TEF Canada Expression Orale Topics
TEF Canada expression orale is fifteen minutes face to face with an examiner, split into two sections built around a short advert. The prompts below are the adverts and scenarios that circulate most in the TEF Canada pool, grouped by section, with the exact moves that earn marks in each one.
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Where these topics come from
These are the recurring themes of the TEF Canada question pool, cross checked across several independent prep sources. Le français des affaires does not publish live exam papers and candidates sign a confidentiality undertaking, so nobody can honestly give you "the questions from last month". What we can tell you is which scenarios come back again and again, and every one of them uses the same two consignes, so preparing these prepares you for the whole section.
Expression orale is marked out of 450 and converts to the CLB and NCLC scale. Most Express Entry candidates are chasing CLB 7, which is 271 to 309 points, and CLB 9 needs 349 or more. Convert your score to CLB.
Section A: Get information from an advert
Prise d’informationAdvert themes that recur across independent TEF Canada prep banks. The consigne is always the same, only the advert changes.
- 1
Club de marche, venez marcher avec nous
Walking club, come and walk with us
- 2
Cours d’initiation à la poterie
Beginner pottery workshop
- 3
Randonnée en motoneige
Snowmobile trek
- 4
Dormir dans un igloo
Spend a night in an igloo
- 5
Randonnée avec un âne
Hiking with a donkey
- 6
Achat et location de vélos électriques
Buying and renting electric bikes
- 7
Location d’ordinateurs
Computer rental
- 8
Louer du matériel de réception
Renting party and catering equipment
- 9
Pharmacie en ligne
Online pharmacy
- 10
Salon de l’alimentation
Food fair
- 11
Location de costumes pour une fête costumée
Costume rental for a fancy dress party
- 12
Voyage à Toronto et visite des chutes du Niagara
Trip to Toronto and the Niagara Falls
- 13
Stage d’escalade
Climbing course
- 14
Cours de cuisine japonaise
Japanese cooking class
- 15
Cours de guitare à domicile
Guitar lessons at home
- 16
Appartement à louer
Flat to rent
- 17
Bénévolat dans une cuisine communautaire
Volunteering in a community kitchen
- 18
Bénévolat, nettoyer les plages
Volunteering, cleaning up the beaches
- 19
Bénévolat, aide aux devoirs
Volunteering, homework help
- 20
Devenez testeur de produits alimentaires
Become a food product tester
How to answer section a
You are phoning about the advert, so open like a phone call: "Allô, bonjour madame, je vous appelle au sujet de votre annonce sur les cours de poterie."
Ask questions, do not make statements. The examiner scores how many varied, correct questions you produce, so silence and long explanations both cost you.
Rotate your question forms deliberately: est-ce que, inversion, and qu’est-ce que. Using all three shows range that a string of intonation questions does not.
Cover the practical grid every advert hides: price, dates and times, place, who it is for, what is included, what to bring, and how to sign up.
Ask one follow-up on an answer you are given. Reacting to the examiner proves real interaction rather than a recited list.
Close the call properly: confirm the next step and thank them. "Très bien, je vais réserver en ligne ce soir. Merci beaucoup, bonne journée."
Section B: Convince a friend
ArgumentationPersuasion scenarios that recur across independent TEF Canada prep banks. Your job is always to talk a reluctant friend into the activity in the advert.
- 1
Convaincre un ami de faire du bénévolat dans une cuisine communautaire
Persuade a friend to volunteer in a community kitchen
- 2
Convaincre un ami de participer à un vide-grenier de quartier
Persuade a friend to take part in a neighbourhood garage sale
- 3
Convaincre un ami de faire un saut en parachute
Persuade a friend to go skydiving
- 4
Convaincre un ami de rejoindre un club de lecture
Persuade a friend to join a book club
- 5
Convaincre un ami de partir en séjour au ski
Persuade a friend to go on a ski holiday
- 6
Convaincre un ami d’essayer un chef à domicile
Persuade a friend to try a private chef at home
- 7
Convaincre un ami de faire du bénévolat dans un refuge animalier
Persuade a friend to volunteer at an animal shelter
- 8
Convaincre un ami de faire un séjour de détox numérique
Persuade a friend to go on a digital detox retreat
- 9
Convaincre un ami de faire une visite guidée à vélo
Persuade a friend to take a guided bike tour
- 10
Convaincre un ami de s’inscrire à un atelier de théâtre pour vaincre sa timidité
Persuade a friend to join a drama workshop to overcome shyness
- 11
Convaincre un ami d’acheter ses médicaments en ligne
Persuade a friend to buy their medication online
- 12
Convaincre un ami de participer à un échange de services entre particuliers
Persuade a friend to join a neighbour to neighbour skill swap
- 13
Convaincre un ami de devenir testeur de voyages
Persuade a friend to become a travel tester
- 14
Convaincre un ami de s’inscrire à un cours de danse
Persuade a friend to sign up for a dance class
- 15
Convaincre un ami de vous accompagner dans un restaurant italien
Persuade a friend to come with you to an Italian restaurant
How to answer section b
Use tu, not vous. This is a friend, and slipping into vous is one of the most common avoidable errors in Section B.
