Thanks.

aurorae1:


Good job TimIron. I know it's a challenge but I will forever advice a beginner to have a tutor, simply for the structure and added advantage of corrections. If you already do, that's great.
Bonne continuation...

In case you need those books for the speaking and writing tests of TEF.

79733139:
Hello it's Monsieur Tayo again, concerning the writing and speaking tests of the TEF Canada exam, I have three books that would help you a lot with your preparation, they are:

TEF CANADA EXPRESSION ÉCRITE: 150 TOPICS TO SUCCEED by Jean K. Mathieu
TEF CANADA EXPRESSION ORALE: 150 TOPICS TO SUCCEED by Jean K. Mathieu
RÉUSSIR SON TEF/TEFAQ/TEF CANADA: EXPRESSION ORALE by Hourieh Marvi

Send an email to me (tayomassive@gmail) with subject title: "The three books for TEF speaking and writing tests" and I will send them to you.

Need a French tutor? Check my profile!

rs172:



Good evening aurorae1, je passerai l’examen tcf canada prochaine Mois, mais je voudrais vous poser une question, est-ce que le tcf canada repete leurs questions?

All this french . Hope the bot doesn't get you... It doesn't like it.Ha!
To your question, définitivement.
Have you done the subscriptions and joined any WhatsApp groups?

aurorae1:


All this french . Hope the bot doesn't get you... It doesn't like it.Ha!
To your question, définitivement.
Have you done the subscriptions and joined any WhatsApp groups?

hahaha, I haven’t joined any group yet, pls can you add me to one or recommend one for me.
Je m’inscris sur le tcfca.com et prepmyfutur.com

rs172:




hahaha, I haven’t joined any group yet, pls can you add me to one or recommend one for me.
Je m’inscris sur le tcfca.com et prepmyfutur.com

Do send me an email.

aurorae1:


Do send me an email.

Merci monsieur, c’est fait

aurorae1:


Do send me an email.

at least he is constructing a sentence some of us can barely read though we just a few weeks in

olabanji88:
at least he is constructing a sentence some of us can barely read though we just a few weeks in

Why is this funny? Hahaha.
But no, those are growing pains, like a child learning to talk, you'll definitely make mistakes, however, just keep with it. Anyone who has learnt french from scratch to pass this exam has gone through it.
You can do it too.

For people who have passed TEF/TCF while maintaining a full-time job, what is a realistic time frame for someone like me who just started learning French around 3 months ago on Duolingo app?

@aurorae1
@79733139
@Popoola1527

Bon soir mes Amis,

Is it possible for someone who intends to write the TCF or TEF in like September or October pay the fees now to hedge against the flux in FCY exchange rate? As it's going, these guys may stop accepting naira for payment or the cost may become very high and unaffordable, hence my question.

Thank you.

Ha! That's true. Maybe you should send them an email or call Alliance Française and please give us feedback. I will definitely like to do that too!

wright005:
Bon soir mes Amis,

Is it possible for someone who intends to write the TCF or TEF in like September or October pay the fees now to hedge against the flux in FCY exchange rate? As it's going, these guys may stop accepting naira for payment or the cost may become very high and unaffordable, hence my question.

Thank you.

TimIron:
For people who have passed TEF/TCF while maintaining a full-time job, what is a realistic time frame for someone like me who just started learning French around 3 months ago on Duolingo app?

@aurorae1
@79733139
@Popoola1527

Omo, this is hard to gauge as everyone and their circumstances are different.
Personally, I don't rate Duolingo as an overly effective learning method on this TCF journey, especially for someone on a time crunch as most people learning are.
To determined your level, you'd need to do a test of some sorts for the 4 competences and know where to go from there.

I know you want a number, although that's not easy to give, as even full-time jobs demand time and energy differently. That said, have had some workers do it in 6, 7 and 8 months. It's all about the time and effort you can put in.
I'd say aim for 6-8 months of intensive learning but do give yourself grace, it's not the easiest feat.

I don’t know if this has been shared already but I came across it recently and it looks really helpful

Dauphine:
I don’t know if this has been shared already but I came across it recently and it looks really helpful

Merci bien.

Thanks a lot for the advice.

aurorae1:


Omo, this is hard to gauge as everyone and their circumstances are different.
Personally, I don't rate Duolingo as an overly effective learning method on this TCF journey, especially for someone on a time crunch as most people learning are.

79733139:
Hello,

1.) Have you studied a grammar text book back to back like "Schaum's Outline of French Grammar"? Although grammar isn't part of the TEF tests, if you haven't achieved an intermediate level of mastery in it, your score will be affected in the writing and speaking tests. And learning grammar deliberately helps your comprehension (both reading and listening).

