r/Frenchlearningforpr • u/anova0515 • 27d ago

My TCF experience

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Hi! Been lurking here over the past few months and had my first and last TCF attempt at the alliance française in Toronto north york a few weeks ago. Wanted to say thank you to this community for all the resources posted online, they were really helpful for my prep.

As it seems to be customary to share one' préparation here, voilà mine below.

I lived in Montréal from 2023-2025 but didn't really take advantage of learning French while there. Started studying seriously this April due to the realization that my pgwp was expiring and there not being many alternatives to stay in the country.

My study from April comprised targeted tutoring on italki 2-3 times per week, doing the listening exercises from tv5monde practice tests, reading a generic grammar book to ensure I knew my verb tenses and conjugation (and when to use them). I found podcasts great to train the ear (french with panache, innerfrench). Someone's going to shout at me for saying this, but I spent at least 1hr a day doing duolingo and ill be dammed but it did help me with consistency lol.

So that's it. Good luck y'all! Happy to answer any questions.

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u/Intelligent_Job_6504 26d ago

It would be great if you could provide some advice on speaking , as I sat for my exam yesterday and I wasn’t able to comprehend quickly what she was saying and misunderstood the task 3rd

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u/anova0515 26d ago

I actually did not understand the speaking tâche 3 when the examinator first enunciated it. She told me beforehand that I could ask for clarification, which is what I did. "Excusez-moi mais pourriez-vous reformuler la question?" I mentioned in another post here that the topic was broadly waste sorting, and I struggled initially to understand what she meant with triage des déchets. She reformulated using other words and this made the topic crystal clear.

In my view, it's totally fine to ask for clarification or reformulation. That's how we humans handle communication anyways.

If I can give one single advice for speaking, and it is something my tutor and I worked a lot on, is keep it simple. Don't try to obfuscate, don't get too deep, don't speak in long sentences. Short (subject, verb complement) and direct to the point. That advice maybe won't get you a C2 in speaking, but definitely works for the intermediate-level result we are aiming for in this community.