je comprends, mais...), then give a reason and a concrete example.
6. Keep going after a slip. The recording is assessed as a whole. Restarting costs time.

For phrases to go with these, see TEF expression orale tips.

Why do people struggle with this format?

Because it is an interaction under a clock, not a monologue. You are listening, thinking and speaking in French at the same time, and the examiner is not there to help. Candidates who read and listen well often find the speaking test is where nerves bite. That is practised away by doing the task many times under time pressure, which is the argument in TEF prep: tutors, classes or self-practice.

Where Cadentia fits

Cadentia has a free timed Section A call at /tef: you phone about an ad, an AI examiner plays the advertiser, the clock runs five minutes, and afterwards you see which criteria you hit and missed, with your own words quoted and the mistakes it caught. Section B timed tasks are in the same track. It does not give a score or an NCLC estimate, and it is practice, not an official TEF resource. Cadentia is not affiliated with or endorsed by CCI Paris Île-de-France.

Take the free timed Section A test →

Sources

• CCI Paris Île-de-France, TEF Canada presentation
• CCI Paris Île-de-France, Livret de l'examinateur EO 2024