Lead with the offer and your enthusiasm, then keep talking. Ten minutes is long, and running dry at minute six is what actually sinks scores.
Expect three refusals. The examiner is instructed to resist, so plan three separate angles: money, time, and the personal benefit to them.
Answer the objection they actually raised before adding a new argument. "Je comprends que ce soit cher, mais il y a un tarif de groupe" beats ignoring them.
Personalise it: name something about your friend. "Toi qui adores cuisiner, tu vas adorer ce cours."
Push for a commitment at the end. "Alors, je nous inscris pour samedi ?" A concrete close signals you completed the task.
Expressions to reuse
Learn these by heart. They buy you thinking time and signal the structure the examiner is listening for.
Je vous appelle au sujet de votre annonce concernant…
I am calling about your advert regarding…
Pourriez-vous me donner plus de précisions sur les tarifs ?
Could you give me more detail about the prices?
Est-ce que le matériel est fourni ou faut-il apporter le sien ?
Is the equipment provided or do you have to bring your own?
Qu’est-ce qui est compris exactement dans ce tarif ?
What exactly is included in that price?
Écoute, j’ai trouvé quelque chose de génial pour nous deux !
Listen, I have found something brilliant for the two of us!
Je comprends ton hésitation, mais réfléchis-y deux minutes.
I understand why you are hesitating, but think about it for a moment.
Ce serait vraiment l’occasion de sortir de ta routine.
It would be a real chance to break out of your routine.
Allez, laisse-toi tenter, tu ne le regretteras pas !
Go on, give it a try, you will not regret it!
How to prepare for TEF speaking
Fluency is worth more than perfection. The examiner is scoring your ability to keep an exchange going, so a small gender mistake costs far less than a five second silence.
Section B is twice as long as Section A. Most candidates prepare Section A far more, then run out of arguments halfway through B. Practise B first.
Never read a memorised speech. Examiners recognise recited answers instantly, and a scripted reply cannot respond to an objection, which is exactly what Section B tests.
Record yourself and time it. If you cannot fill ten minutes on a book club, you will not fill ten minutes on exam day either.
Your accent is not marked. Clarity is. Slow down slightly rather than rushing to sound native.
Say these TEF answers out loud
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TEF speaking questions, answered
Are these the real TEF Canada speaking questions for August 2026?
No, and be careful with any site that says its list is. Le français des affaires never publishes live papers and candidates agree to keep the content confidential. These are the advert and persuasion themes that recur across the TEF Canada question pool, which is the honest and genuinely useful version: both sections use identical instructions every time, so practising these themes prepares you for whatever advert you are handed.
How long is the TEF Canada speaking test?
Fifteen minutes in total, face to face with an examiner. Section A lasts five minutes and Section B lasts ten. There is no preparation time for either section, and the whole thing is recorded so a second examiner can double mark it.
Did the TEF speaking test change in 2025 or 2026?
No. The December 2023 TEF overhaul changed the reading, listening and vocabulary sections only, and Le français des affaires confirmed that expression orale and expression écrite stayed the same. The April 2025 change applied to the TEF IRN, which is a different exam from TEF Canada. Any video advertising a "new 2026 speaking format" is marketing.
What score do I need for Express Entry?
Expression orale is marked out of 450. CLB 7, the usual Express Entry target, needs 271 points, and CLB 9, which unlocks the largest French language bonus, needs 349. French speakers can also claim up to 50 extra CRS points for strong French.
Can I use tu in Section A?
No. In Section A you are calling a business or an organisation, so you use vous throughout. Section B is the opposite: you are talking to a friend, so tu is expected there. Mixing the two up is one of the most frequent errors examiners report.
What if I do not know anything about the topic in the advert?
It does not matter, because neither section tests knowledge. Section A only asks you to produce questions, and you can always ask about price, timing, location and what is included. Section B rewards persuasion, so invented details are fine as long as your French is good.
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