TEF speaking, Section A: which topics should you prepare?
Frequently asked question: where can I get a list of topics for the oral part?
Let's talk about “Section A” to TEF Canada. What the exam itself consists of, read here.
Preparation textbooks give examples of speaking topics, but at most four of them. How are you supposed to get a clear idea of the task and feel ready from that? It’s hard to imagine.
There are also examples of questions floating around the internet that have already been asked in the exam. And that helps a little. But the chances that you will have the same thing are close to zero. Therefore, there is no point in simply collecting topics in a piggy bank. ⠀
How can you be prepared for most questions and not waste your time? ⠀
We need analysis. And I carried him through.
I divided all the topics from “Section A” into 8 types:
- Work: get a job yourself, hire someone.
- Buy, rent, book: house, apartment, room.
- Organize an event: in a restaurant, cafe, public place, etc.
- Sign up for: courses, excursions, walks, hikes, camps, competitions, sporting events.
- Find out about travel, trips, tastings, etc.
- Find out about the service: food delivery, organizing weddings and parties, babysitting, etc.
- Buying/selling/renting things.
- Charity and volunteers: learn about conditions, take part in “good deeds”, etc.
Yes, it is unknown which question will fall within these 8 types. You may find yourself far from the topic of weddings or skiing. But the final score for the oral part consists of several criteria, and as many as three of them are relevance, initiative and quality of dialogue, which can be improved by at least understanding what type of task is in front of you.
A lot depends on the type:
✔️and how you start a dialogue - you know that you shouldn’t start it head-on with a question, right?
✔️and what you will ask the examiner about is what specific information you will need from him
✔️and whether you stop, trying to figure out what else to ask, or will you have a sketch of the dialogue in your head in advance and move on to the next question immediately.
Well, what about vocabulary? I’ll answer with the words of Urgant: “We’re working, guys”😄
Read other articles:
French cartoons for beginners that are easy to find on YouTube
French sounds: textbooks for learning French phonetics