2.) For the listening, since you are at the basic stage, download the FrenchPod audios and transcripts (I uploaded an image with the link in one of my previous comments)... and listen to all of them starting from the "Newbie" audios. You need to listen several times to rewire your brain to be able to understand "fast spoken French". The transcriptions will help you a lot because the English translation for each line of dialogue is right below each French transcription. Eventually, you will have to move onto listening to a lot of TEF listening tests and answering the questions.

3.) As for speaking, you will need a teacher with whom to practice the TEF questions regularly. You have to tailor your speaking abilities to what you will say in the exam. There are a lot of YouTube videos for the speaking test which will definitely give you ideas to use when practising with a tutor, however you will still need to put in hours of practice before you can become a confident and true B2+ speaker.

There is no "magic" involved... just a lot of dedication and doing things in a smart manner. The goal is not learn the whole French, the goal is tailor your learning towards what you will encounter in the TEF exams.

Thanks really appreciate the French pod really works like magic it takes a lot of focus and mental excersice but the results shows
The grammar I have 2 paid apps I use one is like a textbook format with everything in chapters and topics the other is an app that's more of process like with a lot of exersices and lessons and courses with countless practices in pronunciation, listening, flashcards, audios of native speakers and so on. Very wide though you can finish in 3 -4 months if you spend at least 2 hours a day

De rien.

olabanji88:

Thanks really appreciate the French pod really works like magic it takes a lot of focus and mental exercise but the results shows. The grammar I have 2 paid apps I use one is like a....

My advice would be that you choose a conservative and wide enough range, I would say 8 - 16 months. Your chances of getting to a B2+ (which gets you 50+ points) between this range are a lot higher than getting there in less than 8 months from now.

That said, you need to be "obsessed" about learning French if you want to achieve you goal of passing the TEF/TCF exams as quick as possible. You will need to adjust your time schedule and find ways to make more sacrifices to be able to dedicate more time to learning French. Cut out unnecessary activities.

Being able to advance fast while learning French is a matter of trying to be the best student possible and not looking for the best (or overpriced) French tutor. There are some things when it comes to this journey that is 100% on you, e.g. listening comprehension, which you will have to dedicate a lot of hours to... when it comes to that, there is nothing that your teacher can do except give you materials, tips on how to get the best from them and maybe motivate you to keep listening.

You are responsible for 95% of your pace of learning and success, the other 5% is the resources that you use and your tutor. You could have the best resources and the most dedicated teacher, but if you aren't putting in hours of study and practice, you would progress very slowly.

I will say it again "become obsessed" about learning French if you want to achieve your goal in the shortest possible time. Like Aurorae said, it is difficult to give a specific timeline, however put in a lot of personal effort and if you achieve it in 8 months time, perfect that's EXCELLENT - you are a superstar! Or if you achieve it between the space of 8 - 16 months time from now, you can pat yourself in the back, because that is still good enough.

TEF and TCF exams are now N285,000 each - make sure that you test yourself on all 4 competences and be objective about your results and level BEFORE taking the exams. I took TEF twice before passing, and I think PurpleHibiscus sat for TCF thrice before passing... no go throway money if you no ready o!

TimIron:
For people who have passed TEF/TCF while maintaining a full-time job, what is a realistic time frame for someone like me who just started learning French around 3 months ago on Duolingo app?

@aurorae1
@79733139
@Popoola1527

[quote author=79733139 post=128097799]Hello,

1.) Have you studied a grammar text book back to back like "Schaum's Outline of French Grammar"? Although grammar isn't part of the TEF tests, if you haven't achieved an intermediate level of mastery in it, your score will be affected in the writing and speaking tests. And learning grammar deliberately helps your comprehension (both reading and listening).

2.) For the listening, since you are at the basic stage, download the FrenchPod audios and transcripts (I uploaded an image with the link in one of my previous comments)... and listen to all of them starting from the "Newbie" audios. You need to listen several times to rewire your brain to be able to understand "fast spoken French". The transcriptions will help you a lot because the English translation for each line of dialogue is right below each French transcription. Eventually, you will have to move onto listening to a lot of TEF listening tests and answering the questions.

3.) As for speaking, you will need a teacher with whom to practice the TEF questions regularly. You have to tailor your speaking abilities to what you will say in the exam. There are a lot of YouTube videos for the speaking test which will definitely give you ideas to use when practising with a tutor, however you will still need to put in hours of practice before you can become a confident and true B2+ speaker.

