6 mistakes made by TEF exam candidates

The TEF exam is notoriously difficult, which is why our TEF Preparation Course aims to help learners every step of the way. That said, even the most diligent students can end up making mistakes during - or in the run up to - the exam.
Below are some of the mistakes we’ve noticed students making when it comes to the TEF exam - and how to avoid them.

Strictly speaking, the TEF exam does not award you points for how well you can speak, read, write and listen to French, but rather for how well you can respond to the questions on the test.

This is a crucial distinction to make. It’s often the case that examinees who are completely fluent in French rely on their proficiency to get by in the exam, without realising that being able to respond to questions in the desired way is just as important - if not more so - than fluency. For instance, some questions are deliberately phrased to catch you out where two or more similar, but different, pieces of information present themselves. Others are designed to test your ability to talk at length about a given subject, which requires basic conversational know-how alongside confidence in speaking French. It also helps to develop some familiarity with the topics that are likely to show up on the exam, such as immigration or questions about daily life in countries like France and Canada.

The oral section of the TEF exam features a range of different accents, and some of these can stump even native French speakers! A mistake TEF candidates often make is to only expose themselves to one kind of accent throughout their learning - usually a Parisian accent - which leaves them unprepared for some of the accents that they are likely to hear in the TEF exam. These can include Quebecois, Belgian and North African, which each have their own pronunciation and cadences.

The oral section of our TEF Preparation Course includes accents from a range of French-speaking countries to prepare learners for the exam.

The TEF exam is aimed at advanced learners of French. It takes a long time to arrive at the requisite degree of proficiency in French, even for determined learners, which is why we recommend learners take the Complete French Course before moving on to the TEF Preparation Course to ensure their French is up to scratch. You can purchase both in a bundle for a discounted price.

We recommend at least nine to twelve months of focused studying for learners with no prior knowledge of French, or at least four to six months for learners who are already at B2 level of the CEFR. To determine which level you are, take our placement test.

Yes, there is more than one TEF exam. Depending on your purpose for taking the TEF, you may wish to take either the TEF Canada, TEF Québec or TEF IRN exam. Each of these exams is slightly different. For instance, only the listening and speaking sections are essential for the TEF Québec, while the TEF Canada and TEF IRN, which are aimed at learners wanting to relocate to Canada and France respectively, all four sections are mandatory.

The Learn French With Alexa TEF Preparation Course prepares learners for the TEF Canada exam, which covers all four parts - Compréhension écrite, Compréhension orale, Expression orale and Expression écrite - and is therefore useful for all TEF applicants. However, you should make certain which exam you need to take, and make sure you are sitting the right one.

The TEF Canada exam is long - the Compréhension Écrite and Expression Écrite sections alone are 60 minutes each - but it can still be easy to run out of time.

When revising for the TEF, and taking practice tests, alway remember to time yourself. If you run over on one section, you’ll have to spend less time on another, so it’s important to allocate your time carefully, and keep an eye on the clock.

Speaking practice can often be the most daunting aspect of learning French, and many TEF applicants - understandably - put it off until they're confident in their ability to write, read and listen to French at an advanced level.

In doing so, however, they don't allow themselves enough time to become accustomed to speaking French or to grow in confidence.

It can be difficult to find opportunities to speak French, of course, but that's why our TEF Preparation Course comes with two hours of speaking practice with a qualified French teacher. Meanwhile, our new Conversation Club offers learners a chance to speak French in a relaxed manner with co-learners. These sessions run in five-week blocks and are available at different levels.