aurorae1:


The stories we love to read!
May the Great White North be good to you...

Amen and thank you aurorae… you’ve been very kind here. God bless you.

zaramM:

Congratulations!!

Thanks so much for this encouragement.

Thank you. Wishing you success ahead

suzzyrims:
Good evening people. I am on B1 level and I wish to write tcf in the next two months. Kindly suggest any tutor that is budget friendly and can take me on exam preparations for the next two months

Go through the thread carefully, you will see multiple recommendations. Goodluck.

Bonjour a tous,
I know it’s been a while I was here and I’m sorry to those I didn’t get to reply on here. It has been a ride gathering documents and all.

I just wanted to let everyone know that my process is now complete thanks to TEF. My story is somewhere in the thread so I won’t go back but I will say that this is one year after I joined here and as of yesterday, I became a permanent resident of Canada. I came to encourage anyone who’s looking at the road ahead as ‘looong’. One day at a time and it will all make sense (the frustrations, the pain, the financial strain…) I sometimes wonder to myself that if I gave up a year ago, I’d still be where I was a year ago. I know the French category scores are going up but compared to the general draws?

It is worth the wait. I submitted my EE application February 3rd and did my landing yesterday. Now, I qualify for free 1 year french courses and can apply for jobs as ‘bilingual’. So whether TEF or TCF, keep learning and please don’t give up. The benefits are huge. God bless everyone here. For the times I needed help, you guys came through. I wish you all success and speedy ppr ahead. Thank you to all the OGs that keep this platform alive. May you always find help when needed. Have a blessed night all.

Shalom.

datbosschick8:



You don’t know how this write-up has helped me! it has also confirmed some of my reservations with a certain tutor. I have taken note of the tips you gave and have determined to study for atleast 3 hours everyday for the next one year. I pray I am able to come back with my own testimony too. Goodluck in all your endeavours!

I wish you all the very best. Please don’t give up; you only fail when you quit. It is achievable and the only person that can stop you is you. I look forward to reading your testimony. Cheers!

Oluwapomile1:



Wow! Such resilience! A big congratulations 🎉

Thank you!

NwunyeAlberta:
Congratulations!
This is so inspiring!

Thank you!

79733139:


Congratulations on your scores.... Bravo !

If I may ask, is your PrepMyFuture still active? Although I have already taken the TEF and obtained a CLB 7, I am considering taking the exam to get all the points available for French and would like to get a feel of the new format, I just wrote IELTS and got CLB 10 for English.

Thank you! Congratulations on your IELTS as well! Well, yes my prepmyfuture is still active till the end of the year, however I already gave my details to a family friend taking the test in February and it logs out whenever there’s a log in on another device. So I believe they structured it to be used one interface at a time. I’m sorry. If you join the WhatsApp group I mentioned, they drop materials from time to time for practice purposes.

Perezzoe:
Felicitations!

I'm certain it still feels surreal to you. I feel all you've said is a summary of the pain of the process, which has yielded a positive result.

Congratulations once more!

Thank you very much. It's been an intense year, but I'm so grateful to God. It also goes beyond the results; I wanted my daughter to know that it pays to be hardworking and never give up on your dreams, no matter how challenging it gets.

GraciousWords:


Bravo x 1,000,000 !!!

Ultimate respect to people like you who never give up! LOL at throwing in the towel and picking it up again!!

Very well done!!!

Oh @graciouswords, thank you! Interestingly my sister-in-law is an OG too and she always told me to quote you if I had any questions. She speaks very highly of you even without knowing you personally. Thank you and other OGs for keeping this thread alive. Helping out when and where you can in your busy schedules. I appreciate you.

aurorae1:
Salut tout le monde...
It's finally my time...

Received my results and couldn't not come back here, where it all started.

I'll come back to share my timeline/story.
But to the creator of this thread, the OGs and everyone who has contributed to it all, may you be rewarded immensely.

I just saw that you also cleared yours!!! Mega congratulations🎉🎉🎉
This thread has indeed been such a blessing. The support, the info on here…the ever ready to answer OGs. God bless you all. Amen!!

