The TCF Canada, section by section — and how to be ready for each one
Four papers, a little under three hours, and one set of numbers that decides your immigration file. This page sets out exactly what each section asks, how it converts to the NCLC scale, and where to practise it.
- Papers to sit
- 4
- Total exam time
- 2 h 47
- Multiple-choice questions
- 39 + 39
- Speaking and writing, out of 20
- 4 - 20
What the TCF Canada is
The Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada is the French exam IRCC accepts for Express Entry, provincial nominee programmes and citizenship. It is the same four skills every time — listening, reading, writing and speaking — sat in one session or split across two days depending on the centre.
The two comprehension papers are multiple choice, marked automatically on a scale that tops out at 699. The two expression papers are marked by examiners out of 20. IRCC then converts each of the four results into an NCLC level separately — and it is usually the weakest of the four that decides what your file is worth.
- Listening and reading are 39 questions each, in rising order of difficulty.
- Writing is three tâches sharing one 60-minute timer; speaking is three tâches in about ten minutes, face to face.
- There is no pass mark. Your result is a level, and the level you need depends on the programme you are applying under.
TCF Canada to NCLC conversion
The score bands IRCC uses to turn a TCF Canada result into an NCLC level, skill by skill.
| NCLC | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10+ | 549 - 699 | 16 - 20 | 549 - 699 | 16 - 20 |
| 9 | 524 - 548 | 14 - 15 | 524 - 548 | 14 - 15 |
| 8 | 499 - 523 | 12 - 13 | 503 - 522 | 12 - 13 |
| 7 | 453 - 498 | 10 - 11 | 458 - 502 | 10 - 11 |
| 6 | 406 - 452 | 7 - 9 | 398 - 457 | 7 - 9 |
| 5 | 375 - 405 | 6 - 6 | 369 - 397 | 6 - 6 |
| 4 | 342 - 374 | 4 - 5 | 331 - 368 | 4 - 5 |
IRCC publishes these bands and can revise them. Check your own result against the current table on canada.ca before you file.
What prepfrancais gives you
Practice material tells you what the exam asks. This tells you what your own answer would have scored.
A mark, not an impression
Every attempt comes back with a CEFR level and the score band it sits in, with the same caps the exam applies for length and off-topic answers.
Every error explained
Prepositions, conjugation, agreement, spelling, anglicisms and the C1 turns of phrase you are missing — each highlighted in place with the correction and the reason for it.
Your own mistakes, drilled
Corrections join a personal history and come back as spaced-repetition cards at 1, 3, 7 and 14 days, built from what you actually got wrong.
How the practice works
Four steps, from your first attempt to a mistake you no longer make.
- 1
Pick a tâche
One of the six official tâches, a theme, or a consigne you were given somewhere else and pasted in.
- 2
Work under exam conditions
The word ranges, the preparation times and the hand-in are the exam's, not approximations of them.
- 3
Get the correction
A CEFR level, the score band, and every error highlighted where you made it with the reason for it.
- 4
Drill what you got wrong
Your errors become cards and quizzes, spaced over the next fortnight so they are still there when you sit the exam.
Four things candidates get wrong
None of these are about your French. They are about how the exam is built, and they cost points every session.
Start free- 1
Treating all four sections as equally urgent. Your file is usually held down by one weak skill — find it with a mock paper before you spend a month on the wrong one.
- 2
Writing past the word range. Tâche 3 accepts 120 to 180 words; well past it, the examiner marks what fits and the extra work earns nothing.
- 3
Preparing tâche 2 of the speaking as a speech. It is the only tâche where you ask the questions, and a prepared monologue scores badly there.
- 4
Practising without a clock. The comprehension papers are as much a pacing test as a language test — 39 reading questions in 60 minutes is 92 seconds each.
Frequently asked questions
About two hours and forty-five minutes of exam time: 35 minutes of listening, 60 of reading, 60 for the three written tâches and roughly 12 for the spoken ones. Centres add registration and briefing on top, so budget half a day.
No. Every section returns a level, and it is the programme you are applying under that sets the level you need — NCLC 7 in all four skills for most Express Entry candidates.
Two years from the date of the exam for immigration purposes. IRCC sets that rule and can change it, so check the current one on canada.ca before you file.
No. The TCF Canada is sat as a whole and you resit all four papers, which is why finding your weakest skill early matters more than polishing your strongest.
They are two different exams, both accepted by IRCC, with different formats and different scales. The TCF Canada scores comprehension out of 699 and expression out of 20; the TEF Canada uses its own. Pick one and prepare for its format specifically.
Keep going
The rest of the TCF Canada preparation, one page per thing you have to get right.
Find your weakest section this week
Three writing corrections and three speaking evaluations, free and without a card. Enough to know which paper is holding your file back.
No credit card required
This is a practice tool, not the official TEF/TCF exam. Scores and levels are estimates to guide your preparation.