teaspoon

Does anyone know what questions they ask at the interview in French test?
Is they ask the same questions every time in the interview?

thanks

Niobii

I can't comment on the French test, only IELTS (English test), but I would presume that they wouldn't ask the same questions as that would give candidates the opportunity to cheat. When I applied for IELTS you could look at (or buy in my case) practice papers that gives you examples of the types of questions asked. I would suggest you have a look at these first and see how you go from there. Good luck.

staceyhall71

My hubbys got his booked beginning of feb but the English IELTS how did u find it NIOBII ????

Niobii

I'm afraid I've only booked it but haven't actually completed it yet! You'll have to let me how your OH gets on! I've been told not to be complacent so ill have to get studying soon! Good luck.

staceyhall71

AHH right where u taking yours?? yeah iv heard that too iv downloaded the forms off the IELTS website for him so he can study before he goes. So are you applying for the FSW federal skilled visa??? And where u thinking of moving in Canada????

helcat12

Advice for IELTS - get some of the practice materials and use them.

The listening test goes very fast and there is an odd thing they do where you write your answers down as you go along but then there is another sheet they give you which you need to transfer your answers onto.

This is tricky and is also timed, so it is a good idea if you have seen it before the exam and are familiar with how it all works.

I would advise applicants to look very carefully at the mark scheme, as they are also funny about what answers they accept.
Unlike other systems, where if you include the correct elements of the answer in a longer answer it is accepted, on the IELTS practice paper mark scheme I noticed that they did not. (I marked my husband's practice paper for him.)

For example, if they have the answer to the question as,
"hearing aids"
but you give your answer as,
"hearing aids for deaf and partial hearing customers"
they will not accept it as correct.

As a teacher who is used to marking comprehension type tests like this, I find this illogical and unfair, but if that is the way they mark it is good to know about it before you sit the test so you can adapt your answer style accordingly.
Every mark counts!

hamazz

helcat12,

thanks for the pointers, im also looking at booking it sometime end of feb/march
where can we get a look at the mark scheme? any specific practice material your would recommend as there is alot about and some of them dont seem that good

hamazz

helcat12

I went to the IELTS website and ordered them - they were ten pounds, if I remember rightly.
Some people say that there are free resources online but I can't vouch for that or how good they are as I didn't find any when I was looking.
I thought for a tenner it was worth having the original stuff. I passed them on to another applicant when we were finished with them, so I don't have them any more.

The package we got had a full test in it with all four portions. There was a CD of the listening part, a few scenarios and guidance notes and samples of work and the score it received for the writing and speaking tests, a sample answer recording sheet (as I mentioned in my previous post) and a transcript of the listening test.
The mark scheme comes with the pack so you can check your answers with the accepted ones.

The writing samples made it very easy to see what errors caused loss of marks. Bad sentence punctuation (such as full stops in the wrong places and no capital letters), no use of capitalisation for the personal use of 'I', misconjugation of verbs and malapropisms were all marked down.
Also, repetition of vocabulary (indicating a limited knowledge of the language) was marked down.
Poor spelling was not especially penalised.

I really don't think that this test should present any problems for a native English speaker with a reasonable level of education.
ESL applicants might need to think differently depending on their experience with the language, especially for the writing.

Moondoggy

Good advice, thanks!

helcat12

Pleasure!

HarryHeck

Took mine early last year, which is a while ago but I can't see how it would change very much.

In the speaking exam they give you a situation and you've got to ask and answer questions in line with the scenario. For example, mine was to play a holiday rep and give reasons why someone should visit my home town. It can be as easy or as complex as your french ability, and the assessors are very helpful in that regard.

My advice is the same as for the IELTS test - get the TEF manuals and go through some test papers - they're really useful and prepare you quite well. That said, there's no substitute for actually having french-speaking ability. I was lucky that a friend of mine did a degree in French and Spanish and we had some evenings just refreshing my knowledge and going through sample topics. Good luck!

helcat12

I remember something similar to that in the oral for French 'O' Level, although that was recorded and the examiner wasn't allowed to turn off the tape for any reason until the test was finished.

I just got a panic right after the examiner asked me the first thing and couldn't speak for what felt like hours but was probably less than a minute.

I think the focus on either language oral exam is can you make yourself understood in a reasonable conversation.

One of the most revealing and instructive things in the IELTS English practice materials was the inclusion of real applicants' work and responses in the test and the comments of the examiners and the score they gave each piece.

I was surprised to read that in one case quoted, the examiners noted that the applicant spoke with a heavily-accented voice which put the stresses on different syllables in words and sentence structures than they should be in English. This made them difficult to understand and so they marked them very low for the speaking element.

The candidate was European but I can't remember which country they were from.

I suppose I hadn't expected them to make such an issue of accent, but given how difficult I have found it to understand some of the "foreigners" here and indeed in England (especially over the telephone), I suppose it is fair to assess the ease with which an applicant can be understood by native speakers.

I think it is worth knowing if you are not a native English speaker that in the IELTS speaking test accent is officially taken into consideration and you can lose serious points for speaking with a heavy accent even if you are actually speaking correct English.

Not sure what they do about Geordies, though!

susieh

Hi

I did the TEF test in mid-2009, so I don't know if it's exactly the same now. In the oral exam I had to sell a holiday to Tunisia - I think I had to pretend I was the travel consultant and someone was phoning up to book! Having always dreaded French oral exams at school, it was actually almost fun, as the examiners were really friendly, and I had 15 mins or so to prepare in advance.

I presume you're doing all the other TEF exams too - written, listening etc. As others have mentioned, you should definitely buy the practice material, as it gives you a really good idea of what to expect and what sort of level you might achieve. I bought mine from the European bookshop in London, but I'm sure you can pick up a secondhand copy on Amazon.

Good luck!

teaspoon

Thank you