There is no "magic" involved... just a lot of dedication and doing things in a smart manner. The goal is not learn the whole French, the goal is tailor your learning towards what you will encounter in the TEF exams.

olabanji88:
...

Hello, you mentioned me, but why did you repost my comment again?

This is actually a very realistic timeline. I would even say 12-24 months. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and one day you'll realise that you understand a lot of what is spoken, and can hold a conversation for 10-15 minutes or more...

79733139:
My advice would be that you choose a conservative and wide enough range, I would say 8 - 16 months. Your chances of getting to a B2+ (which gets you 50+ points) between this range are a lot higher than getting there in less than 8 months from now.

That said, you need to be "obsessed" about learning French if you want to achieve you goal of passing the TEF/TCF exams as quick as possible. You will need to adjust your time schedule and find ways to make more sacrifices to be able to dedicate more time to learning French. Cut out unnecessary activities.

Being able to advance fast while learning French is a matter of trying to be the best student possible and not looking for the best (or overpriced) French tutor. There are some things when it comes to this journey that is 100% on you, e.g. listening comprehension, which you will have to dedicate a lot of hours to... when it comes to that, there is nothing that your teacher can do except give you materials, tips on how to get the best from them and maybe motivate you to keep listening.

You are responsible for 95% of your pace of learning and success, the other 5% is the resources that you use and your tutor. You could have the best resources and the most dedicated teacher, but if you aren't putting in hours of study and practice, you would progress very slowly.

I will say it again "become obsessed" about learning French if you want to achieve your goal in the shortest possible time. Like Aurorae said, it is difficult to give a specific timeline, however put in a lot of personal effort and if you achieve it in 8 months time, perfect that's EXCELLENT - you are a superstar! Or if you achieve it between the space of 8 - 16 months time from now, you can pat yourself in the back, because that is still good enough.

TEF and TCF exams are now N285,000 each - make sure that you test yourself on all 4 competences and be objective about your results and level BEFORE taking the exams. I took TEF twice before passing, and I think PurpleHibiscus sat for TCF thrice before passing... no go throway money if you no ready o!

French Draw!!!

7000 ITAs
Lowest Score: 365

If this isn't some more motivation, I don't know what is...
Keep on learning, it'll all pay off.
Bonne chance tout le monde !!!

I should have gotten ITA because my CRS score is more than good enough but FUTA is delaying me. I paid to have my transcript sent on their online portal to WES since 17th November 2023 and more than 2 months after, nothing.

Please is there any one who knows a student or staff of FUTA whom I can contact to help me check up on my transcript application?

EDIT: FUTA has finally sent my transcript (digitally) to WES.

Okay, based on the replies, I should fix a time of between 8 - 24 months and do my best to learn and study French as much as possible.

79733139:
My advice would be that you choose a c. I

79733139:
I should have gotten ITA because my CRS score is more than good enough but FUTA is delaying me. I paid to have my transcript sent on their online portal to WES since 17th November 2023 and more than 2 months after, nothing.

Please is there any one who knows a student or staff of FUTA whom I can contact to help me check up on my transcript application?

Nothing stops you from getting ITA without having a physical copy of your transcript. Only when you are submitting your application do you need an actual physical copy of your transcript and other documents.

TimIron:
For people who have passed TEF/TCF while maintaining a full-time job, what is a realistic time frame for someone like me who just started learning French around 3 months ago on Duolingo app?

Don't waste your time on that duolingo app. It will do nothing for you except make you feel you are learning, when in fact you are just playing a game. Get a real study / grammar book and study more intensely and strategically. Listen to actual podcasts, french radio, or slow french which are available on several listening channels like spotify, itunes, anchor, etc. Be more strategic about your studying.

I am not yet in the Express Entry system. I am trying to get my bachelor's degree assessed by WES (World Education Service). The process is: my university sends WES a copy of my transcript, then WES sends a confirmation to my university and finally my university sends a reply back to WES.

That is how WES assesses people's degrees, the transcript is NOT for me. My university hasn't sent it to WES even after I paid in November 17th 2023. I already have a copy of my transcript on which it is written "not for official use". The issue is my university sending the transcript to the WES address, which I have already provided to them, by courier.

The process is the same for all non-Canadian degrees/diplomas/certificates. WES has to assess it before it can be accepted in the Express Entry system.

EDIT: FUTA has finally sent my transcript (digitally) to WES.

NuCypher:

Nothing stops you from getting ITA without having a physical copy of your transcript. Only when you are submitting your application do you need an actual physical copy of your transcript and other documents.

How to Get More Practice to Improve Your Listening Skills!

