TCF Canada speaking Tâche 2: how to ask questions like a B2+

Tâche 2 flips the interview: you get a scenario (renting a chalet, joining a course, calling about a service), 2 minutes to prepare, and then 3 minutes 30 in which YOU must question the examiner. Candidates fail it in two predictable ways — running out of questions at the 90-second mark, or asking eight questions that all start with 'Est-ce que'. Both are fixable with a system.

Spend the 2 minutes on categories, not sentences

• •Don't script full questions — jot 6–8 category keywords: prix, horaires, lieu, conditions, matériel, inscription, annulation, extras.
• •Every everyday scenario supports the same core categories; memorise the checklist once and adapt it.
• •Plan one opener ('Bonjour, je vous appelle au sujet de…') and one closer ('Une dernière question…') so the shape is never in doubt.

Rotate your question forms

Grammatical variety in question forms is precisely what separates a 10 from a 14 on this tâche. Five well-formed structures rotated across eight questions reads as effortless B2–C1 French.

• •Inversion: 'Pourriez-vous me préciser les tarifs ?'
• •Est-ce que: 'Est-ce qu'il faut réserver à l'avance ?'
• •Question word + inversion: 'À quelle heure commence la première séance ?'
• •Indirect: 'Je voudrais savoir si le matériel est fourni.'
• •Follow-up on their answer: 'Vous avez dit que… — dans ce cas, est-il possible de… ?'

Filling 3½ minutes without panic

React to every answer before the next question — 'Ah, très bien', 'Parfait, c'est bon à savoir' — it's natural interaction and it buys thinking time. If you truly run dry, zoom in: you asked about price, now ask about payment methods; you asked about schedule, now ask about holidays. And end deliberately: 'Merci beaucoup, vous m'avez convaincu(e) — comment puis-je m'inscrire ?'