Overview
| Section | Questions / tasks | Duration | Key rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | 39 multiple choice | 35 minutes | Each recording is played once; difficulty rises from A1 to C2 |
| Reading | 39 multiple choice | 60 minutes | You can go back; difficulty rises from A1 to C2 |
| Writing | 3 tasks | 60 minutes | Each task has a minimum and maximum word count |
| Speaking | 3 tasks | 12 minutes | Face to face with an examiner, recorded throughout |
The test is taken on paper or on a computer at the test centre, depending on the centre. On computer, listening and reading answers are selected on screen and writing is typed.
Listening (Compréhension orale)
39 questions in 35 minutes, all multiple choice with four options. Each recording is played once, with no replay. Questions are ordered by difficulty: short sentences matched to pictures and brief exchanges first, everyday conversations and voice messages in the middle, then radio programmes, interviews and lecture extracts, with the last questions close to C2. Gaps between questions are short, so you answer while listening.
Two things help most: do full sets against the clock to get used to the pace (listening mock tests), and transcribe the sentences you miss word by word until liaison and reduced forms become clear (dictation).
Reading (Compréhension écrite)
39 questions in 60 minutes, all multiple choice with four options, and you can move back and forth. Texts range from text messages, advertisements, notices and instructions to press reports, opinion pieces and literary extracts, again rising from A1 to C2. The correct option is usually a paraphrase of one sentence in the text, while distractors reuse words from the text, so the skill being tested is locating the answer sentence and recognizing the rewording.
Do full sets in exam order first (reading mock tests), then drill paraphrase matching, cloze and reordering on the answer sentences (reading drill).
Writing (Expression écrite)
3 tasks in 60 minutes, with the time split as you choose. Every task has a word range; going under the minimum or over the maximum affects the mark.
| Task | Requirement | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Tâche 1 | A message to the recipient named in the prompt, describing, narrating or explaining something | 60 to 120 |
| Tâche 2 | An article, letter or note for several readers, recounting an experience with comments, opinions or arguments | 120 to 150 |
| Tâche 3 | Two short texts of about 90 words with different positions: report and compare both views, then take your own position | 120 to 180 |
Marking covers task completion, coherence and cohesion, and the accuracy and range of vocabulary and grammar. Practice by task: Tâche 1, Tâche 2, Tâche 3.
Speaking (Expression orale)
Face to face with one examiner, 12 minutes in total, recorded and marked by FEI. The three tasks run back to back.
| Task | Format | Preparation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tâche 1, guided interview | Introduce yourself; the examiner asks follow-up questions | None | 2 minutes |
| Tâche 2, interaction | Based on the prompt, you ask the examiner questions to obtain information | 2 minutes | 3 minutes 30 |
| Tâche 3, point of view | Develop and defend your view on the topic; the examiner asks questions | None | 4 minutes 30 |
Tâche 2 is often misunderstood: you ask and the examiner answers. You are marked on asking relevant questions in sufficient number and keeping the exchange going, not on presenting. Practice by task: Tâche 1, Tâche 2, Tâche 3.