For most people learning French, listening is a lot more difficult than reading - this is because spoken words disappear. With written text, you can linger on a particular word or sentence until you figure out the meaning, the case is totally different with speech, where you have a limited time to hold a set of words in your brain and quickly figure out the meaning... or else you would miss the remaining part of the dialogue or speech.

The only way around this limitation is to listen to each French recording several times so that the next time you hear the words or group of words used in another recording, you brain will be able to decode the meaning very fast (no need to hold it in your memory and try to convert to English first before understanding).

The more you listen, the easier it becomes to understand French without doing the English translation in your head.

So how do you get more time to listen to French?

Use your downtime to listen to French audios that you have already decoded!

What I mean is… after you have listened to maybe 1 hour of dialogue and you have read the transcriptions to check the words that you either didn’t know previously (using Google Translate) or you had troubles deciphering them in fast speech, start listening to these recordings when you are doing other things e.g.,

* waiting at the bus stop
* doing your laundry
* cooking
* doing your general house chores
* using the toilet
* doing nothing (because you are tired)
* commuting to and from work

You could use regular earphones, Bluetooth speakers or headphones. The bottom line is - just use every opportunity to keep putting French in your brain.

That's what I did. I used to listen to French recordings whilst standing on the queue at BRT bus stations, in the BRT bus, while defecating/using the toilet... basically any where possible, I always had my phone and earphones or Bluetooth speakers to listen to French.

However, the number one thing that you MUST accept about listening to French during your downtime is that you will not absorb 100% of the materials during that period... even if you absorb just 10%, it is still something and you have trained your brain a little more during a period of time that normally would have been wasted.

If you are walking on the street/road, don't use earphones/headphones as it could be dangerous - use a Bluetooth speaker instead, this way, you can still hear background noises and you are much safer.

The thing is that there are lots of collocations (groups of words that always go together) in French, just like in English, so when you build up your listening vocabulary by listening to French recordings several times, whenever you are listening to never-before-heard recordings, you will be able to quickly understand the meaning... because sometimes you don't have to actually hear every word, once you recognise the collocation based on the context, your brain will figure out the meaning instantly. Your brain will be able to fill in the gaps even if you didn't hear every word in the dialogue or speech.

Listening to French recordings several times (in conjunction with speaking practice) helps one to reach automaticity faster. Automaticity is when you are speaking French and it doesn't feel as if you are doing a lot of mental calculations in your brain while talking and to get to this stage, you need a lot of repetitions when it comes to listening.

Now let's assume that because of your job, you can only study French deliberately from 6:30pm to 11:30pm, you might not want to use this time to listen to French recordings, to which you have already listen and decoded, over and over again. It is for this reason that using your downtime to listen to French works best. In summary, always keep French playing at the background. Stop watching, premiership matches and highlights, WWE matches and highlights, reality shows, soap operas, Bollywood stuff and whatever entertainment you watch... instead replace it with French recordings, TV shows and films.

Okay, fine, you have read up to this point, does it mean that your listening skills will magically improve? No. First of all, you have to make it a habit, an ongoing thing that you must do daily, and it will also take some time to see results - the process is gradual.

I bought a Bluetooth speaker in December 2019 and it lasted the whole length of my French journey, as for regular earphones (with wires), the lifespan seems to be around 4 - 5 months for Oraimo earphones after which, it is either one of the speakers stops working or both stop working.

As long as you develop the habit of keeping French playing at the background always, you will reap the rewards of improved listening skills.

Hey guys, I would like to register for TCF in AF Lagos. However, going through the website, I see that from March, the fee is #450,000. Is it that my eyes are paining me or that's what the price will be henceforth?

patokenneth:
Hey guys, I would like to register for TCF in AF Lagos. However, going through the website, I see that from March, the fee is #450,000. Is it that my eyes are paining me or that's what the price will be henceforth?

Kind Sir/Ma'am yes o... Your eyes don't hurt o. That's the new price, hence with these exams, passing on the first try is imperative...
Imagine in less than 7 months it's nearly three times the price it was in July.

If you are using videos (+French subtitles) to build your listening skills as against audios (+transcriptions), you can convert videos (like .mp4 files) to audios (such as .mp3 files) using VLC player (it is a free software that you can download) or you can search Google for online file converters which would help you convert videos to audios.

This way, after watching French videos and decoding the meaning, you can switch to listening to the audio versions whenever you are doing anything apart from deliberate studying and keep French playing continously at the background.

79733139:
How to Get More Practice to Improve Your Listening Skills!

For most people learning French, listening is a lot more difficult than reading - this is because spoken words disappear.