Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF)
What is the TCF?
The Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF), designed by the France Education International (FEI) and accredited by the French Ministry of Education, is a French language proficiency test for non-native speakers of French who wish to evaluate and have their level of proficiency certified for professional, academic or personal reasons.
In general, the TCF grades and ranks candidates at one of the six levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 or C2) on a scale defined by the Council of Europe (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). TCF grade results are reliable measurements for determining proficiency. Each candidate is awarded a certificate which is valid for two years.
FIAF also offers these specialized TCF exams:
TCF IRN: For applying for French nationality or residency
TCF Canada: For emigrating to Canada or Canadian citizenship
TCF for Québec: For emigrating to Québec
TCF pour DAP: For studying in France
TCF Format
The TCF is a multiple-choice test with 76 items that cover reading comprehension, command of grammatical structures and listening comprehension.
It also includes optional tests for written and oral expressions tests.
3 compulsory tests (76 items – 1 hr. 25 min)
Listening Comprehension (29 items – 25 min)
Command of lexical and grammatical structures (18 items – 15 min)
Reading Comprehension (29 items – 45 min)
2 optional tests
Written Expression (1 hr)
Oral Expression (12 min)
For more information about TCF, visit france-education-international.fr/test/tcf-tout-public.
Why take the TCF?
Work: A TCF certificate is a proof of your language knowledge and abilities to support job applications.
Study: The TCF meets French language requirements for application to graduate studies at French universities.
Personal: Each person can obtain an evaluation of his/her speaking, writing and comprehension skills in French with a TCF test.
