Course
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Contents
Your course for NCLC 7 in all four skills. Day 1 is Thursday 5 November 2026 and Day 56 is Wednesday 30 December 2026.
What's in this folder
| File | What it is | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| calendar.md | What to do each day, block by block | Every morning |
| vocab/ | Anki decks built from the exams' own frequent words, plus essentials and theme packs | Every day (words block) |
| templates/writing-tcf.md | Writing frames, the recurring prompts by ID, argument banks, and the "correct my writing" prompt | Writing block |
| templates/speaking-tcf.md | Interview cards for all 13 themes, role-play question lists, monologue frames and idea banks | Speaking block |
| templates/listening-reading-tcf.md | Score targets, drill protocols, trap checklist, practice sources | Listening and reading blocks |
| voice-mode/ | Setup for Claude's voice mode as your coach and TCF examiner | Speaking block |
| templates/tef-hedge.md | TEF Canada kit, only if you also book TEF | If needed |
| exam-analysis.md | The full research: what the real exams test and repeat, with counts and sources | Reference |
Which test, and can you retake one skill?
- Take TCF Canada. On TCF, NCLC 7 in speaking and writing is 10/20, the lowest B2 mark. On TEF, speaking needs 456, the upper half of B2, against an examiner trained to argue back. TEF is easier on listening (434 against TCF's 458).
- Neither test lets you retake just one skill for IRCC. IRCC needs all four results on one test report. So if one skill falls short, your second chance is another complete sitting that clears all four.
- TEF as a backup. If listening is your lowest skill at your first full mock (Day 21), a TEF sitting is the better second attempt. If speaking or writing is lowest, sit TCF again, at least 20 days after the first sitting.
- No re-marking. Re-marking of TCF writing and speaking is suspended for sessions from 1 September 2026, and TEF never re-marks. So train for 12/20, not 10.
Details and sources are in exam-analysis.md sections 1.1–1.3.
Book a seat now
Seats are close to gone. On 4 November, no TCF Canada date between 8 December and 31 January showed open seats at the centres checked in India and Canada. Dates to act on (section 1.4 of the analysis):
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Now to 24 Nov | AF Pune registration for the 16 Dec e-TEF |
| Now to 3 Dec | AF Bombay registration for the 12 Dec e-TEF |
| This week | AF Jaipur publishes January–February 2027 TEF dates |
| 1 Dec, 10:00 Toronto time | AF Toronto releases January–March 2027 TCF and TEF seats |
| 2 Dec, 9:00 | AF Delhi registration for the 16 Dec TCF Canada, if the session is confirmed |
| 30 Dec, 6, 13, 20 Jan | Last booking days for AF Hyderabad's 6, 13, 20 and 27 January e-TEF |
Centres outside the Alliance Française network, and AF Goa, were not checked. Search LFA's session finder (TEF) and FEI's centre map (TCF) by hand. Once you book, tell Claude the date so the calendar's last days can be re-timed.
What each skill needs (TCF Canada)
| Skill | NCLC 7 | What that means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 458 | About 31 of 39 correct: at most 1 miss on Q1–19, at least 9 of 10 on Q20–29, and at least 4 of 10 on Q30–39 (3 is enough only if Q1–19 are all right). Each recording plays once |
| Reading | 453 | The same pattern. 60 minutes |
| Writing | 10/20 | Three tasks in 60 minutes: T1 60–120 words, T2 120–150, T3 120–180. Aim for B2 on T2 and T3 |
| Speaking | 10/20 | 12 minutes: T1 interview 2 min; T2 role-play 3 min 30 after 2 min preparation; T3 opinion monologue 4 min 30 |
The correct-answer counts come from an unofficial points grid that prep sites use. FEI doesn't publish its weights.
The free rules (no French needed)
- Never leave a multiple-choice question blank. Wrong answers cost nothing.
- Stay inside every writing word range and do the tasks in order. Going outside a range can sink the whole paper.
- Learn frames and phrases, never whole essays. FEI treats reciting memorised texts as fraud.
- In speaking, you may ask the examiner to repeat or rephrase at any time: « Pourriez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ? »
Day 1 setup
- Install Anki on your computer (the import is done there), plus AnkiMobile or AnkiDroid on your phone if you want, synced through a free AnkiWeb account. Import the decks in
vocab/; vocab/README.md explains how. - Set up voice mode by following voice-mode/README.md. You create a Claude Project called "TCF Examiner" with the instructions file pasted in.
- Book or shortlist your test seat (table above).
- Open calendar.md and start Day 1.