TEF listening score chart: NCLC levels, correct answers and how to raise yours

NCLC 7 in TEF Canada listening starts at 434 out of 699. On the same certificate, that score also appears as 249 in the "Équivalence ancien score" column, and 249 is the number IRCC wants in an Express Entry profile. There is no official table that turns a number of correct answers into a listening score, because CCI weights the 40 questions by difficulty before reporting your result.

The rest of this page gives the full listening chart on both scales, what each immigration program needs from listening, how the 40 questions are built, three original practice items with explanations, and a plan for moving up one NCLC level.

By Can Kerem Gurel, founder of TEF Practice. Can took TEF Canada to add French-language points to his own Express Entry profile, and TEF Practice grew out of the tools he built for that preparation. Published October 24, 2026. Score tables checked against CCI Paris Île-de-France and IRCC on that date. The practice items below are original and are not official exam questions.

TEF listening score chart

This table covers TEF Canada tests taken from 11 December 2023 onward. The /699 ranges come from CCI's TEF to NCLC correspondence table. The "old score equivalence" ranges come from IRCC's Express Entry page, which lists listening on the old 0-360 scale.

IRCC's Express Entry tables stop at "NCLC 10" on the old scale, so NCLC 10, 11 and 12 share the 316-360 range there. CCI's /699 table separates them.

Two details in this chart cause most of the confusion we see in questions about listening scores:

• Listening and reading share the same /699 thresholds. NCLC 7 is 434 in both. On the old scale they differ: listening NCLC 7 is 249 out of 360, reading NCLC 7 is 207 out of 300.
• CEFR B2 is not NCLC 7. CCI's CEFR mapping puts B2 at 400-499 for every skill. A listening score of 400 is B2 and NCLC 6. You need 434 for NCLC 7.

If you have all four scores, the TEF score calculator converts them at once, and the TEF score chart has the tables for the other three skills.

Which listening number goes in Express Entry?

Your attestation shows a score out of 699, a CEFR level, an NCLC level and an "Équivalence ancien score" for each skill. IRCC's instruction is direct: enter only the scores from the "Équivalence ancien score" column, and do not enter the /699 scores, which IRCC says "aren't compatible with our system at this time." It also warns that entering the wrong scores may lead to a refused application.

So a candidate with 441/699 in listening has NCLC 7, and the listening field in the profile should show the old-scale figure printed beside it, somewhere in the 249-279 range. Copy the number from your certificate rather than converting it yourself. CCI's results page gives the same instruction.

This is also why older guides say TEF listening is "scored out of 360." The 0-360 figures are still in use for Express Entry data entry, but the score CCI calculates and reports first is out of 699.

How many correct answers do you need?

There is no published answer, and a fixed number would be wrong. CCI's scoring rules for listening are:

• 40 multiple-choice questions, one correct answer each.
• A correct answer earns 1 point. A wrong answer or a blank earns 0. Nothing is deducted.
• In CCI's words, "the total number of correct answers does not constitute the final score." The total is converted into a calibrated score "that takes into account the differences in difficulty of the questions making up the test."

Two candidates with 30 correct answers can therefore receive different scores if one of them got more of the harder questions right. When a forum post says "32 out of 40 is NCLC 7," treat it as one person's estimate.

What follows for your preparation:

1. Never leave a question blank. A guess and a blank both score zero when wrong, and only the guess can score.
2. The later blocks matter. The official sample booklet moves from picture conversations to radio interviews and opinion pieces, and calibration gives more credit for harder items. A candidate who only drills short messages is training for the easiest part of the paper.
3. Use practice percentages as a trend. Our own listening mocks report how many questions you got right. They do not predict an NCLC level, and no unofficial mock can.

Listening scores each program needs

Every program reads your lowest skill, so a strong listening score cannot make up for a weak one elsewhere. These are the listening minimums, from IRCC's requirements and CCI's tables.

Express Entry also awards additional points for strong French when you reach NCLC 7 or higher in all four abilities. Our NCLC conversion guide explains how those points work and lists the targets for the other skills.

How the 40 listening questions are built

CCI's official sample booklet for compréhension orale splits the paper into four blocks and states how long you get to read before and answer after each recording.

On test day the audio starts on its own. CCI's listening preparation article says you cannot replay a message or go back once you validate an answer, and advises reading the question and every option before the recording starts. The listening format guide covers the interface rules in detail.

Is any TEF listening audio played twice now?

Several preparation providers report that since 1 September 2025 the street-interview questions offer three answer options instead of four, and some interview extracts are played twice. When we checked CCI's public TEF Canada pages on October 24, 2026, we did not find that change described, and the official sample booklet still shows four options and says each recording plays once. Watch CCI's tutorial before your test, read the on-screen instructions on the day, and practise on the assumption that you hear each recording once. If an interview does replay, you gain time instead of losing it.

Three practice items with explanations

These items show how listening distractors work. In the exam you would only hear the French, so the honest way to use them is to have someone read each transcript aloud to you once at normal speed, or read it aloud yourself once without stopping, then answer before reading the explanations. For real recordings, use the listening practice questions and answer on the first listen.

Item 1: a street interview

The interviewer asks:

« Faut-il interdire les voitures dans le centre-ville le samedi ? »

One passer-by answers:

« Franchement, l’idée me plaît. Le samedi, on ne peut plus marcher tranquillement dans la rue principale. Mais il faudrait d’abord que les bus passent plus souvent. Sans ça, les gens des quartiers éloignés ne pourront plus venir faire leurs courses. »

La personne interrogée est :

• A. totalement pour.
• B. pour, à certaines conditions.
• C. totalement contre.
• D. ne se prononce pas.

