TCF

TCF General Public	TCF for DAP
Quebec TCF	TCF for ANF

TCF: TCF Certificates General Public and Quebec « november 2011 session » can be retrieved at our front desk. (Dec. 19)

The TCF (French Language Achievement Test) is a linguistic achievement test intended for members of the general public who are not French speakers and who wish, for professional or private reasons, to certify their achievement level in French.

The scores obtained on the TCF are ranked into 6 levels:

• Level 1: Elementary (basic)
• Level 2: Advanced Elementary
  
• Level 3: Intermediate
  
• Level 4: Advanced Intermediate
  
• Level 5: Advanced
  
• Level 6: High Advanced

Each test result level entitles the student to receive a level confirmation certificate.

TCF General Public

The TCF for the general public is comprised of 3 mandatory examinations in the form of 80 multiple-choice questions and 2 additional tests used to assess levels of oral and written expression. The questions are formulated based on an increasing scale of difficulty.

The General Public TCF (mandatory exams + additional tests) is also required by most French universities for the admission of foreign students into the various courses of study (schools).

Before registering at one of our examination centres, please check with your university to determine its requirements: General Public TCF, Full General Public TCF, General Public TCF with Oral Expression or General Public TCF with Written Expression.

N.B. French universities often require Level 4, the Advanced Intermediate level.

Who can register?

Any non French-speaking person who wishes to do so, for professional or personal reasons, may certify their achievement level in French.

TCF for DAP (Application for Pre-Admission)

TCF examinations for DAP last 3 hours.

The first test includes assessments of achievement in oral comprehension, grammar/vocabulary and written expression.

The second test evaluates skills in written expression, with two exercises: a 200-word minimum commentary on numerical data, and a 300-word minimum persuasive composition.

Who can register?

If you wish to register for an undergraduate course in France ("Licence 1" or "Licence 2") or enrol in a school of architecture, and you do not hold a DELF B2 or DALF, you will have to sit for the TCF for Application for Pre-Admission ("TCF for DAP").

 Quebec TCF (for immigration to Quebec)

As of 16th October 2006, the Quebec Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities (MICC) has required that anyone submitting an application to immigrate to Quebec justify their level of achievement in French by taking the "TCF for Quebec".

The TCF for Quebec consists of 2 tests: oral comprehension (30 min.) and oral expression (15 min.).

Who can register?

This test is exclusively restricted to persons filing an immigration application with a Quebec immigration office or at a Quebec Consulate General.

TCF for ANF

Since 1st January 2012, candidates for French citizenship must provide proof of their oral competence in French in the areas of “listening”, “taking part in a conversation” and “expressing oneself steadily”, at the B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL).

For that purpose, and in order to fulfil that requirement, the CIEP has designed a new category for the TCF (Test of Competence in French) to be used to assess candidates’ competence specifically in French listening comprehension and oral expression: the TCF for Application for French Citizenship (TCF ANF). The Alliance française de Bruxelles-Europe is a test centre for this form of the test.

The “TCF for Application for French Citizenship” (TCF ANF) is comprised of two mandatory sections:

The passing certificate from the “TCF for Application for French Citizenship” is valid only as part of an application to obtain French citizenship by marriage or naturalisation and will only be accepted if you achieve a level equal to or higher than B1 of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL).

The passing certificate also must be currently valid (2 years from the date of issue by the CIEP) to enable you to complete your citizenship application.

You may not use this certificate, for example, to apply for admission to a French university or as part of an application for immigration to Quebec.

Please note that people who have passed the DELF B1 and B2 exams, as well as those passing the DALF C1 and C2, are exempt from having to sit for this test. Those who have a currently valid certificate, either for the TCF for Quebec, or for the so-called TCF for the general public, with a passing result on the oral expression section and attesting to a B1 level or higher on both the oral comprehension and oral expression sections, are likewise exempt from having to pass the special category of the TCF for Application for French Citizenship.

More information on the CIEP web site
More information on the  ministère de l'interieur français web site