TCF Canada speaking Tâches 1 & 3: what to say and how to structure it

Tâche 2 gets all the attention because asking questions feels unnatural — but Tâches 1 and 3 decide just as many points, and both are highly preparable. Tâche 1 is a two-minute interview about you; Tâche 3 is four and a half minutes of continuous opinion with zero preparation time. Here is the playbook for each.

Tâche 1 — the entretien dirigé (2 min, no preparation)

The examiner asks simple personal questions: who you are, your work or studies, your family, your city, your plans — and very often, why you are learning French or what your Canadian project is. Nothing exotic. The trap is answering in fragments: 'Oui.' 'À Delhi.' 'Ingénieur.' Short answers force the examiner to drag you through the interview, and your score reflects it.

• •Answer in two or three full sentences: statement, detail, mini-example. 'Je suis ingénieur logiciel. Je travaille dans une entreprise à Pune depuis cinq ans, surtout sur des applications bancaires.'
• •Prepare — without memorising word-for-word — your six core topics: you, work/studies, family, your city, hobbies, your Canada plan. On exam day these come out fluent because you have said them fifty times.
• •It's a conversation, not a speech: react naturally ('Ah oui, justement…'), and if you don't understand, ask — 'Pourriez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?' costs nothing; answering the wrong question does.

Tâche 3 — the point de vue (4 min 30, no preparation)

You get a societal question — screens and children, city vs countryside, does kindness earn respect — and must defend a position immediately, speaking continuously. Four and a half minutes is long. Without a skeleton, everyone runs dry at ninety seconds. So bring the skeleton to every topic:

• •Position (15 seconds): 'C'est une question intéressante. Selon moi, …' — pick a side fast; nuance can come later, hesitation cannot.
• •Argument 1 + example (1 minute): 'D'abord, … Par exemple, dans mon pays…' Personal examples are easiest to sustain and sound authentic.
• •Argument 2 + example (1 minute): 'Ensuite, …' A second angle — economic, social, personal — not the same idea rephrased.
• •Concession + counter (1 minute): 'Certes, certains pensent que… mais à mon avis…' This single move signals B2-C1 argumentation to the examiner.
• •Conclusion (30 seconds): 'Pour toutes ces raisons, je reste convaincu(e) que…' Loop back to your position.

Phrases that buy thinking time

• •'C'est une question complexe, mais je dirais que…' — four seconds of thinking, zero silence.
• •'Comment dire… ce que je veux dire, c'est que…' — natural hesitation beats a frozen pause.
• •'Prenons un exemple concret :' — announces an example while you choose one.
• •Never switch to English. A French filler phrase while you think is fine; an English word is a visible crack.

How to practise both

For Tâche 1, record your six core topics twice a week and listen back for fragments. For Tâche 3, pull a random topic, give yourself zero preparation — exactly like exam day — and record the full four and a half minutes with a visible timer. The first attempts will be rough; by the tenth, the skeleton is automatic and the timer stops being frightening. Finish each session by listening once and noting one fix — pace, one grammar tic, one filler — for the next round.