TEF Exam Update: Changes Coming December 11th, 2023

According to: Le Francais des Affaires, effective December 11th, 2023, the TEF exam format is set to undergo a significant transformation. These revisions will impact various sections of the exam, including Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, and Vocabulary & Syntax.

Let's check into what these changes mean for test-takers!

Oral Comprehension (TEF, TEF Canada, TEFAQ)

What’s Disappearing:

  • Identification of radio programs (previously section B)
  • Phonetics (previously section D)

What’s Evolving:

  • Exercises involving putting images in order (previously section A)
  • Exercises based on answering machine messages and public announcements (previously section B)
  • Exercises based on on-the-street interviews (previously section C)

What’s New:

  • More audio tracks, including a radio broadcast

This is an official example of the questions:

Compréhension orale is now: 60 min – 40 questions

Should you be worried about the changes of the TEFAQ exam format and the regional accents in French when preparing for the TEFAQ exam in Quebec?

I asked advice from a friend who recently took the updated exam, and he told me not to worry about the diversity of French accents. According to him, focusing/listening on the standard "Montreal French" accent, such as those heard on television or radio, should be ok.

He also shared that listening to radio programs on platforms like Radio Canada and CTV helped him with that.

Also, regarding the new exam format, He mentioned if you put in the effort to listen to French radio programs and study diligently, there's no need to worry about any alterations to the exam format.

The recent exam included various questions and scenarios, such as:

  • Part 1 : Focused on expressing opinions about purchasing items. (same as the old format)
  • Part 2 : Involved a telephone conversation, possibly discussing plans to go somewhere or seeking assistance from someone. (same as the old format)
  • Part 3 : Consisted of listening to radio news, covering topics like vaccines, COVID-19, and political developments. (new format)
  • Part 4 : Listening to an interview, for instance, discussing about hunting. (new format)