Item 2: a voicemail message

« Bonjour Madame Lefèvre, c’est Karim, du garage Martin. Je vous avais dit que votre voiture serait prête jeudi. Finalement, la pièce est arrivée ce matin, donc vous pouvez passer la récupérer dès demain, à partir de 14 h. Pensez à apporter la facture du dernier contrôle technique, on en a besoin pour le dossier. Bonne journée. »

Karim appelle pour :

• A. confirmer un rendez-vous jeudi.
• B. annoncer un retard de livraison.
• C. proposer une date plus proche.
• D. demander le paiement d’une facture.

Item 3: a radio interview

« On entend souvent que le télétravail isole les salariés. C’est vrai pour certains, je ne le nie pas. Mais dans les équipes que nous avons suivies, ce n’est pas le nombre de jours à la maison qui faisait la différence. C’est l’existence, ou non, de moments réguliers où toute l’équipe se retrouve. Là où ces rencontres existaient, même les salariés en télétravail quatre jours par semaine ne se sentaient pas mis à l’écart. »

Selon la chercheuse, le sentiment d’isolement dépend surtout :

• A. du nombre de jours passés à la maison.
• B. de la personnalité de chaque salarié.
• C. de rencontres régulières de l’équipe.
• D. de la taille de l’entreprise.

Answers and explanations

Item 1: B. The speaker opens with "l’idée me plaît," which pulls you toward A. Then "mais il faudrait d’abord que les bus passent plus souvent" sets a condition. In street interviews the first opinion is often not the final position, so wait for "mais," "à condition que" or "il faudrait d’abord."

Item 2: C. The trap is the word "jeudi," which you hear clearly and which appears in option A. "Finalement" corrects the earlier plan, and "dès demain" moves pickup earlier. Option D uses "facture," another word from the recording, but Karim asks for the inspection invoice to be brought, not for a payment. Options built from words you recognise are the most common distractor in this block.

Item 3: C. The researcher concedes the popular view ("c’est vrai pour certains") before giving her own: "ce n’est pas le nombre de jours... c’est l’existence... de moments réguliers." Option A repeats the opinion she sets aside. In interviews, a concession followed by "mais" or "ce n’est pas X, c’est Y" usually marks the answer.

A plan to move up one listening level

Most candidates who ask how to improve their listening score need one level, often NCLC 6 to 7, which is 41 points on the /699 scale (393 to 434). The routine below is what TEF Practice's listening tools are built around.

1. Take one full mock under real conditions. Forty questions in 40 minutes, each recording played once, no pausing. A listening mock works if you leave its pause and replay controls alone, and so does the official booklet with its audio. This is your baseline.
2. Tag every miss by block and by cause. Use the four blocks above, and four causes: missed a correction ("finalement," "en fait"), missed a condition or concession, chose an option because it repeated a word, or didn't know a word. After one mock, one cause usually dominates.
3. Work on the dominant cause for a week. If you keep missing corrections, drill voicemail and announcement items, where plans change mid-message. If the misses are concessions and positions, drill interviews and chronicles. Vocabulary gaps call for topic word lists built from the transcripts.
4. Use intensive listening on the recordings you got wrong. Listen once, answer, then replay with the transcript and find the exact phrase that decides the answer. Say it aloud. Our practice questions unlock the transcript and explanation after you answer for this reason.
5. Add daily French audio at normal speed. CCI's preparation article recommends listening regularly to radio, podcasts, audiobooks, music and video on varied topics. Free news audio such as Radio-Canada's ICI Première or RFI's "Journal en français facile" fits the chronicle and report style of the later blocks.
6. Repeat the full mock every week or two. Compare the misses in each block, not just the total.

For a study plan that covers all four skills, see the eight-week TEF Canada preparation plan. If you are still choosing a test, TEF Canada vs TCF Canada compares the listening sections.

FAQ

How is the TEF listening score calculated?

Each correct answer earns 1 point and wrong or blank answers earn 0. CCI then converts your number of correct answers into a calibrated score out of 699 that accounts for question difficulty. Your certificate also shows an old-scale equivalent out of 360.

How many correct answers do I need for CLB 7 in TEF listening?

CCI does not publish one, and there is no fixed number because harder questions affect the calibrated score differently. What is fixed is the score: 434 out of 699, shown as 249 out of 360 in the old score equivalence column.

How many correct answers do I need for CLB 5 in TEF listening?

There is no official count for NCLC 5 either. The score threshold is 352 out of 699, or 181 on the old 0-360 scale. For the other three skills at NCLC 5 and the programs that accept that level, see CLB 5 in French.

What is a good TEF listening score?

It depends on your program. For Express Entry under the Federal Skilled Worker program or the Canadian Experience Class for TEER 0 or 1 jobs, aim for at least 434, which is NCLC 7. Leave a margin, because one hard recording can cost you several points.

Which listening score do I enter in my Express Entry profile?

The "Équivalence ancien score" printed on your certificate, on the 0-360 scale. IRCC tells candidates not to enter the /699 score.

Is TEF listening easier than TCF listening?

The two tests use different formats and different score tables, so a single answer would be misleading. TCF Canada needs 458 out of 699 in listening for NCLC 7 under IRCC's table, while TEF Canada needs 434, but these are two different scales. Our TEF vs TCF comparison covers the format differences.

Can I improve my TEF listening score in a month?

It depends on how far you are from the next threshold, and nobody can promise a number. A month is enough to run four full mocks, find the block and the kind of mistake that costs you the most points, and drill that pattern. Candidates a few points under a threshold have the most to gain from that kind of targeted month.

Related

• TEF listening practice - 600 questions with original French audio and fifteen 40-minute mocks
• TEF Canada listening format - timing, interface rules and common mistakes
• TEF Canada score to NCLC - the conversion for all four skills
• How long TEF results are valid - the two-year rule and Express Entry timing