How is the TEF Canada scored for Express Entry?

Each of the four skills gets a score that converts to an NCLC/CLB level using the official IRCC equivalency chart. Your CRS language points and any French bonus points are based on the lowest of the four. You need the target level in every skill separately.

Is the TEF Canada easier than the TCF Canada?

Neither is reliably easier — they test the same French at the same CLB levels, just with different formats. The TCF uses level-based speaking and writing tasks; the TEF uses its own two-part speaking and writing. Pick based on availability and which format suits you, and prepare for that one specifically.

TEF Canada · Exam guide

TEF Canada: format, sections & scoring

Q: What sections does the TEF Canada have?

For IRCC, the TEF Canada has four tests: Compréhension de l'oral (listening), Compréhension de l'écrit (reading), Expression orale (speaking) and Expression écrite (writing). Listening and reading are multiple-choice; speaking and writing are produced and rated by examiners.

A plain-English guide to the TEF Canada — the four sections IRCC uses, how each is timed, how scores convert to NCLC/CLB for Express Entry, and a free way to prepare for it. No signup.

What the TEF Canada is

The TEF Canada (Test d'évaluation de français) is one of the two French exams IRCC accepts for Express Entry, permanent residence and citizenship — the other is the TCF Canada. It measures your French across four skills and reports a level for each that maps onto the NCLC/CLB scale.

The four IRCC sections

For immigration you take four tests. Listening and reading are multiple-choice; speaking and writing are produced and rated by examiners. Timings are approximate — confirm the current official format before booking:

Section	Skill	Format
Compréhension de l'oral	Listening	~40 min · multiple choice
Compréhension de l'écrit	Reading	~60 min · multiple choice
Expression orale	Speaking	~15 min · two tasks, recorded
Expression écrite	Writing	~60 min · two sections

Speaking and writing — the two-part tasks

Expression orale has two parts: first you ask questions to obtain information from a scenario (an advert, a service), then you present and defend an opinion to persuade someone. Expression écrite also has two: a shorter text where you complete or continue a piece of news, and a longer one where you give and justify an opinion in roughly 200 words.

Notice the overlap with the TCF: both reward question-forming, opinion structure, and connectors. Prep for one transfers heavily to the other.

How TEF scores become CRS points

Each skill's score converts to an NCLC/CLB level via the official IRCC chart. Your core language CRS points — and the up-to-50 French bonus points — depend on hitting the target level in every skill, because the lowest one governs. One weak skill caps the whole result, so train all four, not just your strongest.

Free practice path

Prepare for the TEF Canada free

The skills the TEF tests are the skills the free course trains: native-audio listening, graded reading, question-asking and opinion speaking, and writing with a corrector — plus a full mock test with a band estimate per skill. Built for CLB 6 / NCLC 7, no signup.

Open the free course→

Frequently asked questions

What sections does the TEF Canada have?

Four for IRCC: Compréhension de l'oral (listening), Compréhension de l'écrit (reading), Expression orale (speaking) and Expression écrite (writing).

How is it scored?

Each skill converts to an NCLC/CLB level via the official IRCC chart; the lowest of the four governs your points.

Is the TEF easier than the TCF?

Not reliably — same French, same levels, different formats. Pick on availability and fit, then prepare for that exact format.

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