15 minutes · 2 role-plays with a live examiner
TEF Canada speaking: what it actually looks like
This is where TEF differs most from the Canadian English tests. You are not talking to a computer - you are in a face-to-face role-play with a human examiner who will actively push back. Section A is about five minutes of information gathering; Section B is about ten minutes of persuasion.
Speaking
Expression orale
15 minutes · 2 role-plays with a live examiner
How it works
- Section A (~5 min): you must obtain information. You ask the questions.
- Section B (~10 min): you must convince the examiner of something.
- The exam is recorded so a second assessor can mark it independently.
- The examiner is instructed to resist your position in Section B. Handling objections is part of what is being scored.
What goes wrong
- Delivering a rehearsed monologue. Section B is interactive by design; a script that ignores the examiner's objection scores badly.
- Asking one question in Section A and stopping. Build a chain: broad question, react to the answer, ask for detail, confirm conditions.
- Optimising for zero grammar errors at the cost of fluency and engagement. The grid rewards communication too.
Where your score needs to land
For NCLC 7, speaking needs at least 456 on the 0–699 scale - well above the 400 that counts as generic CEFR B2. Convert your score.
In development
TEF Canada practice is coming
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- All four skills in real exam format
- Scored on CCI's assessment dimensions
- Results in NCLC, per skill