Hello house,

I am back with my testimony. After three attempts of being stuck at band 6 in EE and changing structures, I have finally shattered the nclc 7 ceiling at my fourth attempt! CE B2 CO C1 EE B2 EO B2. Just for someone here, please don't give up and always believe you can improve. I threw in the towel many times and picked it back up because... 50 points makes a world of difference. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me here. So, what I did for this last attempt:
1. Registered for a McGill online TEF writing course structured by a former TEF examiner (this demystified the entire EE for me)
2. Kept my former Cameroonian tutor. She's very patient; she will deal with your grammar warmly, making you want to learn. I can drop her contact if anyone is interested. She followed me through all my ups and downs and never let me go.
3. Attempted Madame Bizang, but after a few classes, I realized that her attitude was not tailored for me. I did all my homework and attended classes early, but she'd talk down on every piece of classwork I produced, saying my grammar was pretty much zero without offering any solid solution. She once told me I couldn't get the desired score in her opinion, and I started losing confidence in both my written and oral French. So, I quietly quit.
4. I listened to 8 milliard de Voisin on RFI daily. Anytime I heard a new word, I'd stop, check the meaning and how to use it, and then use it in conversation with my tutor. I also watched French movies on Netflix.
5. Prepmyfuture is a powerhouse. I cannot overemphasize the content there. Please NOTE: they have now updated their content to suit the new format of the TEF starting from Dec 11, 2023.
6. Joined a Cameroonian TEF prep WhatsApp group called Dr. Manfred C2. I used it to study how the native French write and just followed their convos.
5. I praised God ahead of test day. I almost missed my test due to unforeseen traffic, but we thank God.
If you've followed my story, you'd know I have been through the fire... but other testimonies encouraged me, so I'm encouraging someone else; it is worth every sleepless night, frustrated days, tears, mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. In total, I got an extra 62 points from TEF.

Apologies for the long write-up; I promised to come back with my praise report, and here it is. Have a blessed evening, everyone!

leopardinatree:


hello,

i just attempted the tef exam a few days ago. your story is quite similar to mine as i was also in the french space about a decade ago and also did Delf A1-B2. but because of the 10yr gap and lack of immersion i forgot almost all my french. i started taking weekly private classes in march, and as mentioned earlier, i just recently sat for my first TEF attempt. to be honest the EO was not a walk in the park. so with that brief history i would like to request some info from you if you do not mind;
1) how long did you take revision classes before your first exam attempt?
2) was the first attempt favourable?
3) how many other attempts did you make before succeeding to the almighty nclc 7?
4) how significant a gap from your first attempt and the successful one?
5) how did you go about preparing for the following attempts, what did you do differently that aided in your success?
6) can i prepare without a tutor after having experienced the test and having an idea of where my weakness are. can i polish up on my own or must i engage a tutor again (private tutors are very very expensive)
7) should i look for a tef tutor specifically, does it make a difference?
how many points did you get from your second language and is it worth it uploading my results with a lesser tef score?
9) how long do the results take to be released? i am sitting on the edge of my chair since the exam, the suspense is killing me.

thanks in anticipation.

Hello,
First, I would like to wish you success in your results. So, I have not yet cleared the almighty band 7,lol. I’m retaking the test because I’m a few points shy of the B2+ in EE

My first attempt was a bit of a joke. My tutor warned me before hand to see it as a way to familiarize myself with the experience(the computer format, the nerves…) because the timeline I gave myself was quite unrealistic. I started self learning in February but switched to tutor based in March and then took the test in April. Results were actually not bad considering my placement test was at A2. I had CE B1, CO B1, EOB1(the nclc4), EE B2. And yes, my EO was a disaster😅. I had pockets of silence where the examiner had to point at her tab to show me there was still time left. Anyway, the test added only two points to my CRS score. A few days later, IRCC yanked off 5 points on my birthday. So I replenished 2 points that wouldn’t have been there if I didn’t upload my result. 😁

I proceeded to take another in July. This time I added more hours to studying. Ate, slept, soaked in the exercises on Prepmyfuture, la langue française on YouTube and increased my tutor’s classes from 3 hours a week to 5. She also took it upon herself to add some free classes. The results showed the hard work. CE B2+, CO B2+, EO C1, EE B2. I appealed my EE score majorly because I was slowed down due to the dim screen I complained about at the beginning of the test but the frenchies said it wasn’t a ‘major technical anomaly’. So I’m going again. To answer the question of points, this second time I obtained 10 points. I have been updating my EE profile as I go because who knows if IRCC will wake up one morning and drop the nclc to 6? 🥹

As for Q7, I read everywhere that you should get a TEF based tutor but I would also like to note that TEF and DELF are similar so as long as you a get a qualified tutor in exams, the rest is structure and constant practice. I have now resumed studying from 1am to 5am Mondays to Thursdays and watching French with Alexa(to sort of revise things I’ve learnt before), Dylane (she’s very good at explaining) and French movies and shows on Netflix(whenever there’s pockets of spare time during the day). The reality show “the Ultimatum” is a fantastic way to enjoy natural sounding French helpful for EO. I’ve watched it twice now scrutinizing how they effortlessly add their conditionnel, subjonctif and even for the informal words(helpful for section B).
Q9- I was shocked to receive both my tests results one week after even though they tell you 2-4 weeks.

As for my tutor, I met her on preply but she’s resident in Abuja. She’s Cameroonian. I find that this third attempt, she’s more of a guide than a tutor because we’ve basically laid down the ground work and now we’re tweaking styles to shatter this B2+ ceiling. I pray I return with good news. I hope I’ve helped to answer all your questions.

