Official materials and recommended practice

What the test owner, France Éducation international (FEI), actually publishes, the two free practice sites it recommends, and the official rules worth knowing before you write a word. Checked on 5 October 2026.

What FEI publishes

• Sample items page14 items you can answer in the browser: 7 listening, 3 language-structure and 4 reading. The language-structure part is not one of the four TCF Canada papers.
• Writing sample paperThe three writing tasks of the TCF TP / Canada / Québec with their word limits (PDF).
• Speaking sample paperThe three speaking tasks of the TCF TP / Canada / Québec (PDF).
• Candidate manualVersion Q, September 2026, 68 pages: every paper, timings, word limits, how papers are marked and the score grid (PDF, in French).

FEI does not publish past papers the way IELTS does. Question banks sold as "real exam questions" are not FEI publications.

The two practice sites FEI recommends

• Le français facile avec RFI13 free TCF listening practice sessions in exam conditions (latest added 22 September 2026).
• TV5Monde TCFA free 600-question simulator, plus a 90-minute test in real exam conditions you can retake. TV5Monde notes its results are not official.

Official rules worth knowing

1. Writing word limits: task 1 is 60 to 120 words, task 2 is 120 to 150, task 3 is 120 to 180. In the sample paper, task 3 has two parts: present both documents in your own words (40 to 60) and give your position (80 to 120).
2. One word is any group of signs between two spaces: "Un bon sujet" is 3 words, "C'est-à-dire" is 1.
3. Writing can be marked "A1 non atteint" if a task misses its word count, is off topic or not done, copies sentences from the prompt or documents, is a text learnt by heart, or is written on the scrap paper.
4. Speaking runs about 12 minutes: task 1 is a 2-minute interview, task 2 a 3 minute 30 role-play after 2 minutes of preparation, task 3 a 4 minute 30 opinion. Reciting a memorised text can be marked "A1 non atteint".
5. Each writing and speaking task is given a level from "A1 non atteint" to C2 by two independent markers; a rule turns the levels into a note /20. Notes read as A1 1, A2 2 to 5, B1 6 to 9, B2 10 to 13, C1 14 to 17, C2 18 to 20.
6. Marking criteria: linguistic (vocabulary, grammar, spelling, sentence building), pragmatic (coherence, cohesion, development) and sociolinguistic (fit with the situation).

What the official materials leave out

One sample paper per skill, and nobody to mark what you write. Our writing feedback uses the same task types, word rules and criteria, so you can practise as often as you need.

Sources: France Éducation international, Manuel du candidat version Q (September 2026) and sample papers; RFI; TV5Monde. Pages can change; follow the official sites on the day you read this.