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Best TEF exam preparation books with sample papers

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Best TEF exam preparation books with sample papers

If you are looking for the best TEF exam preparation books and TEF online preparation resources, whether it is for :

  • le TEF Canada
  • le TEF Naturalisation ( if you are applying for French nationality)
  • le TEFAQ (if you would like to move to Québec)
  • Le TEF études en France
  • TEF pour la carte de résident ( To access your 10 year residency card in France)
  • Attesting your French skills for academics and employment

These books  and online resources are guaranteed to prepare you for your exam. They were selected because they provide an efficient exam study guide. Plus they also include sample papers which closely reflect what you will see on test day.

In other words, by just using one of these essential books, in addition to any of those online resource, you are guaranteed to be better prepared for your TEF exam.

Please be aware that the books recommended are not designed to teach  you french. The main purpose of these books are to get you exam ready. In other words,  get you familiar with the exam format and question structure so there will be no surprise come exam day.

If you are looking for french learning resources check other articles on this site which will provide you with the best study study french books to get you up to the level you will need to be for your exam. If you are looking for a free french language learning course, to help with preparation, check out the other articles on this site for recommendations.

You might also like to read: How to answer TEF Expression Orale section A task part 1

It is recommended that you do some lessons in french, whether it is self-study or within a classroom setting before trying out these books. Otherwise, you might get discouraged as the books on  this list is  written entirely in french.

 

The 5 tests that the TEF exam preparation books cover

Listening comprehension : This test is obligatory for all test takers no matter which TEF exam you will take.

Reading comprehension : This test is obligatory for those doing the Le TEF études en France, TEF pour la carte de résident and le TEF Canada

Oral expression : This test is obligatory for those doing the le TEF Naturalisation, TEF pour la carte de résident, le TEFAQ and le TEF Canada

Written expression : This test is obligatory for those doing the TEF pour la carte de résident, Le TEF études en France and le TEF Canada

Glossary and structure :This test is obligatory for those doing the Le TEF études en France.

As you can see, depending on your goals (ie.: Study in France or live in Québec), some tests will be mandatory while others will remain optional. As a result,  just choose the sections that apply to you and work through them.

Lets get started!

List of Books for TEF Exam Preparation

 

TEF Test d’Evaluation de Francais – TEF – 250 activites (French Edition) by Sylvie Pons

This book is intended for a non-French speaking public wishing to prepare for the TEF. It is also endorsed by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP), the organisation behind the TEF exam.This says a lot about this book.

The structure of this book is very user friendly.  To give you an idea, here is a breakdown of this book. It is first and foremost divided into 3 parts:

Part 1

The first part explains how to use the book. It also does a good job of explaining what is expected of you on exam day and how to approach each test.  For those looking to take the e-TEF, this book has included information about it within it’s pages.

Part 2

Then part two covers training activities, to familiarize you with the exam structure and exam type questions. As you know the TEF grade your level in french on a scale of 0+ to 6. In other words 7 levels. 0+ being the lowest at CEFR level A1.1 and level 6 being the highest at CEFR level C2.

TEF test questions gets progressively more difficult, with the easiest being at level 0+ and the most difficult being at level 6. This book makes it extremely easy finding not only the sections but the levels that are relevant to your TEF exam.

How so?

For each group of questions, the level it corresponds to, is clearly highlighted. This makes it easier to do a self assessment and find out if you have reached the level that you need to succeed in your exam or if you need to improve your level in french even further.

For those taking the le TEF Naturalisation, for example, you can easy see where the level B1 for your french nationality starts, and work forward from there.

Part 3

With the third part actually being the mock exam or if you like the sample tests. For this part, since there are only 2 practice test, do try to simulate real exam situation by timing yourself. This is to see how you would do under real exam condition.

A word of caution!

The CD for this book is sold separately. So if price is a factor for you, you might want to do the maths before buying. In addition, some people have complained that the answer key is filled with mistakes. I personally have used it and found it to be pretty good in helping with TEF preparation. But in any case you might want to pay close attention when doing the exercises and recheck and verify your answers .

 

Test d’Evaluation De Francais (French Edition) by Hachette Livre

This book,like the one above , provides a thorough overview of the structure of the TEF, along with test taking strategies and 2 practice exams. CD is not include with this book.

This book was published almost 20 years ago, but the structure of the test has not changed that much since that time. If you are interested in more information about the e-tef, you will not find it here. All in all a pretty good TEF preparation book.

And that rounds off our list of recommended books!

Yeah there are really only 2 recommended books. Why? Because both, or any one of these two, will get you ready for your TEF exam. For those required to do the Expression Orale test, really pay close attention to the examples offered in these books, because the exercises are almost identical to what you will see on your actual exam. This is true for other test sections as well.

TEF online preparation

If you are unable to get your hands on any one of these books, an alternative would be an online TEF exam preparation course.

The official site of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP), the organisation behind the TEF exam, current has a number of  free sample papers and other preparation resources.

There are currently 5 elearning training modules, each module covering one of the 5 tests that are offered (Listening and Reading comprehension, Oral and written expression, and Language Structure). Be sure to work through these modules to get a feel of the actual exam.

You should also go ahead and download the candidate manual that correspond to your exam, if you haven’t already. This manual provides a real step by step guide of the format of the exam. This includes sample questions for the listening sections of your exams.

There is also an app, Français 3.0,  that is designed to help you prepare for the TEF exam. This app is available on Google play store and also on the Apple Itunes Store. Unlike the other resources on the CCIP website, this app is not 100 percent free. After download look forward to the famous in-app purchase. Consider on average €0.89 – €1.99 per test item.

Not such a bad price considering. At that price, this app can be a great addition to your TEF exam preparation resources. If you are interested, check out the introduction video for the app below, courtesy of the CCIP.

Over all, I find these resources really indispensable.

if you want to go further, you can also look at the TEF preparation online course that is recommended by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP).  This is a bit more expensive, at  €39, than one of the recommended books or the app, but is said to be user friendly and accessible from you PC.

If you have any recommendation just leave a comment below.