Happy new month everyone!

Goodnigga:
he shock u ! How far? What stage are you now? Have you written TEF or about to write?

No sir, don’t use my prep time to judge. To be fair, I started more like from A2 stage because I’ve been in the French space before. Attended AF Ikeja from 2013-2014 and covered A1-B2. So I didn’t start from scratch in February. Still, it’s been a loooot of work because the margin between my two TEF scores is really wide. So let’s all keep working towards the goal. It’s worth it in the end.

Shalom.

aurorae1:


You mean you started learning for TEF in January?!
You got this!!
I understand you completely. I hope you're able to get a favorable review... Hang in there...

Actually I started in February when I realized the extra 50 points would clearly produce an ITA immediately. Thank you so much for the support. I appreciate this space.

Goodnigga:
Let me console you a bit, as painful as it may sound ,I know CBT can be messed up at times . When I did mine then. 1 hour into the time the center couldn't download the test software that morning. Everybody started with different paper differently . At times I was even afraid to backspace to verify my answered questions so that I won't go and close the program and submit cos they just started the CBT program then. Only one invigilator will be monitoring two test rooms with different students with different problems. TEF preps can be challenging, so behold Canada and find strength to rewrite again. I know you want to fight for it, fight, but still prepare. You may have to still focus on all modules again, trust me this time around. He go dey easier as you don do am before. Cheers.

Thank you so much. I was really livid when I saw the results. We were also delayed for almost an hour because their computers wouldn’t work. After CE and CO, the computers froze again. The invigilator had to renter his details for us to access the EE. The speaking was the only reasonable part. I know there’s the possibility of taking TEF again, but I just want to see how far the appeal will go. I’d rather resit just EE than the entire 4.

Enculer2:


All the best. Keep speaking in French. Speak to people, record and listen to yourself. Use Google to see how you are faring, watch movies. Keep watching and writing.

Thank you. I appreciate the support.

GraciousWords:


To "appeal", follow instructions in this link ......but note the disclaimer in the image.

https://www.lefrancaisdesaffaires.fr/tests-diplomes/test-evaluation-francais-tef/demande-de-recours/

........you have 30 days from results date.

If it were me and I had CLB 8 and 7 in the others, I would conserve my energy and funds, instead refresh, refine and refire....maybe consider a different centre.

Let's know how it goes. Wishing you the best!

Thank you. It is a very tough period for me. This is my second TEF and I’ve barely had a life since January. Aced IELTS in January, started studying for TEF and took the first in April. ‘Re-fired’ for this one in July. It’s a very expensive and stressful journey. I have two kids and have had to study all night for months. So you can understand why I at least won’t go down without a fight. Plus, asides that I didn’t finish, I am very confident that what I wrote was at least a band 7. I covered everything. I was adding a sentence to a paragraph when I got cut off. It is well though. Thank you for the response. I appreciate it. I have sent an email to the center explaining my case. I await feedback.

Goodnigga:
Let me recall, I had a friend request 2 years ago, it came back the same, it was for EE. It does change at times , but never put mind.

Oh. Thank you. It’s for EE as well for me.

deyplay:
congratulations anyway, you tried. But it does not work that way. Except if the centre can complain on your behalf or on the behalf of the whole centre. It will be somehow hard. But still appeal though while planning to retake it albeit be more cautious next time. Ask the invigilator to test properly before starting. By the way, what module was this?

It was the expression écrite section. I’ve seen the appeal page and I’m strongly considering that. I did alert the invigilator to my issue at the start but he said he didn’t know what to do and I didn’t want to loose time so I just continued anyway.

Enculer2:


I would be interested as well. I think the marking is suspect. I use myself as case study and I am fully convinced there is some funny stuff going on. Do what you have to do. I wish you the best. Try posting in the TEF Canada Facebook page to get a wider coverage.

Thank you for this.

@GraciousWords, please do you know anyone who has requested for an appeal in any of the sections of TEF Canada? If yes, did they get a resit or remark?

Thanks.

I’ll appreciate if anyone has an experience on this topic as well.

Thank you house.

Amyfintech:


Guys I got C1 in 3 modules and a B2 in 1 module which is comprehension ecrite and d score was 412, and my simulation shows I didn't get the extra 50 points cos probably I need a higher B2 mark..

So I think d B2 talked about should be emphasised to be a high B2. It sucks

I am in a similar boat and considering filing an appeal. I understand if you have reasonable grounds, you’ll be allowed to retake the relevant section again. Have you thought about this or has anyone successfully filed an appeal? What was the outcome? My issue was my screen. I complained that it was dim right from the beginning of the test. I use glasses and the dim screen slowed me down so I didn’t finish typing. Got a B2 but band 6. My other épreuves were bands8,7,7

P.s: Please I’m new here so I’m not sure if I’m doing the quote right.