TEF CANADA · FREE LESSON · ABOUT 20 MIN
Your first useful French conversation
Introduce yourself, explain what you need and ask someone to help you understand.
Step 1 of 3 · About 20 minutes in total
Learn the idea
01
Understand the pattern
A complete French sentence usually names a subject and a conjugated verb: je parle, vous travaillez. Je becomes j’ before a vowel sound in j’habite. Use vous with a person you do not know in a professional conversation. Tu is for a friend or someone with whom you use informal address. Learn short meaningful chunks and change one detail each time. A greeting alone does not communicate your purpose.
02
See it in context
Read the French first. Identify the structure that carries the meaning, then use the explanation to check your interpretation.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Bonjour, je m’appelle Leïla. J’habite à Ottawa. Je cherche un cours de français. Est-ce que vous pouvez parler plus lentement ?
Hello, my name is Leïla. I live in Ottawa. I am looking for a French course. Can you speak more slowly? Each sentence does one job: introduce, locate, state a need, repair understanding.
03
Make it useful
Practise this exchange aloud with your own details. Then cover it and try again. If you forget a word, use a repair phrase: Comment dit-on … en français ? or Pouvez-vous répéter, s’il vous plaît ? Ask one question and listen to the answer. In the next session, change the situation from a class enquiry to a library enquiry.
Original lesson and examples by TEF Practice. Exam format checked September 11, 2026 against CCI preparation materials.